More Drama in Kabul

I'm writing this entry on my BlackBerry as I'm driving through the city. I feel this would be a good time to write as I'm feeling a lot of emotions right now: scared, frustrated, uneasy, nervous and mostly not wanting to be alone.

In light of all the attacks in Kabul today all staff have been evacuated from the office. Its a scary feeling to be driving through the deserted parts of the city, very few cars, lots of security vehicles, not many people moving about as usual. From what we know the Taleban still have hostages inside the ministry, I'm sure we will all be updated in the next few hours. We've been told that there could be more attacks today so as I sit in the car for the first time I am worried and my stomach is uneasy.

I don't write this entry to worry you but write it in hopes that all of you out there reading appreciate the security in living in a safe country. I've been scared a few of my days in kabul but I think of my Afghan collegues who have lived in fear for years. At the end of the day I can always go back home, go to my peaceful existence, but my colleagues have lived, do live and will live with the instability at least for the next few years. This experience has pushed me like no other and for that I'm thankful. And at the end of the day I've really realized how lucky I've been for all 20 something years of my life. If anything say thanks today for the freedom you have and if you have a second wish, pray, do whatever you do and hope
that one day the people in this country have the same luxury that we often taken for granted.

Roshan Billboard on Salang Pass

I will be a better blogger

So since the incident, I've been getting e-mails and messages asking why I haven't written and how I need to be writing more. So from here on out, I promise I will be a better blogger.

We are still home, but will hopefully be able to go into the office tomorrow. The lockdown has been lifted, so we can move around the city, just the office is still being fixed up.

I most definitely have compound-syndrome, I'm going a little crazy being stuck at home. I haven't been outside of the compound since Friday night. We've been working during the days, but have had to entertain ourselves with countless movies, Nintendo wii and Scrabble at the same time.

Otherwise nothing exciting to report. I don't think I've ever been so excited to go to work in my entire life. It's funny how much you appreciate the small-things after being here, walking and being able to interact outside of a confined space.

More later I promise!

I'm okay!

So I officially deserve the award for worst blogger ever, seeing how I haven’t written in months. In my defense however, things have been quite hectic. Things got quite busy at work and then His Highness the Aga Khan announced his visit to Canada. I took a quick trip home for a week, then was back in Kabul for five days, then back to Dubai, then Paris (for another His Highness the Aga Khan's visit), Amsterdam with a friend and then Vancouver for Christmas.

All of the above trips were phenomenal. The Amsterdam trip in particular was great because I reconnected with a childhood friend of mine who I hadn’t seen in years. It was super nice to catch up on our lives, as well as explore the city together. I fell in love with Amsterdam (despite the awful weather) and definitely see myself going back again. Christmas and New Years in Vancouver were also amazing even though much of the holiday was spent maneuvering around the crazy snow. I’ve never seen that much snow in Vancouver EVER.

I’m back in Kabul now and this past week was hectic. We were on high-alert all week. It was the first anniversary of the bombing of the Serena Hotel so we were on lockdown up until yesterday. Today we were supposed to be free to move around the city, I had planned to go into the office and catch-up on some work. I called a friend of mine to plan when we would leave the compound for the office, but received a call just 10 minutes later saying that there had been an explosion right near the office.

I’m sure you have heard about the explosion by now as from what we’ve heard it’s on the news. I’ve seen it online on a bunch of news websites, but I’m not sure if you are seeing any TV coverage (I’d be interested to know if you are, so please let me know – if anyone is still reading my blog – or lack thereof). The explosion was directly across from our office. Many of the windows are no longer there. The roof of the building I work in has caved in on the third floor. There were several people in the office, from what we’ve heard everyone is okay. One of our guards is apparently injured. We are now on complete lockdown. We cannot leave our compound and everyone is a little on-edge. It’s crazy to think that if the explosion had been tomorrow we would have all been in the office working away. Who knows if we all would be okay?

As much as something like this scares me, it makes me realize that we are so lucky to be safe and alive. Some of you are probably thinking “What is she still doing there? Why hasn’t she taken the first flight out yet?” Maybe I’m crazy, but at this point I don’t think leaving is the answer. This country, even though its not mine, needs us more than ever!

Most important thing is that I'm okay - please do not worry!

I will write soon, I promise.

Holy Samosas Batman

Hello from Calcutta everyone.

