Visiting The World's Most Dangerous Country 🇦🇫

when I was recently unceremoniously thrown into a siberian prison cell I said to myself Benjamin if you ever get out of here promise yourself one thing you will never ever ever visit a dodgy country ever again and then I was released and a mate of mine called me up and said Mr bald do you want to come to Afghanistan and meet the Taliban and I said sure why not let's meet that friend hello Ben are we gonna be okay in Afghanistan I can't guarantee it mate but let's go anywhere he can't guarantee it but let's go anyway all right let's go meet the Taliban which images spring to mind when you hear the name Afghanistan I'm guessing not the most positive ones it is after all a nation that seems to have been at war with itself and Outsiders for Millennia but the foreign force is packed up and left in a humiliating Retreat last year and the Afghans in the form of the Taliban are in charge of their own country once again and so I decided to use this no doubt brief period of stability to go and see places that tourists have not been able to visit for two decades and try to understand this nation of Warriors a little bit better join me in Afghanistan we've arrived for our flight which is Khmer which apparently is one of the most dangerous airlines in the world in terms of safety records they're banned from Europe there's only an hour and a half to Kabul so I think we'll be okay thank you Ben wanted a window seat so he could like film the views but he's um he's got the only bloody window he's got the only seat with that window look at him where's your window then yes [Music] foreign river that was crossing the past by Alexander the Great his army on their March towards India and then much much later many British explorers such as William orcroft Alexander Burns we are now flying over Afghanistan national airport they're very Celsius well the airport is certainly much calmer than it was a year ago when there were people clinging to the undercarriages of planes just to escape I am nervous we have made it through security a lot of questions they didn't want to let us through so like surely you're going onwards to Dubai you're not actually stopping in Afghanistan but we are we're the only two people as you can see actually got off our plane here everyone else is going on with but look what we're greeted but oh wow we've got a lovely I love Afghanistan sign and because we're in Taliban country we've got the flag of the talibs wow welcome to Sharia law Afghanistan you know what that means no music no alcohol and no thinking about girls anyway this man who works here is so shocked that we're leaving the airport he thinks we're in a Transit flying to Dubai and I'm like no we're going into Kabul he goes no no no not Kabul it's okay okay tourism holidays hello my friend karate he can't believe that we're actually stopping here in Kabul the guy made a phone call and he said yes you can go to Kabul if you want to I don't really want to but Taliban Flags yes oh brother nice one salaam alaikum how are you you okay nice to see you thank you for coming Ben did find a guide It's amazing I told you mate to trust me how do you feel feel good we feel excited we are ready for an Afghanistan adventure with you oh thank you what is this it's a Corolla yes yeah nice I had one before in England this one yeah many years ago my friend wants to um he wants to find a wife here so we need clothes to look like Afghan man yeah don't take picture in uh like like here yes okay here like a Ministry of Defense okay like police like base is okay okay we cannot film military checkpoints Ministry buildings police everything else should be okay foreign [Laughter] whoa careful almost fell in a hole hello hello look welcome to Cobble um yeah Muslim Brothers okay I've converted seems safer that way hope no one watched my last video wow security I would say we're the only guests there's just no lights on upstairs where we go we've lost our guide hook up we might walk into enemy territory what a beautiful hotel you brought us to we've just been told by the manager that we are the only tourists from the West in the Safi what is the name of the hotel Safi Landmark Safi landmines in the yeah Safi Landmark Hotel the best hotel in Kabul so exclusive other foreigners don't come here it's too exclusive just us too boy I bring you here because it's safe water okay okay that's good inside the hotel everything's safe yes okay outside the hotel because it's Main Place okay we're okay we're in the center yeah the central bathroom Soviets dildo hair dryer do you like I like it my friends good room we are twins you and me are like you're my Afghan twin why did you all Brynner just check me in and why is the hotel called the Safi landmine I mean what are they trying to say wow I mean First Impressions carpool isn't as crap as I was expecting and um you know I'm allowed to mention the W word but you see so I'm knocking about the W word one minute let's move the security doors [Music] horrible so this is where the trip begins let's see if um let's see if we can dispel some images of Afghanistan the people the place the safety everything hello my friend oh she's offering me a rose how sweet so the words that you see on the Taliban flag is basically saying