a bike ride through Shāre Naw park

I took these photos back in the beginning of November 11' and I just came across them sitting on my computer. I thought that some of them were worth sharing. I remember the day I took these, I was both bored and stressed out - and decided to take a bike ride to Shāre Naw park, which coincidentally is located in Shāre Naw (new city). I came across a group of eager young Afghan boys playing soccer (football), and as soon as they noticed I had a camera the usual Afghan 'pose-off' began. One thing I noticed quickly upon coming to Kabul is that young kids here love to get their photo taken while posing in various ways. I also got some shots of a pick-up soccer game on the basketball court, which I doubt is hardly used for basketball. Anyways, nothing too special but like I said, I thought they were worth sharing.

awesome layover in Cairo

So. It's been a pretty long time since I posted something on here - 4 months and 4 days actually.  I'm back in Kabul, just arrived about 2 days ago. 

On my way over I was fortunate enough to have a quick stop in Cairo.  Originally the plan was to visit for about 5 days or so, but do to usual problems with Visas and the USPS, my trip had to be postponed - so I only had about a 20 hour stop in Egypt.  Luckily my amazing friend and well known revolutionist, Salma, was an awesome host and had a pretty sick day lined up. 

First we went to see the Pyramids of Giza (touristy yes, but I had to); then a dope lunch from a corner shop; a guided tour of Old Cairo by another friend (who happened to be a scholar of Egyptian history), a quick stop at a cafe, and finally an amazing display of traditional Egyptian music and dance at cultural center.  Probably the most amazing 20 hour layover anybody could ask for. Below are some of the highlights from the day - much looking forward to stopping by again and thanks again to Salma and all her friends for such a cool visit.  More from Kabul soon to come...

Panjshir Valley

On a whim, some of us decided to head to the Panjshir Valley for a day trip.  Not to get too into a history lesson, Panjshir is famous for both its beauty and because it was where Ahmad Shah Massoud held off the Soviet Red Army during the Soviet occupation in the 80s.  If you don't know about Massoud and his story, it's definitely worth a quick google.

Panjshir is about 2 1/2 hours or so outside of Kabul, and it was definitely cool to get outside of the city for a day, especially somewhere as beautiful as Panjshir.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves - but the photos don't even come close to giving justice to the awesomeness of the Panjshir Valley.