Saturday on the road.

Here are a few pics on our trip to the office and back.  Thought you'd enjoy.

The above picture is what traffic looks like on the streets.  It gets very congested in Kabul and the drivers don't exactly signal when changing lanes.

These guys are enjoying lunch.  They rolled out a carpet and used their propane stove to make chai tea and eat their rice & bread.  It's very typical to see truck drivers park their trucks and get out to have lunch together.  They're very social and friendly, just like most Afghan people.

They have the most interesting paint jobs on their trucks.  They call them jingle trucks, because of all the things hanging off the front and the black tassels you see in the picture...it's to ward off evil spirits.

Here you can see the meat hanging in the open air with no refrigeration.  It really surprised me on my first tour to Afghanistan, but it seems normal now.  I guess when I eat with the Afghans, I'm eating this meat and I haven't got sick yet.   They kill it daily, so it's not like it hangs there for a couple of days...I don't think.

We had our day off, but no shopping.

On Fridays, we are supposed to have a Bazaar. This is usually approximately 50 or 60 different Afghan vendors that come and setup covered areas and sell local goods like handmade carpets, pottery, jewelry, wood carvings, and antique weapons. Well today, the Bazaar was cancelled. Not sure if it was because of weather or a threat? I was really wanting to look at some more carpets. Here’s one of the beautiful carpets I looked at last week. It’s called a Khoja Roshnai and is made from wool cut from the neck of very young sheep, so it’s soft like silk but durable like wool. The picture really doesn’t do it justice. He started his haggling at $3000, but I know he will come down at least to about $1,800 if you push.  Not bad for a 6'x9' carpet of this quality.

This a runner on top of the Khoja Roshnai carpet. The runner is a Bokhara style carpet and is extremely soft. It’s made from the regular wool, but is very close to the texture of the other Khoja Roshnai. He started the price at $1,200, so I'm guessing he'd sell it for $700-800.

Afghans don't work on Friday, but they do every other day of the week.

Since we mentor the Afghan National Army, we usually have Fridays off. Yahooo!!!

Afghan efficiency...regardless of safety or loss, they will move as much as possible as quick as possible.

Oh yes, Coca Cola is here, as you can see. I guess Afghans have embraced our sugar water.

Here's a video of us driving in Kabul and some of the hazards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPOx7qAmSLk

Afghan flower garden at Afghan National Army

The Afghan Colonel here is very proud of his rose & flower garden. It’s much bigger than the picture shows.

The Colonel wanted to get a picture with the flowers. This is one of 44 pictures he wanted us to take with the flowers. He wanted my memory card to take to downtown Kabul and get copies made. I offered him a CD-R with all the pics and he was happy.

Here is a weight lifting fitness center in Kabul. They are making progress here.

Meeting with Afghan National Army in Kabul.

We had a great time!

Afghan National Army in training.

They really enjoy having their picture taken. They usually find you and ask for a copy of it. I guess they don’t take as many pictures here. Most of them are wearing their new uniforms, which they really lik

New condos in Kabul. They are really beginning to prosper!

It almost looks like a regular city with these condos and if you don't look out the window of the vehicle at the donkey pulling a cart :)