"Inshallah" (God Willing). The famous Arabic term used in most Muslim cultures to express the beliefe that if something will happen (or not),then it is surely the will of Allah (God) and out of our hands. With this approach in our minds,we set about trying to get to the mythical land of Afghanistan through the famous Khyber Pass from Pakistan. A place of history, battle, and harsh climates, the Khyber pass is the most famous and legal border crossing between the two countries. From Pakistan, one has to enter the tribal belt. A no mans land region where Pakistani state law gives way to Tribal law. A harsh and unforgiving code of conduct and morality that has seen the cause of endless bloody conflicts for hundreds of years based on honour and upholding honour,rules the region. For this reason, foreigners entering the region must go with an armed guard (for token security).

So began our trip to Afghanistan,through the famous Khyber Pass. We entered Afghanistan through this border. This being Asia,we had to run the gauntlet of bureaucracy in Peshawar (Pakistan) to obtain permission from the Khyber political agency. Anyone who knows Indian subcontinent travel will understand how frustrating it is,and we faced some officals with ego's bigger than Everest. Yet after a couple of hours and run arounds up stairs, downstairs, and interviews, we got the much needed signatures for our trip through the Khyber. We hired a taxi to the border, bringing along our token armed guard to keep our safety (he seemed quite unprofessional though).An enjoyable drive ensued through twisty terrain and many examples of the historical sites such as the railway tunnels built by the British Raj and old forts.Along the way, we both fired the armed guard's Ak-47 just for the experience. The border town was a chaos of hustle and bustle in terms of transport. Along with the heat,it made for a confusing start, but one that did not feel dangerous.The people were just very very eager to get us into their taxi or bus or minibuses to Kabul. Money changers sat waiting in the sun to change any currency into the new Karzai Afghani notes. For the next 7 hours or so,we drove through scenery which was far superior to the Khyber. Dirt tracks through gigantic cliff gorges in which tanks lay littered from past conflicts, and the shadows of the morning sun made the scenery surreal. This was our first sight of Afghanistan on the way to Kabul. The country which is slowly (very slowly) lifting it's Veil once more after more than 20 years of defence against Soviet invasion, Civil war between tribes, and the fundamentalist Taliban movement.