Afghanistan - Day 2 - Night on the Town

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It's a bit awkward to write about what happened "today." It started when I left Atlanta at 8:30pm Friday night. We were in the air for about 14 hours and, with the time change, arrived in Dubai just before 8:00pm local time. So I can account for a 24-hour gap in my wristwatch by saying I was in seat 31D watching movies and eating airplane food. My one complaint about the food is that there was only one full meal - dinner served after takeoff. Shortly before landing we had a pizza-based meal. No breakfast, no lunch, no sunlight for that matter. Yes, the flight attendants asked everyone to close the blinds to minimize the glare of the sun for what few hours we would pass under it. Naturally, on one of my bathroom sorties I went up to an emergency door and opened the window shade to catch a glimpse of the sun somewhere over Romania.

As usual, upon landing in Dubai I proceeded to walk/run through the airport to clear customs and walk over to my brother's house. There I greeted him and his family before being whisked out to dinner - just the two of us. After another excellent meal at Al-Hallab Restaurant, we stopped at the mall to get a SIM card for my international phone.

It's way past my brother's bedtime. And so I turn in knowing that the last of the 10,000 proverbial miles will be flown tomorrow to Bagram. So far, 33 miles from my house to the airport, 591 miles from Detroit to Atlanta, and 7585 miles from Atlanta to Dubai (the longest flight on Delta's schedule). Tomorrow's leg is 1065 miles from Dubai to Bagram. Temperature there ranges from a high in the 50s to an overnight low in the 20s (Fahrenheit). Rain is forecast for later in the week.

I'm tired. Let the adventure begin - tomorrow.

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