Afghanistan is worth the trouble. Visit people living
in adobe houses powered by car batteries that are recharged everyday
in town. Knock on any door and be offered dinner and a place to sleep.
Listen to stories about the Taliban; people are open to talk. In Herat,
everyone gets around in horse and buggy taxis. Women shuffle by in
light blue burqas. Men don turbans and drape blankets around their
shoulders. It won't take much imagination to feel like an 18th century
explorer.
We poured over UN security reports and email postings
on Lonely Planet's Thorntree before we decided to visit. Then we walked
across the border from Iran...
Highlight: See buzkashi, a form of polo played
with a headless goat carcass, possibly the most exotic sporting spectacle
on earth.
