Things I Won't Miss

I flew back in to Kabul this morning, clear blue skies but the ride was bumpy as hell coming over the mountains and into the bowl of Kabul. Flying over the mountains is always turbulent, I guess because the planes have to skim in low to make the runway. Anyway, this ride was worse than usual. If it weren't for the seatbelt I would have hit the roof on several occasions, and even so, I had to brace myself against the roof with one arm to keep from pitching into the elderly lady seated next to me.

When I landed, I discovered that today was a holiday - again, a holiday NOT on the lunar calendar which could have been planned well in advance, but was announced yesterday evening.

Then the scrum to get out of the airport - dozens of people pushing carts and laden with bags trying to get through the "green line" at customs. I finally ended up climbing over a counter to get through the meelee, two Afghan men tugging backwards on my bag trying to "help" me and garner a tip in the process. Were my luggage lighter, I probably would have started whacking them with it. As it is, the whacking remains just a fantasy.