Meanwhile, back in Afghanistan

As promised, some remaining pictures we like from Afghanistan, this one from the streets of Bamyan.

Road map

We're having a hard time editing pictures as aggressively as we really ought to. In part that may be because Nepal is so photogenic. Or maybe just because Washington is so un-photogenic, we'll need a lot of the back catalog to keep this journal rolling for the next year or so.

In any case, we're going to shift gears for a bit. Here's the plan on what's to come, to aid in your calculation of whether to bother checking back again soon: First, we'll finish off the Afghanistan stuff. Then, we'll go back to pictures from Nepal. Then India. Then Alaska. Then California. Then Colorado. Then stuff so old we don't even remember what it is. Did we ever post any pictures from Bergen or Oslo, Norway? I don't think so. That should get us through, say, February. By then maybe we'll have taken a few decent pictures of Washington. Or have gone somewhere else interesting.

Anyway, above is one more from Nepal. Back to more like this in a few weeks.

Yak Week, Part 5

Yak Week hurtles to its thrilling conclusion!

Here, the yaks share the spotlight with the dramatic scenery of the high Himalaya. In this case, around 18,000 feet high on what appeared to be a dried lake bed.

I know we've all enjoyed Yak Week, but tomorrow, on to other sights from the Everest Region!

Yak Week, Part 4

Today: Yaks take Manhattan! Or at least, yaks take the modest little villages that the trail to Everest Base Camp passes through.

Fun fact: In Nepalese, only a male yak is called a "yak." A female is called a "nak." Some will thus claim that those referring to all yaks as yaks are doing so in error. Those people are pompous asses. Sorry snobs, but in English, every yak is a yak.

Yak Week, Part 3

This yak was just lying around on the shoulder of the trail, perhaps on guard to make sure only patrons of the adjacent restaurant used the toilet.

I'm not at all sure why in part 1 of Yak Week we said that the yak was "our worst enemy" as well as our best friend, other than that the writer assigned to that piece was literally falling asleep at the keyboard as he tried to compose the post. We've decided to leave the record intact and not revise that entry, but really, we hold no ill will against the noble yak.

Yak Week, Part 2

Welcome back to Yak Week. For your viewing pleasure, please find above another picture of a yak.

Yak trains are something of a fixture on the walking trails of the Everest region. We saw plenty of people carrying heavy loads up the mountains on their backs (about which more later), but clearly those who can are wise to let their yak do the carrying. We regularly passed packs of yaks on the trail, usually in groups of five or so, carrying bags of produce or gear for Everest expeditions. The yaks range from well-shorn to quite wooly, with above examples staking out a sensible middle ground.

Among the more unique souvenirs available at all variety of small shops along the trail were yak bells, which are usually a lot like cow bells, except: you know, for yaks. Upon deciding that acquiring an attractive yak bell on the door would be a prudent anti-theft device for some theoretical future home, we became obsessed with getting a suitable-for-framing picture of the sincerest yak with bell that we could. So we wound up with a lot of yak pictures, and our guide probably thought we were a little crazy for so thoroughly documenting the yak population. This turned out to be a pretty darn sincere yak, whether despite or because of the North Face duffel bag.

Yak Week

So we edited all the pictures from Nepal down and we only have 150 or so for display here. If we ever managed to post every day, that would still be five months or so of Nepal pictures. That's probably too much. Probably. But we are going to try to narrow down to highlight some key themes from our time there.

Anyway, without further ado... a week of pictures of our worst enemy and most beloved friend in Nepal, the yak. Enjoy!

Pictured above: A yak.

Of Nepal: Lukla International Airport

The raison d'etre for our visit to Nepal was a long spell of trekking in the Himalayas. We spent 11 days or so walking from the town of Lukla up to Everest Base Camp and back. I gather that back in the olden days of Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, you had to just start walking in Kathmandu. It is, to put it mildly, a fairly popular walk now, and climbers or trekkers can cut several days off by flying to Lukla.

However, perhaps one reason they didn't think to fly some supplies in to Lukla back in the day is that there really isn't anywhere nearby that is flat enough for long enough to serve as a runway. Luckily, some engineers figured out that if you land your plane going uphill, it stops faster. Contrariwise, if you take off by going downhill, gravity gives you a little boost. So this runway is much shorter than you would typically see even for the small aircraft coming in and out of Lukla, and slanted uphill at a good 10 degrees. And if your plane is just a bit short or long, there's a plunging dropoff at the foot of the runway and a not-insignificant rock wall at the head. (The above picture is taken from the top of the wall, where there's a nice pedestrian walkway that is really the only way to get from one side of the airport to the other.) Seems unlikely to become popular for 747s any time soon, but it was fun for the one landing and one take-off we did while there.

