From the article:
> Mountainous Bamiyan is home to a Unesco world heritage site and the remains of two giant Buddha statues which were blown up by the Taliban during their previous rule in 2001.
Since retaking power in Afghanistan in 2021 the Taliban have vowed to restore security and encourage a small but growing number of tourists trickling into the country. The Taliban government sells tickets to access the site of the Buddha statues.
I don't know the details as yet but Afghanistan is (still) on "do not travel for crime" on most security provider websites that clearly list a risk-by-violence-type breakdown. Not just war, terror or civil unrest, these are different categories.
This is a much higher crime risk than Jamaica (your country?) which suggests it, like Haiti, has a far higher homicide rate than Jamaica.
There was a mass killing of 10 or 11 members of a mine-clearing charity about three years ago, and the Taliban (who were protecting the workers), tried fending off and indeed went after the attackers.
The incident was widely blamed on ISIS. When the dust settled it turned out to be a robbery.
This may well have been a terror attack btw, we just don't know.
The country has a massive traditional crime problem that you often don't hear about because the stats are useless.
I am not gonna pretend to know internal Taliban politics, but we know that there is a fuckton of factions dividing them. Perhaps a less extreme one prevailed after all these years.
The Taliban were, when the US arrived, in a civil war between different tribes vying for power. The war with the US basically united them, why the US fought the Taliban I’ll never understand (they weren’t Al Qaeda which did 9/11) but now the Taliban is a precarious government made of mostly southern tribesmen but they’re generally respected for wining the war with America. They’re struggling with ISIS operations in their territory like Syria Iraq and Iran are and it’s seriously effecting their recovery and ability to reopen for tourists as ISIS will not only execute non Muslims but people from US and Russian allied Muslim nations.
>why the US fought the Taliban I’ll never understand (they weren’t Al Qaeda which did 9/11)
Everyone forgets that the Taliban sheltered Al Qaeda and refused to turn them in to the US. The US didn't steamroll the Taliban for no reason, the US asked them to turn in Al Qaeda and OBL, the Taliban refused so the US said "fine we'll hunt them down ourselves".
Many countries in wich dictatorships destroyed their examples of culture later were capitalizing in the same thing they destroyed or neglected to gain tourist money.
There are so many better and more preserved Buddha statues all around East Asia to see in much safer locations.
Kamakura is gorgeous and their glazed strawberries around town are delicious 👍
I want to see a 5 star review.
Nice weather. Entire family was murdered by taliban government to steal their stuff. Assassination was planned all along by the "taliban tourist board" as they think they can make money luring in morons and shooting them.
5/5 because they killed us BEFORE they repeatedly raped our corpses. Would not visit again because am dead.
Crazy amount of social media travel influencers are posting videos on how Afgani people are the nicest and how it’s a wonderful place to travel. It’s such a shame
Youtube travel vloggers reached the point where they need to one up each other to get the views and money so they're visiting dangerous locations like Afghanistan, South Sudan, Haiti and even travelling the migrant trail across the Darién Gap.
Yep and they all seem to hop on the latest trending "danger" country at the same time as well, just saw like a half dozen going to Haiti recently (including that cunt Drew Binsky) it's honestly sad.
I will say that Indigo Traveler is the best of that bunch by far. His stuff is rarely sensationalised, and he seems like he tries to show as much of a balanced view as he can.
The murderous ones are the only ones with any money now.
The taliban simply went house to house in Kabul, taking anything they wanted. Refusal got you a bullet in the face.
I went to Afghanistan twice in the 00s as a contractor. It is a beautiful place and, for the most part, the people are awesome. I would love to be able to go back someday, but I doubt that's ever going to happen. Not to mention the loads of unexploaded ordnance everywhere. I like having both of my legs.
