Kabul Hillside [via flickr]

Kabul is definitely not a place that springs to mind when we build a list of places that we need to see before we depart this world, but if not for the challenges the Afghanis face, it should be:

Kabul is situated on a mountain plain and can be stifling hot during the day, then freezing at night. As the sun begins to set, the temperature drops noticeably and I suggest to Girish we return to the guest house. I’m getting cold and the prospect of walking home in the dark isn’t helping my nerves. At dusk the smog seems to intensify, bathing the streets and the city in an eerie light. The mountains surrounding Kabul act as a trap for dust and pollution, and with diesel generators providing most of the city’s power, don’t come here expecting clean mountain air.

You can read more about one Kiwi’s Photographic adventure in this week’s Sunday Startimes.