Kabul is the 5th most fastest growing city in the world. Despite almost 40 years of ongoing war, the Afghans are full kindness, optimistic and visionary. Like any other unrest state countries, we were warned by almost everyone we met to always be careful, this and that place are not safe for us, do not go there, there are a lot of pickpockets and snatchers around. While we believe that are true and we also believe those bad people just made up of less than 10% of the populations like in other countries in peace.
2 weeks before we landed in Kabul, there were 2 major terrorism acts took place. One in Intercontinental Hotel where 4 Americans were among those killed and the other was in city centre near the street market which killed almost 95 people and injured another 150s. Before that, situation in Kabul almost came to peace and safe, but since then, the security concern arose and it is considered the worst time in Kabul by Kabuli themselves, what more to visit Kabul by foreigners like us.
We took the courage to stroll around the city centre and even to the exact point of the bomb blast near the market to see on our own eyes the effect of the incident. Most of the affected shops already installed their new glasses and resume to their daily business as usual and some are still badly damaged where we can see the effect of the blast. Windows shattered, the steel frames bent, and the wall were blackened by the smoke from the fire in the blast.
We were amazed that people just strolled around the city centre and all shops opened as usual like there were nothing happened before. They trades and bargains, laughter in the air, traffic jams as always, restaurants were full with hungry Kabuli looking for Kabuli palau, street market full of fruits, vegetables and meat.
For us, we might think that, we are in war, better stay at home and be safe. However, Afghans as any other people affected by the war like those in Malaya before, have already fed up with the situation they are in right now. No point of being scared anymore, if anything going to happen, it eventually will happen. Death will eventually come to us at some point, but we have family need to be fed. They better get moving and work.
The streets are full with Afghan polices, enforcing strict security checks around Kabul. During our 1 week stay in Kabul, the Afghan Intel has neutralised two suicide bomb attempts, one in Ministry of Energy and Water and the other one near Ministry of Interior Affairs.
Anywhere we walked around, those who recognised us as foreigners will ask where we work. Instead, we told them that we are visiting Afghanistan as tourists and that really shook them because they knew that there are quite a number of foreigners in Kabul to work, but as tourist? Really? In my opinion, Kabul is quite unsafe for travel, but as long as we keep low profile and avoid any big gathering, we should be fine.
As for Kabuli, another day another dollar.
