Back from the Afghan border

Ironic - I was thinking on our flights back this morning from Chitral to Peshawar and then to Islamabad that it would be downhill from here on out, since we had managed to stay safe during about a week on the Afghan border.

When we arrived at our guesthouse in Islamabad, however, management was upset because there had been an explosion near the Islamabad airport within hours of our landing and they hadn't heard from us. Then we found out that there had been a bombing in Peshawar as well.

The whole time we were in Peshawar we heard that the militants were closing in on the city. We met with refugees in the Jalozai camp, which is being shut down by the Pakistani government, rendering homeless tens of thousands of Afghan refugees. Somehow that is supposed to improve the security situation on the border.







This guy to the right is a truck driver waiting to take his cousin's family to Kabul. Prices for this trip ranged between 25,000 and 50,000 rupees. Exchange rate at this point is 65 rupees for 1 US dollar.













One truck driver thought I should try a pinch of his snuff, which is reportedly a good deal stronger than pan, which in turn is a good deal stronger than tobacco-based snuff that people chew in the US.
I've never tried it over here, but whatever is in theirs gives quite a kick. It's pretty bitter, as well. These guys thought the idea of me trying it was hilarious. I was ready to keel over anyway, it being 3 p.m. in the middle of the desert with little or no shade and nothing but coffee for breakfast. Their snuff makes you incredibly dizzy, and I'm sure it affected me more than someone who is used to it, so they all gathered round to see if I'd fall over. Happy to say I did not.









We traveled with several armed guards while in the refugee camps. The military police tried to accompany us as well, but it wasn't difficult to convince them to stay back in the shade.













A former mujehideen fighter describes the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.








From Peshawar we went to Chitral, a beautiful, airy mountain village from which we traveled to two of the three Kalash valleys. That mountain in the distance marks the Afghanistan border, 10 miles away, or a 10-hour hike.