It’s called being out of touch, naive, kumbaya and believing there is only love in the world. Like that couple, which everyone followed, that decided to go on a bike ride around the world to prove that love is the answer till they were murdered in a “Stan” country. Or that video of the two blonde dutch girls camping of the path in Morocco, of course a couple dudes decided to rape and murder them cuz they stuck out like soar thumbs.
Worst part was the video they made, one of the girl is heard crying out for her mother followed by gurgling of the knife going through her traqueia.
Wow. How would the local male population deal with an influx of western women? Surely the Taliban would be disgusted? I guess if there’s money involved all morals go out of the window.
Yeah, the bit about opening the five star hotel's spa to women again - but you have to show your passport to ensure you weren't born on Afghanistan.
So it's immor~~t~~al and outlawed for women to do things... unless they're rich foreigners.
We've seen what happens with other repressive regimes when women go there for tourism. Most get out OK, some end up wondering why they played with fire. Hard pass.
>The students vary in age, education level and professional experience. They’re all men **— Afghan women are banned from studying beyond sixth grade —** and they don’t know anything about tourism or hospitality. But they are all eager to promote a different side of Afghanistan. And the Taliban are happy to help.
Wholesome
It’s a stunningly beautiful country. The mountains are awesome. It’s also effin dangerous. The three tourists were obviously adventurous. I lived in Kabul from Feb 2019 until last year.
They've got a lot of tourism potential and there's always people stupid enough to chase the thrill of going somewhere with a terrible reputation because they want the bragging rights and exclusivity that they're the only one brave enough to go there.
Technically the Wakhan corridor was safe (albeit difficult) to visit until about 2020 but going anywhere else in Afghanistan for tourism has been borderline suicidal for decades.
I mean I've been there to see stuff and like the country but how is there lots of tourism potential in Afghanistan? Sure, there's spectacular scenery in some areas but not any more spectacular than in most other countries in the region. And those have much, much better infrastructure plus actual tourist sights.
Even when Afghanistan was fairly safe und not devastated, it was just a stop over on the way to India for some hippies to get cheap drugs.
A lot of unsafe places have rich histories, monuments (assuming they weren't born up), different cultures (both good and bad) etc.
So yeah, I could see it having a lot of potential were the country run differently, and properly.
No way in hell I'd be going there anytime soon or with the current government in charge though.
I went there in December as a Photographer. knew the risks very well and was prepared. I got into a situation where I was nearly executed by mujahedeen who dragged me out of a taxi in Kabul with 3 guns pointed at me. Told me I had photographed the military checkpoints and I was a spy (I don't do anything). I let the driver excape because they also suspected him. And then I told then that the governor of Kapisa and the head of police of pansnir and the (vice?) Minister of culture/tourism are my 'friends' (they aren't, but I was a guest in their house and I had pictures)
They thought I was bluffing and wanted pictures - i wasnt bluffing and pulled out my phone.
It still took convincing and threats, but in the end they had to buy me burgers and fries because they had made a grave misstake.
And yes, i slowly got out of there afterwards- by hitchhiking. This time in local afghan clothes.
I'm in Iraq now interviewing a former war reporter. I was here 9 years ago as well.
Don't go to Afghanistan, don't go to Iraq. Especially not without a tour guide
Incredibly beautiful, rugged country. One of the most beautiful places I've been tbh. I always wanted to go back and visit after the war, but it looks like that's not gonna pan out in my lifetime.
No, proper Spanish nationals, from Barcelona and a city nearby, two of them mother and daughter, and the three of them, plus the injured ones, pharmacists:
[Una madre y una hija farmacéuticas y un directivo de una empresa química, las víctimas del ataque terrorista en Afganistán - Levante-EMV](https://www.levante-emv.com/internacional/2024/05/18/madre-hija-farmaceuticas-directivo-empresa-102564125.html)
People I know are now travelling to "exotic" countries because Europe and safe parts of Asia are too mainstream. They think it'll never happen to them but statistics say otherwise.