Airport Security

In the flood of 9/11 retrospectives this week, some are taking a close look at whether we have appropriately balanced our heightened security concerns with the principles of liberty on which our nation was founded. To this, I will add this note on airport security outside of the U.S. Authorities in India (no strangers to terrorist attacks themselves) have prohibited boarding an aircraft with firearms, hazardous chemicals, explosives, radioactive materials, "miscellaneous dangerous goods" (which apparently includes knives and cleavers), and coconuts.

Why all airports haven't taken this prudent step, I cannot say. However, I cannot rule out the possibility that it is only due to their thoroughness that none of the flight crew on our flights in South Asia were subdued by blows to the head with a coconut, nor were any innocent bystanders injured by the unpredictable effects of a coconut responding to changes in cabin pressure or flying across the plane during turbulence.

We're sure there's a reasonable explanation, but also sure we can't say what it is. Google searches for various combinations of words like "airport", "security", "India," and "coconut" proved fruitless. Do let us know in the comments if you have any insight.

Nepal Continued

Oh, criminy.

One takes a tactical pause to do some photo editing, then a long weekend out of town, and before you know it, it's been 10 days of silence on the Holla. It wasn't our plan. But we're quite close to having things sorted to regale you all with photos of our various May-through-September exploits soon, hopefully in a pretty regularly posted fashion. Or at least without random week-plus pauses in the middle. Above, a totally random picture from Nepal until we are really truly ready to go.

Sorry. We really do appreciate that you all stop by here and we don't mean to waste your time.

Of Nepal: Pedicabs

Easily the best way to get around town. Sorry, we're still busy moving in, more words soon, maybe.

Of Nepal: More from Kathmandu

The staff photographer failed to buy any flower garlands while we were in the center of Kathmandu.

Of Nepal: Sculpture

Best thing about Kathmandu is that there seem to be little temples or shrines or monuments or religious sculptural things just lying around all over the place. Some of them still obviously active, others perhaps active but also just spots that kids use as jungle gyms or old guys use just to sit on and shoot the breeze. One detail of one such monument, though I have no idea which, above.

Of Nepal: Trash

We met a few people who said they couldn't believe how dirty Kathmandu is. Which maybe, more than anything, demonstrates that Nepal is a swell place to visit for people who have never been to the developing world before. I would put it right in the middle of the developing-world curve for dirt, pollution, trash on the streets, etc. Exhibit A: this woman who I assume did not herself drink enough coca-cola to generate all the plastic garbage in this giant bag of plastic stuff. And assuming she gathered it from the streets, that presumes there is someone paying for recyclables, which isn't bad for the developing world, or even for the U.S., really.

Of Nepal: Sign

My Nepalese is a bit rusty, so I have no idea what this says.

Of Nepal: Dog versus Cow

Starting off our Nepal coverage with a bang... I don't know if there's really more to say about this one beyond "Dog versus Cow." Photograph taken in Kathmandu Durbar Square, the historic heart of the city, filled with dozens of temples, thousands of pigeons, and occasionally, a dog fighting a cow. (The dog and the cow faced off and put on aggressive displays but sadly, in the end, they did not actually fight. At least not while we were present.)

Of Nepal

We have a massive backlog of photographs. And words, I suppose. Since the founders' intent for this blog was mostly to amuse ourselves, and to keep notes about what living overseas was like, we sort of feel obliged to recall the stories that went with these pictures. In rejection of all the blog medium's conventions, we have never prioritized timeliness and are set to explore new frontiers of un-timeliness now.

So. Some time in May, your intrepid correspondents took their fourth of four awesome vacations from Kabul. I will reiterate here these talking points about leave:

1) Yes, we got a lot of leave from Kabul.
2) Embassy management did their best to ensure that the American taxpayers got their money's worth out of us while we were there.
3) But the intent of the leave is so that the civilians who never signed up for any of this years-away-from-the-spouse-and-kids nonsense when they joined the Foreign Service could have several chances to get back and see their families. You can't seriously object to giving people a chance to see their kids, right? Or do you just hate family values?

Since we had no children or spouses back home to visit, we took advantage and visited cool places that are closer to Kabul than they are to the United States.

Thus, our fourth vacation of the year, we went to Nepal and undertook a trek to Everest Base Camp, with some time in India thrown in for good measure. Over the coming days and weeks - more pictures from South Asia.

Surprise: The Holla is Back!

