A & B visit H

Abby and her husband Ben have come and gone, my precious guests. The prospect of their visit was the first time I'd experienced what I imagine the rest of my family experiences on a regular basis - anxiousness at having family members in Afghanistan. I'm grateful to say they are now back in Delhi decompressing and dressing (relatively) immodestly.

Having guests was an excellent excuse to see the country. We traveled from Kabul to the far west and most prosperous city in the country, Herat, then to the easternmost and end of the earth, the Wakhan corridor. The number of times our plans changed emphasized the fact that there is nil infrastructure for tourism, and consequently moving around the country is expensive.

In Herat at the mausoleum of a culture-making queen of old, the doorman sitting inside the park couldn't be bothered to unlock the gate for us, and a firebrand dismissed us from the gorgeous mosque because we were not there to pray. We bought a lot of carpets. Our airplane charter to the Wakhan was canceled the day before we were to fly so instead we spent five days en route. I outfitted our trek, hiring all our drivers and horses privately, packing in all our own food, and doing all the translating (a bit of a milestone if I do say so myself).

Abby and Ben said they imagined the sort of vacation they could have had in Thailand for the same cost, but decided not to linger there. This trip wasn't about massages or delicious food. It was the gift of fellowship. It was about flea bites and canned mince over rice. They came here against the advice of Abby's CU travel clinic nurse who asked her if she wanted to die and didn't she know we're at war, and entered into my life.

I'll put photos up, but they will pale in comparison to the 55 roles of film the two of them took. Check their blog (linked at the right) over the next few weeks.