that there is only one God and that is Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah that's what the Taliban flag says when you see the black and the whites and here's an old truck which once had a machine gun on it but now the machine gun is gone Haram music is Haram Haram yes no it's a list if they hear the music hello sir don't listen don't listen oh no if the Taliban here then use it thank God now we can relax oh yes we should park and go by foot I agree wow oh my God crazy parking place we've come to because once you park you can never get out look everything's just double parked look at it all right that's it people just leave their car and then go I like it look at the old bangers Bullet Hole I'm on my own I've escaped the guide I'm going [Music] wow salaam alaikum my friend how are you nice to meet you nice to meet you how are you my friend hey salam alaikum wow friendly people in Afghanistan so the first thing we do I think is change some money change some USD into local money hey guys change some money and then right and then we're going to buy some local clothes some shalvar kamis or as in India where you sometimes used to call them batani suits named after the batons the people of this part of Afghanistan who wear the traditional this kind of outfit whoa this man salsa nogadoo pure Afghani honey maybe later wow this is quite incredible the layout the city we're obviously in the valley part of Kabul but up on the hill there are just houses everywhere all the way to the top and all the way on top of the hill is some kind of Old Fort who built it how old it is but um wow it'd be great it's got there at some point reminds me of La Paz or somewhere like that that's every square inch is covered oh it's covered wow but Women shouting at me is covered in concrete houses check this out all the way up there if you can open to be careful where you're walking car but one wrong step and you end up in the sheds literally yes like this one here the blue one you see the blue yeah I should wear both okay okay okay okay wow man broke the chair I almost saw the shopkeeper die but he's okay he's okay that was close this is my new friend my friend my Afghanistan friend and we have some other customers [Music] foreign let the Taliban buy their outfits without disturbing them oh so what do you reckon then do you think I'm going to blend in in Afghanistan you like it you like it it's okay it's okay okay good thank you thank you my friend now I look like a real Afghan man my tongue look we're brothers Afghan English brother where is your outfit he has trousers where is your what he doesn't have one no beard no outfit what's wrong with him come on yes I want to look like an afghanistani man here like you I want to look like you smart there you go so you've chosen such a um okay thank you yeah maybe it's too maybe I should have gone darker color it's too bright it's too bright I stand out what you notice walking down the streets of cardboard is a different complexions of the people because Afghanistan is made up of different races tajiks uzbeks Iranians pashtoons baluchis descendants of the Greeks Alexander they all came here and mixed the gene pool and so you have blonde people blue-eyed people dark people tall you have all kinds of people here it really is a uh yeah a mix of races yes so so far we've seen many Taliban everywhere coming past us on their bike scooters but they look at us inquisitively but they haven't so far stopped us and said anything but everywhere you see their Flags and you see their guns hello thank you who said I'm looking nice yeah thank you I agree yeah I agree thank you okay the outfit is ready now I look like everybody else the Taliban won't know I'm a tourist they'll leave me alone foreign this is the beautiful Kabul river that comes down from the Hindu Kush mountains and flows through the city look at this beautiful look at it maybe we'll go for a little dip afterwards oh man worse traffic I've ever experienced in any country worse than in Mumbai Ben where's the worst you've said Dhaka Bangladesh by far but this is horrendous we haven't moved in half an hour we've not I want to show you actually what the traffic's like is we've not moved in half an hour I'm going to show you this is the traffic in um Kabul have a look at it it's out of control nothing but terrible traffic and isn't it just want to show you what the streets look like basically is it look at it there's cars all blocked up everywhere and random people in the street selling things and things let's jump back in the car before we get caught by the Taliban hello my friend you Taliban huh you tell it man okay never mind thank God this concrete wall painted green is what it was called before the green zone inside there is where all the embassies were the military personnel everyone was inside this concrete wall the green zone that was like the safe part for foreigners to be in Kabul but now of course the Taliban are inside the green zone I mean they're everywhere but um yeah now there's no safe part so to speak interesting so we've basically been in the car for like Wow since we got into our hotel like an hour just looking for parking because um there's no way to park in Kabul it's not like you can just park by the side of the street or