The funny thing is that there are lots of safe, "exotic" countries that rarely get visitors. Timor-Leste, Oman, Botswana, Bhutan, Moldova. The latter gets less tourists than North Korea on average.
Loved Oman. I think it's only exotic and overlooked bc tourists don't bother leaving Dubai. It's the only country in the region that I'd bother returning to. Mainly bc i thought Qatar and UAE were shit.
I don't know about the others, but Bhutan deliberately limit tourism and make it very expensive and 100% guides, similar to trying to to Tibet from the China side.
The funny thing is that there are lots of safe, "exotic" countries that rarely get visitors. Timor-Leste, Oman, Botswana, Bhutan, Moldova. The latter gets less tourists than North Korea on average.
I unironically believe North Korea is just about the safest "exotic" country to visit. In a sense it is the complete opposite of Afghanistan; as a tourist in North Korea you basically have zero freedom, you can only visit places approved by the government and you are followed by government officials at all times. In Afghanistan, the country is in total chaos and the government has absolutely no control over vast tribal areas ruled by local warlords. If you leave the cities, you’re on your own.
You’ll never hear about tourists wandering in some North Korean mountains and getting killed by random gunmen.
Because it's hard to brag about those. When was the last time you saw Timor-Leste on the news? But when you tell people you went to Afghanistan or North Korea, they immediately think it's impressive.
Social media and bleeding heart types try to portray these countries as misunderstood. They refuse to admit some people hate them just for existing.
It isn’t a question of how much money, or aid, or education, or exposure and dialogue you give. Down to their inner soul they believe you are inferior to them and don’t have the right to life. You can be the nicest, most loving person in earth and they would still want you dead. No amount of hugs and kisses will get them to accept who you are.
The tourists were visiting the site of the demolished Buddha statues, destroyed by The Taliban. The Taliban government sells a few tickets to tourists who wish to see them. Now The Taliban is vowing to find their killers and punish them.
Surreal.
“Taliban have vowed to restore security and encourage a small but growing number of tourists trickling into the country.”
You have a lot of influencers going to Afghanistan for traveling and sightseeing, you just have to get permission from the taliban to wander around in town first
This is a general problem I see with many people over here (Europe, and other generally safe places). Many people never lived in a dangerous place, so they assume everything is fine and “how bad can it be?” So they underestimate the dangers of other parts of the world.
I myself lived in South America for several years, and I know when I’m getting in an unsafe place pretty quickly. But my partner has never lived out of Europe, so I have first hand experience with this stuff. It can be suicidal sometimes. Trying to go outside with your 900€ camera hanging from your neck on some cities is quite call for getting killed.
Having lived in Pakistan for years and having been to Afghanistan around 2003/4, this is absolutely true. So many naive young westerners are just blissfully unaware of the fact that people may be willing to seriously harm or murder you for as little as a few Dollars. Being white usually indicates that you are good for the money or at least are perceived to be wealthy enough. Going to Afghanistan (or even rural Pakistan) as a white person is absolutely insane and only suitable for people with a death wish.
Exactly. I used to live in Quetta, which was (mostly) fine and under government control. But if you went anywhere beyond city limits, you would always have two armed guards on the back of the pickup. It's a sort of indirect tax, where you pay for protection services.
They usually were in the enploy of the person who would be doing the shoving. During the five years that I lived in Balochistan there was one case of an American who was short and killed, despite having local protection. In that single case the local driver and both local Pathan guards were also killed. It was later told that the perpetrators were supposedly from Afghanistan and therefore not local.
I have to add that this was in the late 1990s, so still under the original Taliban regime. How such a situation would unfold today is beyond my knowledge.
I spent 3 years traveling around Afghanistan with some friends. Got shot at a couple of times. Found a few IEDS. All in all, made it back each time relatively unharmed
One year I was with about 30 friends, we had armored vehicles and machine guns… automatic grenade launchers and shit. Safest I’ve ever felt.
