Despite the best of preparations, we made it to Kunduz, but no farther. Read tomorrow’s post as well to find out why.
DUSHANBE — I spent most of Wednesday evening packing for my trip to Feyzabad, Afghanistan where I am in sh’Allah going to meet with the German Police instructors we are using to deliver the basic training program to Afhgan Border Police from our three Border Crossing Points. This trip has taken an inordinate amount of time to plan — and still has many rough edges — but is finally about to happen.
Tomorrow morning, I will leave by road with our translator and driver in our beat-up Rav4. We’ll leave Dushanbe at 6:00 AM and hope to be at the border by 9:00. With luck, and a little persuasion provided by a colleague who has made some calls to friends in the Tajik border force, we will be allowed to cross the brand-spanking new bridge and be able to get to Kunduz in time to board a UN Humanitarian Air Service flight departing from there at 12:10 PM. By 1:40 or so, I should be on the ground in Feyzabad. From there, the plan is a bit … loose.
I was hoping to stay in the German Army PRT base, but there’s no room at the Inn. I have not been able to find anyone with contacts in Feyzabad to help me secure accommodation at a local guesthouse, so I will have to be resourceful when I arrive. Worst case scenario, I will sleep in the tent that has been erected for the ABP students just outside the defensive perimeter of the German camp. If it’s good enough for them, it should be good enough for me. Unfortunately, the current course will be over by tomorrow afternoon, so the tent will be empty. No one to mount a security watch but me. I guess I’ll have to sleep with one eye open.
I also don’t have a translator or vehicle once I get to Feyzabad. I am hopeful I’ll be able to hitch a ride with a UN vehicle or hire a taxi to take me up to the German base. At most, it should be about 4 or 5 km, so I’ll wear my walking shoes.
After a couple of days in Feyzabad, I’ll reboard the UNHAS flight and head to Kabul for some more meetings. I’m hoping to knock on enough doors to secure instructors and resources — or more realistically to at least open up a dialogue with potential providers — for our training programs planned for the first two quarters of 2008. I’m looking forward to being back in Kabul.
What to pack for adventure?
I was hoping to travel very light on this trip as I’m likely to be carrying everything I pack, at least while I’m in Feyzabad. However, the uncertain nature of my stay in Feyzabad has added a few extra items to my kit. For the gear heads out there, here is a list of what I’ll have:
Day Pack
I’ll have my Targus laptop back pack with my very small Dell X-300 laptop, power cord and travel plug converter as well as my notebook, some hard copy files, a copy of our training plan and contracts for signing with the German police so we can reimburse their costs for the training. Also in the Day Pack:
- Sunglasses, cleaning cloth
- I-pod nano (new type)
- Digital camera
- Thuraya satellite telephone
- Garmin e-trek Vista GPS
- small swiss army knife
- meds: Advil, Sudafed, Benydril, Gravol, anti-malaria
- Purelle handcleaner
- Beige pull over light jacket
- US Army poncho liner
- 1 litre water bottle
- 6 granola bars
- Outside pocket full of wrapped candies for the kids
Carry Bag
I’ve also got a small blue carry bag stuffed full of things:
- 2 t-shirts
- 1 golf shirt in case I need a collar for something in Kabul
- 1 pair of reversible cargo pants
- 2 pairs of socks
- 2 pairs of underwear
- 10 UNDP-EC BOMBAF project ball caps as giveaways for the instructors in Feyzabad
- MEC gore-tex shell jacket
- MEC fleece jacket
- Trauma Kit including field dressings, gloves, major wound kit, bandage kit, etc.
- Survival Kit including 6 granola bars, fire starting kit, water filter, glow sticks, strobe marker, compass, whistle, emergency blanket, etc.
- 2 liter collapsible water bottle
As for dress, I’m wearing my standard look-like-a-civilian but be prepared like a soldier outfit:
- Beige ball cap with civilian resort logo
- T-shirt
- Green fleece sweater
- Beige chino pants (that are now at least 3 sizes too big for me, the food here is that good!)
- yes, also underwear and socks!
- My veteran army desert combat boots from back in the day
- cell phone with international roaming
- Spyderco pocket knife
- SOG multi-purpose tool and Mini-maglite in a belt holder
- Collapsible baton in a belt holder (handy for rabid dogs, muggers or abductors — hey, better to be shot than abducted, no?)
Also de rigeur are passport, UNID (they finally made me one after I asked if they had a sample then insisted they use it for me) and about $1,300 in cash distributed in bits to various places.