Page 13a contd.

 Tuesday 1^st Oct

We were off the Mashhad site & on our way by 9AM, for the last

part of the journey in Iran. The driving throughout Iran as a

whole had been a pleasure but we could give no praise for the

scenery just the usual burnt Countryside but the roads had been

good, Children were the only distaste in the whole of the Country

because they just made a nuisance of themselves, if you dont make

conversation with them they became a pest        Banging the Van or

throwing stones. As you move along you see the herds of Cattle

Sheep the Donkeys & Camels but where they get their food in beyond

the Tourist.    You see men laying by the roadside fast asleep

whilst I emagine they should be watching the flocks of Sheep which

sometimes cross the roadway causing Traffic to brake. I might

add that since we left Gorgon 500 miles back we have seen very

little traffic & Ive had easy driving because of this. Very few

Cars are seen along this road, few Lorries Coaches & Army trucks

We reached the Iran border at 1.30 & filled up with Petrol in the Van

also 20 Litres in one Petrol drum plus 5 Litres in each of the 2 small

It is important to mention that you are faced with Toll gates in

Afghanistan & these  are frequent. We were at the Iran border

by 1.30 & the milage here was 7681, there was hardly anyone

here just 3 Cars 2 Lorries & 1 Coach so on we went to the Afghan

Page 13b

border, we passed through & were sent on to Customs. These Customs

Officers are nothing for Afghanistan to be proud of. They have no

uniforms just dirty Baggy clothes & the Offices are just Mud Huts.

We had 6 Forms to fill in 3 each just a lot of Red Tape,

eventually we got on our way, the roads appear to be good &

we reached Herat by 5.30 a distance of 236 miles. The first

Toll was within 20 miles of entering Afghanistan, the Border has

no exchange Currency so you must be prepared to provide yourself

with some Afghan money before you enter the Country. At each

Toll you pay you are given Two Tickets. You are stopped again

at another Tollgate but they take one of the Tickets, then

the next Toll you pay again & get two tickets, the price of

each Toll differs. These Toll gates are the obvious reason

of the very little amount of traffic that you meet along these

roads which is just a two way width. The stop in Herat

was made at the Park Hotel 20 afghanis each person milage

now is 7763.

Wed Oct 2^nd

We spent a very quiet night in fact it was the best night

we had had for quite a while & we were all ready to leave

at 8AM.    The strong winds that were blowing late yesterday

afternoon & evening had deterated [disappeared?] & It was now quite Sunny

with all the signs of a hot day. We learnt from a Canadian

Couple who had travelled this way before that the Exchange

Page 14a

rate at the Border is much below that of the proper Exchange rate

So you are liable to lose quite a bit there. This bears up

with the warning we had had whilst in Mashhad be careful

of all people whilst in Afghanistan. Watch all monies that you

give in payment & if it is always possible give the exact

amount.           Watch the Petrol Pump & see that you get the

full amount you ask for. The Petrol here is as low as

72 Octaine, so fill up before you leave Iran, Tank & all

spare cans.      I had a 5 gallon heavy duty Container

& I had Twenty Litres put into it in Iran & then drew a

line as to where it had come up to. So now whilst in

Afghanistan I asked for Twenty Litres & knew that it had to

come up to that mark. What Petrol you have bought in

Iran you mix with what you buy in Afghanistan this

will improve the Octaine & help you considerably.

Herat is a Town which believes in Colour. The Horses are

used to pull the Taxis. we knew them better as Pony & Trap.

The Horses are covered in Red Balls of Wool, either to

decorate or to keep Flies away as they swing. Military

appears to be Stationed, & are very Polite to Visitors. I saw

Men cleaning the streets by hand & you can emagine that

with all Horse & Donkey Traffic their task was endless.