It's been a journey to get here. In between the insane delays at Kabul airport and bumpy rides through Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri on our 10-person tour bus, for 4 people mind you, we are here in Calcutta to pick up the latest addition to the family. Holy Samosas Batman.

The trip to Agra, even though it was my second this month, was amazing! The Taj Mahal still hasn't lost its 'wow-ness' factor. I was still completely mesmerised and this time I really enjoyed going back and having more time to appreciate what Shah Jan (the fourth Mogul Emperor) built for his wife Mumtaz Mahal after her death. Mumtaz died while giving birth to her 14th child. So consumed by his love for her, he built the Taj Mahal which took over 22 years to complete. Shah Jan's son ended up taking power and imprisoned his father in the Red Fort, from which you could see the Taj Mahal. He strategically imprisoned him in a way that he could only see the Taj Mahal through a mirror. It's said that Shah Jan had a heart attack one way while admiring the Taj Mahal. There is the history lesson for today.

We spent time in Agra also visiting the Red Fort, as well as doing some shopping in the cottage industries. Agra is known for it's marble, so we spent some time seeing how various items such as coasters, tables, wall hangings were created. I also had some time to do more shopping.

We also ventured out to Fatehpur Sikri, about an hours drive from Agra, to see where the third Mogul Emperor Akbar the Great had shifted his capital to. There is a gorgeous palace and mosque which we got to visit. I have to say the history part of this trip has made it very enriching.

Yesterday, we took the four hour drive back to Delhi in our tour bus where we got a chance to quickly stop at Homayoun's tomb where the second Mogul Emperor is buried. Then off to the airport and straight to Calcutta. We got in this morning and have just been taking it easy. We've been on the go for the most part so it's been nice to have a break. Tomorrow we are off to the orphanage to pick up Zaleeya, Zeena and Azeem's new baby girl. Holy Samosa Batman!

Back from the Motherland

So I'm back from India and let me just say it blew my mind. I think everyone, at least once in their lifetime needs to visit India. The people, food, sites, culture, music and of course shopping. I fell in love with the country.

We left Kabul and flew directly to Delhi where we spent the afternoon and part of the next day. We stayed at a small hotel near the train station, nothing really fancy. Think bucket baths! The boys were insistent over the fact that we were going to "be local" as much as possible.

We had a chance to visit the Red Fort, a few mosques, several popular Bazaars and take in a huge part of the city on foot, rickshaw, subway and train. We ended up exploring some unique areas of the city where probably few if any tourists go. There was loads of butter chicken, masala chais, chicken tikha, bhel puri, naan, pakoras to keep us constantly stuffed for five days.

We took the train over to Agra on Wednesday evening which proved to be an interesting experience. We thought we'd deviate a little from "doing it local" and upgrade to a car with air conditioning. It was a good thing we did. After spending over an hour at the train station waiting, and then an extra hour on our train we were happy with the decision.

We spent the next day taking in everything in Agra. By far the highlight was being at the Taj Mahal during sunrise. We were within the first twenty people in. It is probably the most phenomenal structure I've seen in my entire life. We got some great photos. This local guy took a ton of pictures of us on our digital cameras. We also visited the Agra Fort and then spent the rest of the day in local bazaars, just people watching. There was a national holiday while we were in Agra, so we ended up walking into a couple of parades, people dancing in the streets, lots of music and just people, people, people, everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!

We headed back to Delhi on Thursday night and had a quiet dinner. The next couple days were spent shopping (of course!) and visiting some local tourist sites in Delhi - India Gate and Chantar Mantar. We also got a chance to check out the Delhi nightlife and checked out 3 of the most popular nightclubs, the most insane being Fashion Bar, which is hosted by Fashion TV. It made you forget you were India; it made you feel like you were partying somewhere else.

We arrived back in Kabul on Sunday and I'm having serious India withdrawal. In just five days I fell in love with all that is and was India. The good news is that I'm back in Kabul for another 7 days and then I'm going back!!!!! I leave for Delhi next Wednesday and will be spending time again in Delhi, Agra, Fatepur Sikri and Calcutta of course. The next 5 working days are going to be very tough.

Coffee with the FT: His Highness the Aga Khan

Check it out: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2e55dd3a-8b59-11dd-b634-0000779fd18c.html