Kabul - the crazy city

The last few days we have been enjoying the sites and sounds of Kabul. It has left an impression on me, of a vibrant but a little crazy city. We have seen a number of things including the Shah's old palance a massive and grand old building that now stands ruined on the Western Outskirts of the city, the National Museum looted and destroyed by the Taliban, the Zoo - with its rag tag assortment of slightly depressing animals and street urchins, The Bird Market - that seems to have been here for a thousand years with it's tiny winding streets and ancient architecture and the Omar Mine museum - a surreal place where a substantial collection of mines and other weapons from the wars that have ravaged Afghanistan for the last 25 years are kept. But it is the driving around that is the craziest. Our collective Dari (the local dialect) spans about 7 words so directions and locations take some explaining and often end up being wrong. For example the Museum for some reason ended up being Zoo. And trying to get from place to place involves calling a friend who works here on the mobile - him passing the mobile to his local work collegue - us passing the phone to the Taxi diver and the chinese whispers that ensues mean we never quite get the place or directions exactly right. But its all part of the fun. Also part of the fun was 3 load explosions we heard while at the Zoo. It sounded too much like some sort of rocket attack - but in fact it was the local deming operation exploding some mines the had collected from the hills near Kabul. They announce this in the local press but we had no idea - our obvious anxiety was a source of mirth for the locals. Not part of the fun was an attack on a British Army 4x4 that happened yesterday on the same road we had driven down the day before. But because we drive around in local vehicles and taxis we are not obvious targets. Unlike the military personnel who are not allowed to leave there bases without full combat kit. I think perhaps they should send in an SAS unit as tourists here - riding in local transport - they ceratinly would not be as obvious a target. We are off to Mazar-I-Sharif later today should be fun.