Just in time, apparently. Thanks for worries, folks, but the IED - or VBIED, reports are all over the map - at the US Army's Camp Eggers, about two blocks from where we were staying in Kabul, happened sometime during our transit to Lahore. ISAF is saying, at least in some reports, there are no casualties.
An hour late out of Kabul - Afghan-good-enough, or inshallah time, take your pick of local cliches - but still enough leeway to make our connection in Islamabad, which was mid-60s; the airport was bureaucratic but modern (there's a waiter in the departure lounge, for gawd's sake), and Lahore more modern still. The I'bad to Lahore jump was on a turboprop, and Emily seemed fascinated by the idea of flying between two blenders, right until she dozed off.
Khalid met us at the airport, negotiated an army checkpoint -- where the gents took official note of our Americanness and where we'd be staying -- and then we were in, well, what looks like parts of Scottsdale, frankly, complete with golf courses. Lahore Cantonment was originally, Khalid says, for retired Army officers, and still has that vibe, though many civilians now live here. Vajiha took us in hand immediately, and after a hot shower, a change of clothes, and dinner (lentils, I ate lentils, what's become of me), Emily crashed, with ointment and ibuprofen for the sore knee; another half-hour or so of chat and I found my eyes drooping as well.
I'm the only one awake in the house, up with the call to prayer -- unlike Kabul, where the muezzins rely on lung power, there's electronic amplification available here. Beautiful chanting - sounded like a bit of competition among the minarets, actually.
Polo match today, and a bit of the city.
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