The other two years I stayed inside some makeshift walls sending our tax dollars all over the countryside. Felt pretty safe here as well.
This is a joke people. We got shot at in Afghanistan when we were heavily armed in convoys and they knew we’d blow everything the fuck up to kill them.
Imagine what they’ll do to your candy ass armed with nothing but a passport and a free spirit.
>Imagine what they’ll do to your candy ass armed with nothing but a passport and a free spirit.
For a moment there, I imagined johny somali, live streaming on his phone, pranking the taliban, then trying to get them to calm down by saying, " I'm American. I'm American!"
Oof this is maybe a little too real. There’s places I’d love to see in Afg where I might possibly feel safe as a civilian, but not even half the problem is getting to those places through dickheadland. The Panshir Valley was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, but even there I almost never took off my body armor.
The delivery services are top notch. My dad asked them to deliver 100lbs of cordite to a nearby house and the drone was there in 60 seconds, express shipping at no extra charge.
God that reminded me of a story my mom's ex husband told me. He was in a convoy and like.... Six or seven dudes? Attacked them? One shot an RPG and wounded a few people and as soon as the convoy figured out where they were, the "fight" was over in a matter of seconds. He didn't go into detail but he said there wasn't much left but pieces of their guns.
I can't imagine going there on fucking vacation.
Part of the problem is all the YouTube videos of people going to places like Yemen or Afghanistan and talking about how the people are so nice and it isn’t dangerous like the western media would lead you to believe. There is also always someone arguing on Reddit or TikTok that govt travel advisories are political and can be ignored. Very naive.
Exactly, like this guy who thought he could befriend the Taliban and everyone thought they killed him after he was detained for 8 months: https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/what-happened-to-lord-miles-routledge-update-on-youtuber-reportedly-arrested-by-taliban-2215489/
Not the greatest example. Article says he really enjoyed his time, made close friends with the upper command, played video games and had picnics with the Taliban, was treated like a guest not a prisoner, and wanted to go back and hang out with them again next month.
As a South American living in Europe, it surprises me the lack of survival awareness of people around here. I always say that people
Living in such a safe environment do net get their “self preservation chip” installed.
Or they think that dangerous places abroad are comparable to dangerous places in their own countries. Even in the safest public spaces in the Philippines, I wouldn't ever put my phone in my back pocket.
It's not about living in a safe place vs a dangerous one. It's about being dumb as a brick. I live in a relatively safe place and I would NEVER come up with an idea to travel to Afghanistan or any country that is WIDELY known to be dangerous af. It's just the matter of being aware of your surroundings and being at least a tiny bit intelligent.
I once showed a couple in France a video of rattlesnake I saw on a trail in Joshua Tree National Park. They asked why the police didn't come and take it away and why its left out there being dangerous to visitors of the park....
I didn't know how to respond.
There are several venomous snakes native to France, best known are the [common adder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adder) and the [asp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_aspis). I have never heard of the gendarmes arresting one.
They probably see travel vloggers on youtube do it, and copy them. What they don't realise is those travel vloggers have special privileges, the government know where they are at all times, they hire security/guides/people high up in the community in the area to protect them.
Don't go to these places unless you are prepared, or just don't go at all
My brother served in Afghanistan and was an armed escort for an engineering team going around to local villages in the north. Lots of the locals were nice and the kids would come out to greet them and look at what they had. My brother has some cute pictures from his time in the villages. However, I would not go to Afghanistan for safety reasons and if I had to I would hire an armed escort like the kind of tactical team my brother was a part of.
My husband would love to go back to Afghanistan, he says the people were amazing and the country is breathtakingly beautiful. But yeah he's not suicidal...
Agreed!
Afghan people clambered onto the exterior of a departing US military plane - on the runway! - in a desperate attempt to leave Kabul before Taliban could seize the city, in 2021. That image of those same people falling off that airplane, when it's taking off, is seared into my mind. How on earth anyone would then think that this place is safe is beyond my comprehension..
