10 recently published experiences http://www.hereorthere.com/countries/afghanistan en-us It is very rare that you see something with your own eyes, and when you take a photograph of it, it looks the same. This is definitely the case with Band-a-mir Lake, one of the most intsensely blue bodies of water I have ever laid my eyes on. Band-a-Mir is actually one lake within a chain of many in a mountain region a few hours drive from Bamyan, in northeastern Afghanistan. Bamyan is famous for the buddhas that were destroyed by the Taliban in April 2001. But if you make it Bamyan, the next question will always be, "Are you going to Band-a-mir?" We were in Bamyan, and we decided that we were going to answer yes to that question. Loading the cars up early in the morning we drove the 3.5 hours, through small villages, and vast expanses of nothingness except random tanks and grazing sheep. Like an oasis, the first lakes in the chain rose up out of the desert. Bāmīān, Afghanistan Charlotte Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:22:41 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/charlotte/experience/1468 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1468 It was when I saw the boat pull up to the shore and out piled a gaggle of women covered head to toe in black and blue burqua’s that I knew that this wasn’t any ordinary day out at the lake Kabul, Afghanistan Charlotte Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:51:40 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/charlotte/experience/1464 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1464 Living the life of an expat in Kabul can be somewhat restricting, so when given the opportunity to break free of the armed guards and barbed wire fence, one does with great gusto. It was a Saturday and we decided that with summer upon us, a group of Brits would set off in a mini van and explore the Panjshir with a picnic. Using the local tour guide company we drove towards Jabal Saraj, which was the front line of the war in Kabul in 2001. It was here, among ramshackle stands selling diet pepsi, dusty vegetables and meat carcasses buzzing with flies that we picked up our cook. He was a short elderly man who careened around the vegetable stands picking up the orders of the vegetables that we called out from the van so we would be ensured the local price. “Yak kilo limu (one kilo lemon, char kilo tomato (4 kilo tomato), gusht? (meat?) We better make that char kilo too.” The cook with his pressure cooker and pots and pans crammed into the front seat and we made our way along the... Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan Charlotte Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:54:48 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/charlotte/experience/1463 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1463 There was a man, a legend really, in Afghanistan who was killed on September 9th, 2001, by an assassin posing as a photographer from Belgium. This man's name is Massoud, and if you ever go to Afghanistan, his image will be burned into your brain. Ahmed Shah Massoud was an engineering student turned military leader who was responsible for driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the nickname "Lion of Panjshir". There are gigantic posters of him everywhere in Afghanistan. Taxicabs have his photo pasted on their windscreens. To Afghans, especially those who live in the Panjshir valley, this lion is their king. Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan Charlotte Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:13:12 +0000 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/charlotte/experience/1281 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1281 It was August in Northern Afghanistan, and it was absolutely unbearably hot. The radio station I was working at had pretty much ground to a halt because of the soaring temperatures. When a fellow Canadian phoned me and said that the Afghan Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development had just arrived into our little village of Maimana, and had offered us two seats on his junket into the rural remote village of Almar, I jumped at the chance. It isn't everyday that you are offered the opportunity to accompany a group of Afghan Ministers! Almār, Afghanistan Charlotte Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:16:28 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/charlotte/experience/763 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/763 When the giant Buddha statues in Bamyan, Afghanistan were destroyed by the Taliban in April, 2001, it literally left a gaping hole where centuries of history once resided. The Buddha's in Bamyan signified an Afghanistan of centuries ago before it became under such strict Islamic e had spent some years living in Canada and was very keen on developing the tourism opportunity of Bamyan. “I envision ski mountains, skating rinks, - ice hockey in Afghanistan! People will come because of the famous Buddha's. It is a sure way of creating interest.” We stood at the base of the Buddha's and stared up. The gaping caverns were massive, and I couldn't believe that we were actually going to climb up inside of them. Abdullah led us up the windy, steep and dusty staircase that led us to the very top of the Buddha, now peering down into an empty hole, down to the ground that we had been standing on less than an hour earlier. Vertigo kicked in once I saw the distance the small pebbles at my fee... Bāmīān, Afghanistan Charlotte Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:09:01 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/charlotte/experience/331 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/331 Equestrian events were not on my to do list while visiting Afghanistan, but that was exactly where I found myself one Friday morning in the town of Maimana. Giant sand dunes provided seating for the hundreds of men and boys who had turned out to watch Buzkashi – the national sport of Afghanistan. Meymaneh, Afghanistan Charlotte Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:43:49 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/charlotte/experience/257 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/257