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Fondest memory: In large areas of Kabul destroyed buildings are part of the landscape...
Reconstruction is going on very slowly, and you can see very clearly the signs left from all the wars that stroke the country.
Some of these buildings are used anyway ... and often they host schools...

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Favorite thing: Men in uniform and Women clad in burkhas is still a common sight.
The uniforms come from the various militia and the warlords that still are all-powerful in much of Afghanistan. Its not easy to change that i guess, since Afghan society is very `tribal' in essence. The number of uniformed local militia to be seen on the streets is much lower than what i saw in 2002 though.
The women- one way to look at it is to say that they are still dressed in `burkhas' and thats not `liberation', but then again, i think somewhere its a cultural thing as well. As long as you see the women out in the streets and doing their thing, its a positive sign. Given time, things should change hopefully.
One lady we chanced upon on our first trip, when things were still pretty unsettled, stood in the middle of a busy road with her daughter-in-law, surrounded by curious men- onlookers, and gave us a long and highly interesting interview. That was quite an experience.
There are stories abound about women who had risked their lives while fighting for their rights during the taleban times. Today there are signs of change and there are a lot many women stepping out, gaining employment and many women feature in the Afghan parliament as well.

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Favorite thing: Cellular service had begun in Kabul when we were there. AWCC is the local service provider there. However, it did not extend anywhere beyond the city itself (though i believe things have changed now), and so its advisable to have a sat-phone handy if you are tavelling and need to be in touch.
The system used there is GSM, though the kind of sim cards that i know were no use there. They seem to use something thats closer in size to a credit card...

Also, cybercafes were begining to show up in Kabul.

Fondest memory: http://www.afghanwireless.com/

Favorite thing: When coming to Afghanistan you will see Toyotas everywhere. It seems like 30% of the vehicles there are Toyota Corollas and 25% are Toyota Land Cruisers if not a higher percentage for both of them. At one point all taxis were Corollas. A lot of these vehicles are smuggled into the country. After 911 Toyota became uneasy being associated with the Taliban and Al-Qaida because all images of them shown them driving Toyotas. A Toyota spokesperson, Wade Hoyt, said "It is not our proudest product placement, but it shows that the Taliban are looking for the same qualities as any truck buyer: durability and reliability."

Fondest memory: People of all sorts work very hard for the reconstruction... but mostly to survive...
In Kabul shops and offices open very early in the morning even 7 or 6 am... and they close late at night 10 or 11 pm !

Favorite thing: Bonjour from Islamabad,

Some 2 hrs drive to Torkham from Peshawar and 5 to 7 hrs drive to Kabul from Torkham border through Mahiper, a beautiful trip especially Sarobi area and try some fish there from the reservoir.

Ciao,

Favorite thing: I did this at least once a day- often in the middle of a busy marketplace- set up my tripod on top of the vehicle and shoot from there...
Looked a bit awkward to those who noticed obviously, but that was the best way to shoot in relatively crowded places...

Favorite thing: Take a tour of Kabul with someone who has lived there for a while, preferably someone who remembers it before it was the shell it is now. It will be fascinating to see through their eyes and will open yours to see what people love about this place.

Fondest memory: I love this nation, more than i can describe in words, but by far my favourite memory is waking up at 6 am in Kabul and taking a deep breath of the scented air and realising that i was actually there after years of dreaming about it! I miss Afghans, their joy and hope for life and their hospitality, sadly this is so obscured by the harshness and oppression of their lives very few people get to see it.