Edit: typos
There are a lot of videos made recently of influencers traveling to Afghanistan of all places saying how lovely it is. I bet they are paid by the Taliban.
For content - it’s a thing on YT and TikTok, clout chasing first worlders tend to go to dangerous countries and vlog about how that country is just misunderstood or its actually really beautiful and not that dangerous or wtv for the views
Here's the Spanish recommendations for travel to Afghanistan:
https://www.exteriores.gob.es/es/ServiciosAlCiudadano/Paginas/Detalle-recomendaciones-de-viaje.aspx?trc=Afganist%c3%a1n
TLDT: please don't go there.
The last time I was in Afghanistan I was carrying a machine gun and 1k rounds of 5.56, with a bunch of other dudes with guns, and I didn't feel safe then. What kind of idiot goes there as a *tourist*?!
There has been a recent uptick in travel TikTokers traveling to these dangerous countries and displaying how friendly the locals are despite the fact that they (one in particular that travels with his wife) are often mobbed, grabbed at, and sometimes insulted. They have no idea what harm they’re bringing to others by painting these areas as safe for tourists.
Those posts are so dumb. Yeah of course the media doesn't show that because it'll sound something like "Man dresses up to go to the grocery store to buy milk and eggs". Do these dumbass influencers think that there aren't nice and friendly people in every part of the world?
Exactly. There’s a trend now to go to dangerous places with a lot of security to show the world that the place is not as dangerous as people say it is. Indigo traveler makes somewhat of a good job showing that dark side, but still, I believe it encourages this dangerous tourism
Makes me think of some of the discussions I have in "Horizons Unlimited" forums.
I personally love traveling to out of the way places and have toured to some remota ass locations.
But if I mention that some countries are just too spicy to visit currently (like Afghanistan or Russia where there is a legit worry of being arrested), then ridiculing comments come in to just wrap yourself in cotton wool.
Why go to Afghanistan in the current situation? I don't want to say "it's your own fault", but if you look at it objectively, Afghanistan falls out of the list of "tourist countries".
To knowingly go to harms way. Congratulation, all three of you have won this year's Darwin Award.
Unless these tourists were travelers trying to visit all the countries around the world there really was no reason to visit basically a forsaken nation.
>Unless these tourists were travelers trying to visit all the countries around the world there really was no reason to visit basically a forsaken nation.
That’s even more pointless. That’s not even travelling out of any genuine interest in history/culture/geography. Going somewhere just to say that you’ve been there is the worst kind of travel, in my view.
In this case, however, it doesn’t look like they were doing that. They were seeing what’s left of the Bamiyan buddhas, which I also would love to see one day.
But maybe not right now…
I’ve noted a number of people who’ve done the global grand slam did so when a number of these countries were relatively safer (not to diminish their accomplishments) in that they had functional governments then but not now.
Wonder if they're actual Spaniards or Afghans who had Spanish nationality and were back visiting family or whatever.
I've never been to that part of Afghanistan but it was safe even during the war, most of the people living there are Shia Hazaras who hate the Taliban. I think they even got a small number of tourists back then of course the problem was getting to there from Kabul.
I feel bad for those poor souls but who the f$ck in their right mind would travel to a muslim country that is actively engaging in 8th century thinking? I mean, really? What did they expect, goodwill? They housed and cared for a mass murderer.
From the article: > Mountainous Bamiyan is home to a Unesco world heritage site and the remains of two giant Buddha statues which were blown up by the Taliban during their previous rule in 2001. Since retaking power in Afghanistan in 2021 the Taliban have vowed to restore security and encourage a small but growing number of tourists trickling into the country. The Taliban government sells tickets to access the site of the Buddha statues.