The men are provided with scrapers & they get on their knees

to scrape the road & keep it free from the dung. Our object

Page 14b

in visiting Herat was to change Currency. Banks open

at 9AM. This money was what we needed to pay for Tolls

Petrol & Exit.   The Gardens of Herat are well kept & flowers

are blooming.             We had to wait for the Bank to change

Currency, why I do not know. Forms had to be filled in

& it took nearly 90 minutes to get this task completed, a

job which any London Bank would do in 2-3 minutes

Herat appears to have hundreds of Men Folk. It is seldom

that you see women. Women are draped from Head to foot in

robes. Faces are covered & they have a visor so that they can

see. Women are the ones who Beg, & you will find that Boys

are beggars.    As you leave Herat &drive along you will

find that some people will try to stop you by standing in the

road. If you ever experience this just sound your horn and

drive straight. If people Flag you down you must never stop

if you do you are asking for Trouble. The main road through

Afghanistan is straight, in fact it is the only road that you can

take we drove along & our stop was made at the [Shozhmag]

Hotel¹ we reached this Hotel at 6.30 & were charged 10 afghanis

per person. This was the Cheapest nights stay we had had on the

whole of the journey. Along the roads we saw herds of Camels

Sheep & Donkeys. the Donkeys are the menace as they stray

on to the road. You do not see the Women folk working like

those in Turkey in fact you seldom see Women at all. We

1.      1 This hotel is somewhere before Kandahar as far as I can work out from the mileage and the fact that Kandahar is mentioned on the next day

Page 15a

covered a distance of 358 miles from Herat to this Hotel.

The Hotel is on your right as you drive from Herat. Our

Milage now reads 8121.

Thursday Oct 3^rd

We had a good nights rest & had every convenience, there were

Tame Deer in the grounds.     Public Transport throughout Asia

appears to be a big problem, & this starts in Afghanistan.

When people want to travel to & from their place of work any form

of vehicle is used to convey them. In fact you will sometimes

see a 10 seater van with about 40 people in it, they are packed

inside, they squat on the roof & even stand on the Bonnet

The road to Kabul at first starts to wind & you climb gradually

but it soon straightens out.     We were Flagged down by a

Motor Caravan & we stopped because it had a British Number

he had engine trouble but in about 20 minutes we got him going

we did not agree to his request to stay with him at below

30/35 M.P.H. in case he had trouble again, so we satisfied

ourselves that now his engine was in working order we

should drive on. Our ambition for today was to get 400

miles on the clock.   There are many Villiages along this

road, & the people live in Mud Huts. We saw a Nomad

Tribe on the move Hundreds of Cattle which included

Camels, Horses Donkeys. The women were riding on the

Camels. This is something I have read about & seen on T.V.

Page 15b

but to see it in reality, it is amazing as you wonder where

they travel to.     One Village that we passed through

appeared to have its Market Day. It was very busy and

Police were there.   Police were numerous in Kandarhar [Kandahar] in

fact we saw more Police there than anywhere else in

Afghanistan.    Road Tolls were numerous & the Toll for

this part of the journey was 50 afghanis & the road surface

was very poor.                I must openly admit that I had no

liking for Afghanistan & was anxious to get away from

this Country as soon as it was possible.  In the whole of the

journey through the Country we saw only three Sign Posts

that stated in English where the road let to. As we neared

Kabul traffic became heavier, Tolls became more frequent.

The City of Kabul is like every other Town or City you reach.

Traffic is everywhere & no one is able to assist you. We found

that the best way to get on to the correct road was to ask

a Taxi driver to drive that way & you follow his Cab. This

method is so much easier than getting lost so many times

Near Kabul you find the Camels are quite Common, as these

Camels & Donkeys are the main method of Transport. I should

say that it has been like this for Thousands of years & it will

be ages before it will be altered.    We arrived in Kabul at

4.30 & finally reached the Hotel which had been recommended

to us by people at Mashhad. The charge for a night stay in the

Page 16a

grounds of the Hotel was 60 afghanis.   I asked for a shower

& had to “book’ this as they had to heat the water this was

20 extra. When taking the Shower the attendant asked for an

extra 10, but I refused him, knowing full well of the advice I

had had about people of Afghanistan.    This Hotel was The

ARIANA HOTEL.           We had travelled 311 miles today & the

Total milage now is 8432.