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On the road from Kabul to Jalalabad

By Kai Pflug

Fridays are good days to get away from Kabul and take a trip outside of the city – both because it is not a good day to work with other people as it is a holiday, and because the traffic is much lighter than on weekdays.

So, we left Kabul early and took a trip toward Jalalabad – my first trip outside of Kabul and a chance to see some of Afghanistan’s landscape.

But first – Afghans love to eat – a stop at the outskirts of Kabul to buy some snacks.

As Kabul’s elevation is more than 1200 meters higher than that of Jalalabad, the road pretty much goes downhill all the time, partly following the Kabul River.

Some defensive positions on the roadside are still visible.

When traveling with a German guest, it is apparently important to have a clean car, so ours got washed early in the trip – even though the German’s own car in China is usually by far the dirtiest in his parking lot.

But washing the car is a chance to look down and take a few more photos of the river below …

… and of passing cars. I was told that the decoration on this car indicates that the passenger has just finished the haji. In turn, this apparently justifies kids to ask for sweets from the car.

Other modes of transportation look slightly less comfortable.

At some point, the road goes even more steeply downhill

Too steep for this truck.

Lower down, the road opens up and gives good views of a landscape that in November is mostly desert …

… but with green within close proximity to the river.

At one of the viewing points, a Russian tank is displayed and seems to be a popular background for selfies.

At Shahidan – maybe two thirds of the way to Jalalabad – the scenery gets very beautiful …

… making it a great picnic spot.

My hosts just enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere …

… while their restless German guest tried to spot some birds and moaned about not having brought a suitable camera for bird photography, getting only absurdly bad shots.

Then, time to go back to Kabul, with a stop at a mosque for a prayer for my hosts …

… while I took some more photos …

… bought drinks at a local shop …

… and made friends with some goats.

Then, arriving back in Kabul as the shadows got longer.

Originally posted 2024-06-06 03:08:30.