something so she's everywhere and stalls and people you have to look at some kind of private parking area there's parking boys where's the parking oh yeah we want parking not water we don't want water we want parking ah parking hello hello wow we caused a little scene here just by walking in the road people come to see you and say what are you doing so everyone here has a different little business we have this business taking things around we had the plastic bag business we have the plastic bag business we have all different entrepreneurial businesses but unfortunately the children are very young to be starting business they should be in school no school today no school no school now finish school working okay Afghanistan zindabad yes yes yes yes wow they're following me I might the Pied Piper here flipping egg bye-bye guys oh they're all coming they're all coming wow so my wheelbarrow friends are following me and some other kids I presume because although they've seen foreign soldiers before they always drove past in big military vehicles they've not seen a foreigner amongst them walking around in the streets and so for that reason they just want to follow me they're curious inquisitive this is the most hectic Market this is so interesting to be back in a place like this after so long out of Asia um to be back in a place that is just full of Life full of energy full of craziness like in India it's um yeah it's a cool experience to be back here friendly people ah look at it pretty old Hashim market look at the old build ings up here built in the 1920s maybe something like that wow oh the Barrow boys are still with me foreign [Music] so we're just collecting a Motley Crew of kids as we walk along we've got Barrow boys we've got the classic bag selling guys here we've got all kinds of characters just following us I'm an English tourist here in Afghanistan yeah yes this is my first Taliban friend Mira Dost thank you sir thank you nice to meet you good luck good luck keep Afghanistan safe try it I've Got Friends in the Taliban wow these are yes exactly look at these hats here these are real Afghan hats check them out make me look like muja yeah beautiful that's it sorry about you you've been kicked out how does it look I don't know it feels too small maybe I need some bit on the front of my head like that it looks better we were told that we had to move because as tourists we could be targets by um not by the tea people but by the ones that begin with the letter I um there was an explosion the other day that killed 23 people uh yesterday in fact or the day before yesterday so we have to be really careful um of hanging around in one place too long they want to be targeted hello hello but I think they will look after me these dudes will look after me will you protect me from um the eye people you'll protect me yes okay good it's good what's I don't understand what is this I don't know what is this hello you want to speak with your hands hey what why are you bugging me they're trying to eat my wristwatch I don't have one cost money good money they want too much money I'm a poor man I'm not a rich man you are a rich man look at your beautiful clothes yes they want too much no one has changed [Music] right there listen you need to calm down you're crazy I changed 1000 or 500 . take it take it oh my God I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry [Music] you have hair like Donald Trump [Music] well this Market really evokes the Afghanistan and the carpool of old the Kabul of the great game the small winding streets and this one sells pets and birds and rabbits and above are the old Watling door houses look at them falling apart no doubt hundreds of years old and this Market has probably been here for hundreds of years as well where people have come from Kabul to buy pigeons and racing Birds they're everywhere wow so it's true you can find birds in Afghanistan are you Taliban 's at Market that was most insane Market I've ever been to and will ever experience in my life yeah that was mental I mean obviously that very sad because it's extreme poverty here that's why the children acted like that but um rightly they were just like we're trying to grab it and trying to grab it you want to give to one that you have a little connection with that smiley or whatever but then another bigger Boy comes along and grabs out there and it's just mental well I'm getting all the hate I've had like two threats to me already Ben's being Ben's hated me I hear nothing but love I think it's the blue one after all I might have man boobs maybe that's what they like they want to go to man boobs maybe that's attractive in Afghanistan I don't know well after some hecticness we are now going up to a Viewpoint top of the mountain that overlooks the town wow it's gonna be a hell of a view from up there let's get up there no more music oh it wasn't music it was something else okay yeah okay okay continue no problem we've come to the very top of Kabul to some kind of Taliban theme park and over here are some old American Humvees that have been abandoned when the Americans pulled out of Afghanistan last year wow probably ran out of spare parts and for that reason they no longer work welcome to tally land assalamualaikum how are you yeah come to look at your