Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Street Racing in Kabul?

Took a little road trip through town today, and spent several hours riding to and from my destination in traffic... We fortunately were able to avoid running into or over any of the vehicles, animals or people along the way.

Cars, motorcycles, trucks, bikes, and donkey carts all constantly jockey for position on the road.
In the USA, if there is a slowdown or blockage in the roadway, we typically stop and wait for a few moments if we can't safely bypass them. It's not that way here...

Too much traffic on your side of the road? Try the other side!

These people drive as if they're in a race to the finish... Motorcycles and bikes weave in and out of the cars, off and on the roadway to work their way through traffic. Cars weave in and out of the trucks and buses!
Might often seems to make right as the biggest vehicles and most aggressive drivers tend to break through the crowd... Though I personally don't like to drive this aggressively, the truck doesn't belong to me, so I'm willing to push it a little. ;-)

The people behave in almost the same manner. They walk out into traffic all the time... I haven't seen a stop light or a pedestrian crosswalk anywhere so far, although the police do provide a little bit of direction at traffic circles or checkpoints.

Actually, for today's trip, I was just a passenger, so I had time to take numerous photos along the way. I'll share a little about the people and things that are constantly moving on and along the roads in addition to the vehicles..

Many children do attend school, so in the morning or afternoon you may see them walking to or from school. In some parts of the country, they do their best to keep their girls uneducated, but we saw both boys and girls along the road today.
Boys often wear similar clothes to the adults, but the girls often wear shiny or colorful outfits, Usually with a scarf or some type of head wrap...
The adult men wear a variety of clothes, mostly with a different and more traditional style, but it's not unusual to see men and young men in jeans or more contemporary clothes. Even saw one Afghan Man in an United States Air Force Physical Fitness Training Uniform this morning.
Women are almost always wearing some type of scarf or head covering, and many wear a black or blue burka. It's kind of amusing to see a woman in a burka, trying to see out of the little mesh portion. I'm always careful driving past them, since I wonder if they can see me!

Often, we'll see goats, sheep, donkeys or cows walking along or on the road, sometimes a small 5 or 6 year old may be driving a herd of sheep with a little stick or brush.
Various types of carts are also out and on the road each day, with people selling vegetables, fruits, sodas and cigarettes.
I'll write a little more soon about the lives that many of the people lead and their homes. And the shopping, don't forget the shopping...

2 comments:

Deb said...

Yeah... don't forget the shopping!

I'm enjoying reading all about your experiences over there. It's fascinating. Keep them coming!

Stay safe.

HelenRappy said...

Mike, you truly are a gifted story teller! I do love your writing and I feel like I am there with you because of the great details that you share. What an incredible experience you are living through.

Keep up the great work Mike!!

xoxo
Helen