A Short Walk

T-Minus 5 Weeks

After much dawdling, I've finalized my travel plans for this summer. In the end, Afghanistan won out over Colombia and Sudan. I was talked out of Sudan by a friend who'd just returned from there on a security gig with Relief International. That left Colombia and Afghanistan. The decision between them was made mostly on a whim. Talking with Hashmat Ansari at Pamir Travels in Fremont, I found out that I could fly into Peshawar for $500 cheaper than Islamabad or Kabul directly. This fit what I wanted, costing less money and with the added romance of going over the Khyber Pass, so I slapped down my credit card and that was that. It's a done deal.

This blog will be devoted solely to this trip. The first few posts will be updates during the run-up to the trip. After that, I hope to post both travelogue entries and photos periodically from within Afghanistan.

Essential task list:

• apply for Pakistan visa
  
• apply for Afghanistan visa
  
• get up-to-date on relevant vaccinations
  
  Non-essential task list:
  
• learn Farsi or, preferably, Dari
  
• let beard grow in
  
• get a tan
  
• get in better shape for trekking, et al
  
• create a packing list
  
  List of possible tasks:
  
• source an appropriate backpack
  
• sell the Canon A300 and buy a Pentax 43WR
  
• buy a 1gb/70 hrs on a single AAA Sony Psyc micro MP3 player
  
• fabricate a press pass (?)
  

Photo: Five weeks out, photo used for both visa applications:

posted by daviduri @ 10:02 AM