beautiful flag yeah Taliban flag well we've come to a Lookout Point high above the city of Kabul and limply fluttering in the breeze above me is the flag of the Taliban but who are the Taliban well the word itself means student or Seeker I suppose seeker of knowledge and they were formed as a group in the 1990s when the Soviet Army left Afghanistan and left a power vacuum and many mujahideen groups formed to take power here in Afghanistan but the Taliban became the strongest group so how exactly did a group of men in sandals and Shelby Camis and a few kalashnikovs managed to defeat the might of the American Army well for two reasons I suppose one because it has to be said that Afghanistan is extremely conservative religious country and so the Taliban had a lot of support here especially in the provinces maybe not with the intellectual urbanized people of Kabul and the big cities but with the people in The Villages in the mountains we have a lot of support because their values match with the taliban's values and also the American Army committed crimes and injustices against a lot of people here in Afghanistan and that galvanized the people um and so yeah that added together is why the Taliban flag flies above Kabul today all right come on and over here is something else I want to show you this the swimming pool that was built actually by the Soviets let's go and have a look up here at the swimming pool a little bit of Soviet history here that remains in Kabul ous Backpacker Ben is quite the attraction here in Afghanistan we've come up to this soviet-built swimming pool and in the 1960s and 70s the Soviet Union invested billions of rubles in Afghanistan they did so to gain some soft power to modernize the country because they were terrified of Islamic fundamentalism spreading up from Afghanistan into the southern republics of the USSR and so wherever you go here there are swimming pools and hospitals and all kinds of different infrastructures not talked about much but that's true the Soviets invested billions here trying to well gain influence and stop this country from descending into well what it's subsequently descended into and one other piece of Macabre history about this swimming pool is that it was used when the Taliban first came to power in the 90s as a place of executions no cigarettes from now I stop you when you go to smoke cigarette I say no brother Haram and we are driving with two Haram Afghani men because they're smoking cigarettes sometimes they listen to music and sometimes they think about girls and this is very Haram this is very Haram yes I'm walking through a cemetery in a poor part of the city so poor in fact is it that many of the graves are marked only by pieces of slate stuck into the ground without inscriptions or names you know when we think of conflicts and for example Afghan conflict we think of it from our own perspectives if you're American you no doubt think about the American soldiers that were killed if you're British the British and so forth but we must remember that a vast vast vast majority of people who have been the victims of the wars in Afghanistan and the foreign interventions have been the Afghan people themselves and this graveyard overlooking Kabul is full of such victims right it's um early in the morning and we're going to head out of cardboard today head in to the hills of Damian Province let's go and see what that's like then are you ready for a Batman adventure I'm excited to get off kurum hey it's been mental here yeah let's get to the mountains yes agreed it's gonna be a little bit more chilled I think you know Damian province we've reached the outskirts of cardboard a lot of early morning traffic people selling stuff buses going in different directions across the country wow check it out early morning cardboard wow relax okay I cannot relax I will close my eyes until we get to Bam Young no problem hand drivers yes it's very difficult drivers it's difficult driving here and no one has a license no one has insurance wow [Music] petrol stop outside of Kabul on the road to bamyan oh keep passing through military checkpoints Taliban checkpoints oh making sure no baddies are coming or going to Kabul I suppose I need some workers salaam alaikum Brothers what's around here then let's have a look behind this barbed wire this razor wire and this concrete wall is an old abandoned military American Military Base we saw it as we're coming down the hill as we were driving in and it's just full of wow God knows how many abandoned Humvees and military transport vehicles and all kinds of stuff over there behind that wall how many billions of dollars of taxpayers money was wasted spent and just left here in Afghanistan when the American troops pulled out last year quite expensive you don't think so no we thought it was half of one dollar and now it's one dollar okay one dollar for one liter in Afghanistan which considering the local wages I think it's quite expensive for them I forgot I've never shown you Afghan money I've changed some the other day let me show you what Afghan money looks like hello boss this is Afghan money this is a 50. and it's stuck together with sellotape like all Afghan money but um yeah that is afghanis as they're called afghanis one pound is a hundred akhanis which makes