No shortage of oddness in Kabul

I thought I would share a couple of amusing snaps from the past week in Kabul. It's only in these kinds of countries where you would see such things, I feel.

Firstly, we have a woman travelling in the boot of a car. Clearly not happy with the prospect of having the boot locking her inside, she opts to hold it open, no doubt tiring her right arm significantly. As we approached from behind, we saw that there was also a kid or two in the boot with her, not to mention uncountable others stuffed inside the car.

The next one was taken by a colleague in the 4th floor toilets at the Ministry of Finance. It is a urinal on the windowsill - out of use, of course. There isn't any barrier between it and the outside world; I fear a sudden collossal gust of wind may dislodge it and send it crashing to the streets below. Being floored by a flying urinal would not be a good way to go...

It's these kinds of things that provide bursts of amusement when living in a place like Kabul - and the way they are so unexpected make it even more so.

Exploring Siquijor

The highlight of the Philippines this time was the island of Siquijor, a 1 hour speedboat ride east of Negros. This small island is famous for witchcraft and sorcery - many Filipinos won't go there - but sadly I didn't come across any of it. It was stunningly beautiful, with green paddy fields, turquoise waters and idyllic village scenes. I wouldn't say it was on a par with Palawan, where I went two years ago, which was truly paradise, but utterly beautiful nevertheless.

I stayed at Villa Marmarine, a hotel owned by a Japanese couple, Dagman and Marmarine (their nicknames). After retiring from life in Japan and abroad (Dagman was an elementary school teacher, and worked at the Japanese schools in Kuwait, Lebanon and the Netherlands too) they decided to emigrate to somewhere cheaper and more exciting, and ended up in Siquijor. Their hotel is experiencing a boom in business, and it's well-deserved. They have a series of cottages with private verandahs, overlooking the sea. There are Japanese touches and on the menu they had some Japanese dished too. It felt quite bizarre find this pocket of Japaneseness, including sashimi and hotcakes (pancakes)) in this small island in the Philippines.

Days were spent hiring a motorbike and exploring the island, stopping off at beaches, villages, waterfalls and generally whatever else took my fancy. This freedom to go wherever I wanted, whenever, was just the perfect antidote to the contained life in Kabul. I realise that greenery and open spaces have a very calming effect on me.

 

My first sunset seen from Villa Marmarine

 

Kalasua beach - not a soul in sight

Filling up with gasoline

A typical road in Siquijor

Roadside stall

Cambugahay Falls

 

Paliton beach

With Dagman (aka Toshio Harada) at his hotel, Villa Marmarine.