Exploring Afghanistan: Part 3 of 5
Spending around a week in the Northern regions, it was time to head south. I caught the three AM public bus from Mazar E-Sharif to Kabul via the Salang Pass. Crossing the Salang is fascinating, as you pass by small mountain villages that consist of only mud brick structures clinging impossibly to the cliffs. Eventually, you reach the ten-kilometer USSR built tunnel, which is dark and rather scary, as it is slowly collapsing due to lack of funds for maintenance. The light at the end of the tunnel appears after fifteen minutes of darkness. When you finally emerge, you find yourself in a glacial blizzard atop the Hindu Kush Range. From here, it’s all downhill to Kabul.