it really interesting really in really easy for a brick to travel here [Laughter] what's up okay wow let's see what the old Taliban went with us English London London Afghanistan I didn't say that bye-bye boys thank you that was um that was scary yeah yeah they checked everything they asked questions they were a little bit aggressive right some food and people come without guide okay there goes some transport we were just pulled over at a Taliban checkpoint 100 meters from here and they went through everything through my tablets um checking my bag inside and out um patting us down that was really dodgy we're now up in the mountains we're outside of the safety of Kabul well so to speak just a year ago this trip would have been impossible because Taliban would have been everywhere here and um yeah controlling these mountains and for a foreigner to come here would have been Insanity um and it still feels dodgy up here um yeah anyway let's go and get some food oh okay oh yes brother thank you looks good yes perfect good man beautiful thank you brother [Music] [Applause] it's rice with beans and a sauce and some bread some potato simple but absolutely delicious thank you you too nice to meet you oh back out into the sunshine yeah it's a strange old place we're just having lunch there going to play man should feel me or not and as I can remember the Taliban next to you yesterday's Clash of Leaning up yeah I suppose I don't know in car but it felt okay but here in the mountains the people look a little bit Wilder yeah I don't know let's get to Batman anyway this is the jolliest afghanistani man in the world ah he's gone he ran away when I said that but it was a really Jolly Afghan kid where's the Jolly Afghan kid let's make him famous on YouTube he had his chance he could have been famous he could have been the most famous Afghan kid and instead he'll remain unknown here he is let's meet the Afghan kid Bandera and bambian you married you've got a ring you married you have wife no what is your name Benjamin you thank you foreign from this little Roadside Cafe Hotel sir Morgan Stern keep Afghanistan tidy wow look at this this is quintessential Afghanistan when you think of Afghanistan this is what you think of these low slung heels Baron and down there in the distance a little village of one two three four four houses in fact you can't even call them houses they're compounds in this part of the world because of how strictly they take Islam and the protection of women but he had compounds so you can't pry in and foreign not foreign member strangers can't look inside their homes and see the women and this is it look at this this is the land the land that so many foreign forces have tried to conquer and so many have failed these Hills wow look who's pulled up hello how are you photo yeah sure let's do it selfie absolutely let's do selfie together thank you so much thank you hey there's one more one more photo England and Afghanistan Dost okay okay nice to meet you nice to meet you thank you it's in the bad bloody hell anyway as I was saying this is Afghanistan and it's bloody beautiful nobody here before foreign what a long Dusty Drive two what is supposedly one of the most beautiful places in all of Afghanistan I'm gonna show it you now and there's a man Fleming up over there did you hear it it's like being back in India we have a photographer we've come to a tourist attraction the most popular tourist attraction in all of Afghanistan I think we're gonna go hello sir hello ladies thank you very much my friend thank you nice to be here Bandimere National Park with a beautiful Lake over here we're going to go and look at now we made it it's a beautiful Lake Bandimere is it called back yeah this is it hardly worth driving five hours for through Taliban country well we've made it nonetheless and these are the pedalos hello two people please there's 300 one swan White Swan okay no idea how this works there you go oh exercise bye-bye hey I like this did you ever think you'd see me on a peddler in Afghanistan me and Benjamin you probably didn't I never expected it either what a place talibans on the horizon Ben that's right let's get to the Taliban attack let's show them who's boss in Afghanistan that the Brits do not retreat retreat it's okay we came up close and there are no threats where is the Taliban tickets ah they're circling us behind what if they are suicide pedaloists they're gonna Ram us and blow us up oh no I'm okay today thank you sometimes yes not today I like our dumps I don't what do you like soccer Brian Adams Brian Adams all right you might find it a little bit strange that there's a tourist attraction with pedalos in Afghanistan but the truth is from the 60s and the 70s until the 80s Afghanistan was on the tourist route for many many Europeans Europeans used to travel what was called the hippie trail from London to India they're at direct buses believe it or not traveling through turkey Iran Afghanistan Pakistan and India many thousands of Europeans would take that trip each year backwards and forwards the hippie Trail in fact the first ever Lonely Planet guide stated that Kabul was becoming a tourist trap believe it or not can you believe it and look now God 30 years later you definitely wouldn't call afghanistani a tourist