Seven weeks of Home Leave. Seven weeks of Home Leave. I consider myself quite lucky because I'm sure most honest people don't get a seven-week vacation at any point short of retirement. We tried to make the most of it, which included an almost-total internet silence. Limited email, no Facebook, about the standard amount of Twitter (i.e. zero), and no updates on the Holla. Sorry, loyal readers.

Now we're back in Washington, working like a dog for the man. Sort of. In any case, we're ready to attempt a regular publication schedule again, mostly working through a backlog of late Kabul material and Home Leave photos from Alaska and California and Colorado. E.g., above, from Surprise Lake, in the Eagle's Nest wilderness near Kremmling, CO.

Another Tactical Pause

The only thing better than a nice long R&R break is an even longer Home Leave. We're starting ours by wandering off into the wilderness of Alaska, far from telephones, televisions, and internets. We will be hiking and paddling and climbing in the fjords and mountains. We will almost certainly not be posting to the Holla. Once we get back in mid-July, we have stuff to share from Nepal and India, hope to have stuff to share from Alaska, and will also get back to some leftover but worthy pictures of Afghanistan. E.g., the photo above, which we like, and are 90% sure we haven't published here before. Hopefully it will tide our loyal readers over.

Khuda Hafez

So long, Kabul! It was a memorable year for your intrepid correspondents, due in equal parts to the intense policy environment, the nutty living environment, or the series of awesome vacations he was able to take from Kabul. One unexpected thing that all of three of these factors have in common: They were hell on the Holla publication schedule, which slipped from "approaching daily" to "when we get around to it." It did leave us with something of a backlog in the photo department, which will at least be a start in terms of maintaining something vaguely interesting to publish over the next year, which we will spend in less-than-exotic Washington, D.C. In any case, it's not an end to the pictures from Afghanistan yet, but a fond farewell to the country.



Oh, and I added this second picture of kids waving because that last little guy cracks me up. Maybe he just lacks the motor skills to wave, or maybe it's a genuine facepalm.

Of Bamyan: Fashion Plates

Not everyone in Afghanistan is wearing shalwar kameez.

Of Bamyan: Busy Day

Busy day at the Bamyan gas station. Why don't more American businesses have a bed out front for leisure time between customers?

Of Bamyan: Roofdeck

It's late, so we don't have insight to offer, other than to say this is pretty kick-ass for a house made out of mud. Flowering trees and a rooftop lounge? Sign me up. And I have a feeling they're paying less for this than we'll be paying in DC come August.

Of Bamyan: For Sale

Market stalls in front of the Buddha niches in Bamyan.

Of Bamyan: Boredom

This picture reminds me of my favorite line ever in a briefing memo. I know that's a bold statement, briefing memos being a famously electric form of expression. In any case, the line from the briefer about the trip to Bamyan (with all apologies to the author) was: "The day will be anchored by an exciting visit to the local potato cooperative." As in all writing, excising adjectives is generally wise, but sometimes one just has to emphasize the less-than-obvious excitement of a given event.

As previously noted, we think there are kind of a lot of VIP visitors zipping around Bamyan. Exhibit B: This guy, who is apparently less than fascinated by the parade of armored Land Cruisers motoring along the road up the valley. We did, in fact, get to take a nice drive up the valley beyond what I would presume most visitors see, unless everyone who goes to Bamyan stops by the potato cooperative, which this local resident apparently did not find all that exciting.

Of Bamyan: Beneficiaries

The primary intent of the visit to Bamyan was to highlight some of our agricultural support programs. The Ambassador delivered a speech to a potato cooperative, which has benefited greatly from the Afghan government's financing assistance and some USAID-sponsored potato storage facilities. It did inspire one of the weirder requests I have fielded in my career, when the Ambassador asked for someone to find him a potato a few minutes before his speech, for use as a visual aid during his remarks. Afterwards, the gathered U.S. and Afghan officials distributed big sacks of fertilizer to the farmers. We will leave that scenario without further comment, other than to note that many, like the guys pictured above, were pretty happy with the event.

Traffic Cop 2

Still Bamyan, and a much busier intersection than yesterday's picture featured. But a somewhat more lackadaisical traffic cop. I'm sure people in Bamyan would tell you that Alexander the Great built the columns behind him.

Traffic Cop 1

A motorcade full of distinguished visitors is not an unusual sight in Bamyan. Every foreigner in Afghanistan wants to go to Bamyan at some point in their time here. It's peaceful, it's beautiful, it features the niches that were once home of the monumental Buddhas.

Even so, I have to guess that this gentleman, dutifully carrying out his traffic-direction charge on this nearly empty corner, was paying a bit more attention than he normally might were a VIP motorcade not passing by. Either that or he just takes a lot of pride in his work on this not-so-busy corner, and deserves a raise.