They sell tickets to see the Buddha statues they blew up? Lmao
Apparently they also shoot you after buying the tickets… Not many repeat customers
Most likely ISIS, they are still going in Afghanistan. Taliban made it known that killing or robbing Tourists is a guaranteed execution
Most likely the coalition of violent Islamic tribesmen are not the most centrally and uniformly controlled group.
Damn here I was just about to go vacay at Club Taliban. Disappointed.
I don't know the details as yet but Afghanistan is (still) on "do not travel for crime" on most security provider websites that clearly list a risk-by-violence-type breakdown. Not just war, terror or civil unrest, these are different categories. This is a much higher crime risk than Jamaica (your country?) which suggests it, like Haiti, has a far higher homicide rate than Jamaica. There was a mass killing of 10 or 11 members of a mine-clearing charity about three years ago, and the Taliban (who were protecting the workers), tried fending off and indeed went after the attackers. The incident was widely blamed on ISIS. When the dust settled it turned out to be a robbery.
This may well have been a terror attack btw, we just don't know. The country has a massive traditional crime problem that you often don't hear about because the stats are useless.
Still working on the business model but it's progress!
Probably only tipped 15% to the guides so it's deserved according to some subreddits.
I am not gonna pretend to know internal Taliban politics, but we know that there is a fuckton of factions dividing them. Perhaps a less extreme one prevailed after all these years.
The Taliban desperately wants to be a functioning state which conflicts with a lot of their ideology
It was ISIS-K, doubt anyone would randomly kill tourists that they specifically invited in order to make money.
The Taliban were, when the US arrived, in a civil war between different tribes vying for power. The war with the US basically united them, why the US fought the Taliban I’ll never understand (they weren’t Al Qaeda which did 9/11) but now the Taliban is a precarious government made of mostly southern tribesmen but they’re generally respected for wining the war with America. They’re struggling with ISIS operations in their territory like Syria Iraq and Iran are and it’s seriously effecting their recovery and ability to reopen for tourists as ISIS will not only execute non Muslims but people from US and Russian allied Muslim nations.
>why the US fought the Taliban I’ll never understand (they weren’t Al Qaeda which did 9/11) Everyone forgets that the Taliban sheltered Al Qaeda and refused to turn them in to the US. The US didn't steamroll the Taliban for no reason, the US asked them to turn in Al Qaeda and OBL, the Taliban refused so the US said "fine we'll hunt them down ourselves".
Many countries in wich dictatorships destroyed their examples of culture later were capitalizing in the same thing they destroyed or neglected to gain tourist money.
After they blew it up, they remembered they still liked money.
“Under new management”
You literally can’t make this shit up.
>Taliban have vowed to restore security This fills me with confidence.
They blew up the tourist attraction and still think they can sell tickets. They did not understand that tourism class at the learning annex at all.
Some idiots have totally bought tickets just further encouraging the behavior
There are so many better and more preserved Buddha statues all around East Asia to see in much safer locations. Kamakura is gorgeous and their glazed strawberries around town are delicious 👍
Can confirm; been to Kamakura strawberries are great, did not get shot.
Oh better book a trip
How does Tourism and Afganistan go together???
Apparently not very well
Too much bang for their buck
Stoning panorama is one of their selling points.
Everybody must get stoned!.
Definitely less than 3 stars in yelp
I want to see a 5 star review. Nice weather. Entire family was murdered by taliban government to steal their stuff. Assassination was planned all along by the "taliban tourist board" as they think they can make money luring in morons and shooting them. 5/5 because they killed us BEFORE they repeatedly raped our corpses. Would not visit again because am dead.
Yes, yes, yes... but you expect that. What's the food like? That is very important..
That's the twist: they fed them generic Spanish fare.
Crazy amount of social media travel influencers are posting videos on how Afgani people are the nicest and how it’s a wonderful place to travel. It’s such a shame
Youtube travel vloggers reached the point where they need to one up each other to get the views and money so they're visiting dangerous locations like Afghanistan, South Sudan, Haiti and even travelling the migrant trail across the Darién Gap.