trap now but yeah in the past people came to Afghanistan for well either for the cheap hash on their way through to India Nepal and other places now it's just me and Ben oh it's your brother ready one two three just riding through Afghanistan on a horse like the men of old bar salaam alaikum no America no England thank you stay safe I think after my dexterity on the horse my Horsemanship the local um talibs will be like inquiring about me probably suspicious already who is this man obviously he was raised in the mountains of badakshan or nuristan they're probably thinking who is this guy he knows the ways of the Horse Too Well be suspicious we should get out of here look at this beautiful part of Afghanistan we've stopped off at the bambian valley it's very fertile compared to well some of the other parts and we've passed you on our journey from cardboard look at it green Lush and that is why a civilization developed here and built in these red mountains a huge fortified complex the remains of which we're going to have a little closer look at over here we've climbed up from the valley floor into what was a place called Kojak Fort built by a race of people called the white Huns in the fifth century oh it was built to guard this piece of the ancient Silk Road the part of the silk credit ran through Bamiyan traveled or brought goods I should say mostly from Persia into India and vice versa wow so that road needs to be guarded huh and they built this fort the white Huns I suppose to collect the taxes collect the taxes on the goods that pass through wow and still some of it remains look at it this ancient civilization 1600 years wow oh my God and all the way up there look at it would have been probably I presume impregnable pretty much in those days oh no doubt the Mongols eventually destroyed the fort that's just a guess but that would make sense this trip to Damian region Afghanistan has been so much more interesting and historical and I was thinking it would be what I was expecting and that's no surprise because God how many civilizations and armies have marched through this land in the past from Alexander the Great chingis wow Timur Lane so many pass through this region leaving their marks upon it yeah when we think of Afghanistan we think most of the modern history um and the horrors have been bestowed upon it by internal forces and external forces but well this fort here in Afghanistan proves that there's so much more to this country than just that there's a lot of history here now guys I've got to say something well as we walk down this [ __ ] Mountain Ben I'm no longer a mountain goat my ankles are too dodgy I've got to say something you're probably wondering why isn't Ben in every scene he's traveling with you for God's sake I'll tell you why because every time I try to impart a bit of knowledge Ben is in next to me making cop jokes it doesn't matter what I say he's like oh yeah love a bit of [ __ ] so I just can't put him in the film so anyway here he is have a little look in there he is that's Ben watch my edition of the video it's purabanta no history no boring knowledge Betty's so proud of the fact that there's zero knowledge to be gained from his channel he's like he hates the idea of educating anyone fair enough fair enough all right let's get back down and get on the road for the last stop in bambian Province and why is there a man shouting at me hello are you Taliban Yan brother this is Bam young yes bro okay we made it safely yeah we lost all the Taliban welcome to bamian City cheetah s old American abandoned trucks here it's probably been this is it so we've just been to Taliban headquarters here in bamiana met the head of the Taliban here who has written this and given us his stamp with this stamp now and this letter it means we can go anywhere we are untouchable Taliban respect us out the way Taliban paper yes we are okay here we are free well I've lost it I was trying to sell things they love me as well they're all very pretty boy no beard no beard stops off in Damian City here and I can tell you it feels completely different than the other towns we pass through family and region seems a little bit more open there are women on the streets that are not covered and that when they see you they make eye contact with you they smile which um well I never saw that in um in Kabul or the other smaller towns that we've passed along if I've gotten out the car here as I'm looking for a Red Bull something to drink can I please brother have four Red Bull thank you hello there we have a Afghan babushka Vanessa the Afghan Babushka has been following me even in Afghanistan I pulled a babushkas they're very honest in Afghanistan you just hand them the money and they always give you the correct change bye bye bye-bye hello Babushka how are you you okay pleased to meet you Benjamin pleased to meet you thank you bye-bye bye-bye that is the Afghan Babushka of bambian I told you they're more open here women approach you and give you a smile it's completely different it's completely different for now but up ahead of the old um talibs I'm going for a walk through pleased to meet you please meet you England my guide is here okay see you later that was the old um Taliban let's get back to the car [Applause] in around about the year 