We're Actually Back Now

Hey loyal readers:

We took some time off for leave. And then when we got back with exactly 30 days left in Afghanistan. After the modest success of the "100 Days of Latvia" (limiting ourselves to posts about Riga for the last 100 days we were there) we figured we should do a "30 Days of Kabul" to finish out here. And we kept waiting to post until we could come up with a few interesting things to say about life in Kabul. And now we're down to 20 days left in Kabul. So maybe that says it all.

So we're throwing in the towel for now and going with some pictures from our last trip out and about before we left, in scenic Bamyan. Maybe we'll come up with some ideas and do a last-ditch "7 Days of Kabul" or "1 Day of Kabul" as we're packing out. But for the next few days: Pictures of Bamyan! And then after that: Pictures of Nepal and India!

I'm With The Bus

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
We are back from another wonderful R&R trip... but rather than jump into that right now, we're going to attempt to spend our last bit of time here in Kabul blogging about Kabul. So for starters, I think it would not be veering into radical political territory to say this is the best paint job on a bus we've seen in Kabul... or anywhere, which is saying something. (Click the picture to see it bigger if it's too small to read...)

Of Bamyan

Your correspondent went to Bamyan, home of the famous giant Buddha sculptures that the Taliban destroyed (empty Buddha-niche seen above). We took a bunch of pictures. But then we went on vacation without really dealing with them. So, we'll probably be going dark for a couple weeks, and then we'll be back with pictures of Bamyan... or vacation... or something else. Until then!

Kabul Pedestrian

We're off on our final leave of the year, as of tomorrow. We'll see if we manage to get anything else organized for posting... but if not, we'll be back in 20 days.

Brrrrr

Beards of Kabul

Not a great picture... but a great beard, to be sure. (Sorry all, we'll be in pure photoblog mode for the next few weeks.)

Seen in Kabul

As with most pictures, presented in Junior Hollavision -- i.e., shot out of a the window of a moving armored SUV rather than a full-on MRAP.

Chicken-Related Capitalism in Kabul, 2 of 2

(Ok, the guy in the foreground is selling radishes, although he doesn't seem to be trying all that hard. But in the background? Live chickens for sale. (Yes, we're stretching at this point for any appearance that we're not just posting totally random and not-that-great pictures from Kabul.))

Chicken-Related Capitalism in Kabul, 1 of 2

Another Wedding Hall

Seen in Kabul. The wedding hall thing here is sort of like a relatively cheap version of Vegas. They couldn't afford the pirate ship or the volcano but in a city that is 95% single-story mud-walled houses, a big building with a shiny blue glass facade stands out, and this crazy crescent moon sculpture is a clear attempt to take it to the next level. One of these days, when they lift the travel restrictions, The Lovely Katherine and I will certainly be renewing our vows at the City Star Hall.

Of Kunduz: Literacy Classes

Adult men learning to read and write at a mosque in Kunduz.

Of Kunduz: The Chickens

Sometimes, when you're in Kunduz, you see a truck brimming with chickens, and yet you're in the back seat of the car, but how can you not take a picture and publish it on the internet anyway? Or so I hear...

Somewhere in Kunduz

Of Kunduz: The University of Kunduz

...and their ferocious guard dog.

Of Kunduz

Coming this week: A bunch of pictures from Kunduz, in the tranquil and ever-peaceful North of Afghanistan. No promises that there will be intriguing anecdotes.

From Above

Outskirts of Kabul

Driver

We actually have kind of a backlog of nice pictures to show you. But we're also really dragging because we're busy at work and trying to spend our time outside of work with all the fantastic people we share our little compound with here in Kabul. So, anyway, here's a picture of a guy who works as a driver for someone who was at the Farmer Day event in Logar. I don't remember who he works for. Wish I'd had the real camera and some fast glass along for this one, but when you're working the day job you have to deal with the point-and-shoot sometimes.

In any case, don't give up on us. We'll try to pop more pictures up as we can.

Third of Three Nawruzes

A couple days after actual Nawruz, your correspondent attended a lunch event marking Nawruz at Bagram Airfield with a number of notable Afghan government officials, and a couple notable Americans. I wasn't actually sitting next to General Petraeus, but I was sitting next to the guy assigned to hold his cap while he's at a lunch. It's pretty glamorous over here.

P.s. no endorsement of "Standing Rock Energy Drink" implied or intended.

One More Picture from Farmer Day

I suppose these guys are the District Governor's guards or helpers or something. They were standing behind the group of distinguished speakers, mostly looking not that interested in what was happening. Of course the crowd of gathered farmers didn't look all that interested either.