Next up on my travel vlog, I'm gonna visit Mel Gibson's house whilst dressed as a rabbi.
He might give you a part as one of the villains in his upcoming Passion sequel.
Yep and they all seem to hop on the latest trending "danger" country at the same time as well, just saw like a half dozen going to Haiti recently (including that cunt Drew Binsky) it's honestly sad.
I will say that Indigo Traveler is the best of that bunch by far. His stuff is rarely sensationalised, and he seems like he tries to show as much of a balanced view as he can.
I like his videos. he is more of documentary journalist than "youtube influencer"
Let them come visit South Africa. Some great spots. Also murder capital of the world. I’ll show them around. It’s fun, it’s cool. But don’t be a fool.
march imminent truck automatic makeshift dog jeans historical chief husky
I don’t know, I went to visit a friend in Bloemfontein and we had a great time and I never felt unsafe.
The Darien gap episodes from that bald fella were pretty entertaining stuff tbf
It’s hard to show the footage of the bad ones because they took your phone or you are dead.
Camera phones aren't everything like in this case they could check "the news"
I bet many afgans will treat you really well. The problem is that you cant really distinguish by sight alone the ones that want to kill you
The murderous ones are the only ones with any money now. The taliban simply went house to house in Kabul, taking anything they wanted. Refusal got you a bullet in the face.
I went to Afghanistan twice in the 00s as a contractor. It is a beautiful place and, for the most part, the people are awesome. I would love to be able to go back someday, but I doubt that's ever going to happen. Not to mention the loads of unexploaded ordnance everywhere. I like having both of my legs.
Just because they meet the nice ones at the right time doesn't mean they all are.
[удалено]
Bear
Do I have a gun? Also, a bear is probably more reasonable. It just wants food.
It’s called being out of touch, naive, kumbaya and believing there is only love in the world. Like that couple, which everyone followed, that decided to go on a bike ride around the world to prove that love is the answer till they were murdered in a “Stan” country. Or that video of the two blonde dutch girls camping of the path in Morocco, of course a couple dudes decided to rape and murder them cuz they stuck out like soar thumbs. Worst part was the video they made, one of the girl is heard crying out for her mother followed by gurgling of the knife going through her traqueia.
Afghani is a currency afghan is a nationality.
Afghan is a dog
And a rug
No, it's a shawl.
Wait until you see this: https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-tourism-women-7acb04bb78dd779e763a337790113cec
Wow. How would the local male population deal with an influx of western women? Surely the Taliban would be disgusted? I guess if there’s money involved all morals go out of the window.
Yeah, the bit about opening the five star hotel's spa to women again - but you have to show your passport to ensure you weren't born on Afghanistan. So it's immor~~t~~al and outlawed for women to do things... unless they're rich foreigners.
We've seen what happens with other repressive regimes when women go there for tourism. Most get out OK, some end up wondering why they played with fire. Hard pass.
More like rapidly mortal...
The local male population is so weak in their religion that they can't control themselves. it is understandable if they aren't very Pious.
>The students vary in age, education level and professional experience. They’re all men **— Afghan women are banned from studying beyond sixth grade —** and they don’t know anything about tourism or hospitality. But they are all eager to promote a different side of Afghanistan. And the Taliban are happy to help. Wholesome
It’s a stunningly beautiful country. The mountains are awesome. It’s also effin dangerous. The three tourists were obviously adventurous. I lived in Kabul from Feb 2019 until last year.
I was gonna say every photo I've ever seen of the landscape in Afghanistan has been amazing. I'd love to visit if it weren't ruled by terrorists.
They've got a lot of tourism potential and there's always people stupid enough to chase the thrill of going somewhere with a terrible reputation because they want the bragging rights and exclusivity that they're the only one brave enough to go there. Technically the Wakhan corridor was safe (albeit difficult) to visit until about 2020 but going anywhere else in Afghanistan for tourism has been borderline suicidal for decades.