600 A.D the People by Mian carved two giants Buddhists into the side this rock face something like 40 meters high and they survived for what 1 600 years until the first Taliban government gave to came to power oh people with the mindset from the 13th century who do not allow for other religious expression and so they blew them up and now not much remains of the giant Buddhas of Banyan but let's go and have a look and see what does remain see if we can find some traces of bambian's Buddhist past a view of bambian Province from the Buddha the Giant Buddha the same view that Genghis Khan would have seen when he stood here Genghis and his army invading the 1200s Afghanistan and he came to bamyan wow it's a work inside [Music] an old Buddhist stupa but completely defaced by the Taliban just you can see some painting some traces of paint where until the talibans came to power seized power there would have been beautiful colorful pictures of Buddha and probably of life here in Banyan totally destroyed there's still some stuff that remains some paintings that weren't quite destroyed the faces were still destroyed but I suppose it's so high up they couldn't be bothered coming up and destroying everything but um yeah good a Yale padlock will keep them out oh yeah well we're here at the very top of what was once statue of the Buddha it would have been beautifully carved with great detail features we've been brightly painted as well bright colors that people all across the valley in this Buddhist civilization could have stared in aurum Wonder at what had been created here it makes you wonder what kind of mentality you have to be what type of person to destroy something that survived for 1600 years survive the Mongol invasions all kinds of wars and conflicts in the region the Advent of Islam and still they came and they destroyed this you're going to the top are you going to the top yes how about you we've been to the top it's very tiring yeah I hope you are strong with strong legs Good Luck Good Luck Good Luck bye-bye have fun have fun that group of college girls that we just met were members of the local hazari community the hazari people are native to bamyan region you'll notice that well one they were students and two they didn't have their face covered and that's because the hazari people are somewhat more open and more liberal in their ideas and the rights of women especially and that is both a blessing a blessing for the women who can maybe achieve something with their lives other other than being stuck in compounds but also a curse because those open ideas and the fact that their majority Shia has made them a Target um from the Taliban and from Isis who are constantly attacking their schools and their community so it's not just in bambian Province the Buddhas and Buddhist art that has been destroyed there's also a desire by some to destroy the hazari people themselves our journey our Dusty jerk is over whoa nice hello sir oh I'm very good tired from my journey from Kabul but I'm happy to be here happy to be here do you have a room yes very nice yeah yeah absolutely everyone's friendly and Bam Young people are more Jolly in bambian than in Kabul yes people smile more oh yeah wow really oh yeah look at it I like it got tea you've got a Samsung we've got two beds good I don't want to share bed with him it is Haram to be in same bed so it's very good to have two beds is good see you later well myself and Ben are back on the Mean Streets if I'm whatever this sounds called where we're staying the night we're gonna go into the little bizarre it's like five o'clock so the sun's going down we are Solo but we do have our Taliban report we are protected here we've got our paper we feel Invincible with the paper don't we look at it yes exactly we're getting a few stairs in this town as we're walking around drawing some attention to ourselves it's only a matter of time before the Taliban come up to us where's Ben Ben this is nuts getting some attention in this town have you ever seen Whitey before no there's people running to catch up with us to take pictures well okay wow falling a bike one two three four on one bite wow four people on the bike not one license between them talents are everywhere watching us oh my good place it's lovely this space is perfect this dude next to me Nick my meat and now he's sticking me tea it's minty bread tasty delicious they're reading the contract I've written up to sell Ben to the internet they're just checking the fine print if they agree they come and get him and I receive a few bowls of rice bad foreign we have to get back to our rooms without being stopped by the old talibs even though we got the piece of paper still got to be a little bit careful what in 1838 fearing growing Russian influence in Afghanistan Britain sent an army to invade this nation they called it the army of the Indus four years later in 1842 16 000 soldiers and their wives and children retreated from Kabul under attack from the Afghans they were headed to the safety of the British Garrison in jalalabad of 16 000 people just one man made that Journey alive William Bryden we're now ourselves heading to jalalabad in his footsteps they're currently driving along the road that leads to the kyber pass the Khyber Pass is the entrance way to