I backpacked in Afghanistan in 2016 and loved it. From my border crossing (after a night in the southernmost Soviet Union Hotel) to the tour of Masar e Sharif, it was amazing. Especially when I got to play football (and score the only “goal” of a 0-0 draw (come on VAR – it was OVER…
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“Bullets for your brain today, but we’ll forget it all again.” – Nicky Wire. Afghanistan continued to inspire and we headed out past the town of Tashkurgan to the province of Samangan. It was here that I got to tour some quite simply epic ruins of an ancient Buddhist Monastery known as Takht e-Rostam. The…
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“Out comes the goalkeeper [Rinat Dasaev no less]. Nat too sure this time. And it’s a goal! Terry Moore taking the credit for that” – Northern Irish commentator (1988) commenting on the night Glentoran were 1-0 up and just a goal away from taking the mighty Spartak Moscow to extra time in Belfast City. My…
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On my tour of Afghanistan, I had quite a few authentic local culinary experiences, in my homestay, at my hotel, in Haibak and in Masar e Sharif. I’ve already written about trying Mantoo in Masar e Sharif and the smoking Shisha on a Saturday night out with the lads. In Central Asia, Plov becomes part…
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