India which is why so many armies have passed through this Valley from Kabul towards jalalabad and onwards into India and that's why the British were so Keen to control it foreign the British Army in the first Afghan war we have made it to jalalabad still the most dangerous part of Afghanistan Taliban everywhere we even had to keep one a lift to the market but as a we've come here because I want to show you a certain little Marketplace a little bizarre we sell some interesting things so let's go and look for that place now welcome to jalalabad do you like it so far oh it's a hell hole do you like it good you feel immediately as you're walking through jalalabad that you're in a much more conservative part of the country unlike in bambian where women walk around with their faces open maybe just a small head scarf here I would say 80 of the women are completely covered in choudhary's the full covering wow interesting solar Lane you see those white things like this look at this kilos for sale everywhere why because everyone wears like pajama trousers so you need a cord inside to keep them up so everywhere you go there are stalls selling cords for your pajama bottoms we can't have people walking around with their bloody pants around their ankles especially not in jalalabad a little bit more conservative here yeah first copy second copy hello Rolex Rolex wherever you go in Afghanistan you collect a Motley Crew a bag Sellers and Barrow boys this is Dave's Bunch there you go how are you boys and girls we don't discriminate you want to film you film you film okay let's go yeah yes [Laughter] this man walking just behind me with his gun the old kind of rifle from the early 1900s or 1800s is a kind of man that defeated the British the mites whoa wow we had a little explosion it's the kind of person that defeated the British army the army of the Indus as I told you about earlier men like that with single little guns like that defeated the might of the British army and Britain decided to avenge that humiliating defeat and came back with an army which they dubbed the army of Vengeance and he marched back into Afghanistan and had the second anglo-afghan war what a history Britain has had in Afghanistan so far from home if you have a rest infestation you come to this man on a bicycle and he'll say oh wow wow hello everyone wow Jolly people in jalalabad Jolly jalalabad that's what I'm gonna call the video jolly jalalabad we have finally arrived at the market that we came all this way for that's it for allowed to film we've come to a market which sells guns leftover and military equipment that's been left over by the Americans when they left the city or left the country this is where Taliban comes to get their guns and also other organizations let's say who come here to purchase things weapons Turkish how much two hundred dollars a Russian gun can I see it what's this no major here made in Russia yes made in Russia you're making a gun and here is a man fixing a gun wow oh my God what's Ben doing on the roof he's a sniper he's a sniper does he make guns or does he repair guns you're repairing them yeah okay okay and many people bring their guns here for him to repair yeah yeah what is the most popular gun in Afghanistan classical everything related to arms and to guns and to fixing guns and to ammunition to Scopes into oil and all kinds of things and this bizarre judging by the signs about the shops has been here for many many years long before the recent troubles in Afghanistan because look at the old script the old writing The Faded signs that tells me that gun workers gunsmiths have been here for decades making guns in July about is probably something a tradition that goes back a hundred years 200 years when the British were here probably they've probably got our guns and then copied them and then yeah assault them hello do you have a gun no no gun okay wow [Music] uh this one two hundred dollars 200 200. I think he thinks I want to buy it we drew a bit too much attention from um the local talents so it's best to um Escape out with footage intact I already asked you many questions our time in Afghanistan was over and as we drove back towards Kabul I was left with great memories of the incredibly friendly people we had met but also some sadness at what future they in store for them I just hope the Afghans can finally be left in peace to decide that future for themselves our adventure finishes where it began at Kabul International Airport Benjamin did you have a good time in Afghanistan I did mental experience great people and I highly recommend it would you ever come back to Afghanistan absolutely no chance it's been the most tense holiday I've ever had there's been a few hair raising moments but um overall yeah great trip had a lot of fun and um hopefully educated you or showed you a little bit of Afghanistan that you hadn't seen before and so um yeah that's it we're out of here mate nice one see you guys some other place some other time God knows where from Afghanistan zindabad no [ __ ] joke no [ __ ] joke today it's French

Channel: bald and bankrupt

Views: 7,342,058

Keywords: Afghanistan, taliban, bald and bankrupt, adventure, kabul

Id: y2Nba4MMBAU

Length: 72min 29sec (4349 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 08 2022