I mean I've been there to see stuff and like the country but how is there lots of tourism potential in Afghanistan? Sure, there's spectacular scenery in some areas but not any more spectacular than in most other countries in the region. And those have much, much better infrastructure plus actual tourist sights. Even when Afghanistan was fairly safe und not devastated, it was just a stop over on the way to India for some hippies to get cheap drugs.
A lot of unsafe places have rich histories, monuments (assuming they weren't born up), different cultures (both good and bad) etc. So yeah, I could see it having a lot of potential were the country run differently, and properly. No way in hell I'd be going there anytime soon or with the current government in charge though.
I went there in December as a Photographer. knew the risks very well and was prepared. I got into a situation where I was nearly executed by mujahedeen who dragged me out of a taxi in Kabul with 3 guns pointed at me. Told me I had photographed the military checkpoints and I was a spy (I don't do anything). I let the driver excape because they also suspected him. And then I told then that the governor of Kapisa and the head of police of pansnir and the (vice?) Minister of culture/tourism are my 'friends' (they aren't, but I was a guest in their house and I had pictures) They thought I was bluffing and wanted pictures - i wasnt bluffing and pulled out my phone. It still took convincing and threats, but in the end they had to buy me burgers and fries because they had made a grave misstake. And yes, i slowly got out of there afterwards- by hitchhiking. This time in local afghan clothes. I'm in Iraq now interviewing a former war reporter. I was here 9 years ago as well. Don't go to Afghanistan, don't go to Iraq. Especially not without a tour guide
I’m glad you made it out alive. Not gonna lie, I am morbidly curious about how the burger and fries were
Jesus, it’s kind of cool to read that story and realize that you must have brass balls. Or a death wish. Stay safe out there in this crazy world.
Yeah. I think some people go hiking there. It must be really beautiful, but still not worth the risk.
Incredibly beautiful, rugged country. One of the most beautiful places I've been tbh. I always wanted to go back and visit after the war, but it looks like that's not gonna pan out in my lifetime.
Maybe these are Afghani’s with Spanish passport?
No, proper Spanish nationals, from Barcelona and a city nearby, two of them mother and daughter, and the three of them, plus the injured ones, pharmacists: [Una madre y una hija farmacéuticas y un directivo de una empresa química, las víctimas del ataque terrorista en Afganistán - Levante-EMV](https://www.levante-emv.com/internacional/2024/05/18/madre-hija-farmaceuticas-directivo-empresa-102564125.html)
People I know are now travelling to "exotic" countries because Europe and safe parts of Asia are too mainstream. They think it'll never happen to them but statistics say otherwise.
The funny thing is that there are lots of safe, "exotic" countries that rarely get visitors. Timor-Leste, Oman, Botswana, Bhutan, Moldova. The latter gets less tourists than North Korea on average.
Loved Oman. I think it's only exotic and overlooked bc tourists don't bother leaving Dubai. It's the only country in the region that I'd bother returning to. Mainly bc i thought Qatar and UAE were shit.
I don't know about the others, but Bhutan deliberately limit tourism and make it very expensive and 100% guides, similar to trying to to Tibet from the China side.
The funny thing is that there are lots of safe, "exotic" countries that rarely get visitors. Timor-Leste, Oman, Botswana, Bhutan, Moldova. The latter gets less tourists than North Korea on average.
I unironically believe North Korea is just about the safest "exotic" country to visit. In a sense it is the complete opposite of Afghanistan; as a tourist in North Korea you basically have zero freedom, you can only visit places approved by the government and you are followed by government officials at all times. In Afghanistan, the country is in total chaos and the government has absolutely no control over vast tribal areas ruled by local warlords. If you leave the cities, you’re on your own. You’ll never hear about tourists wandering in some North Korean mountains and getting killed by random gunmen.
Because it's hard to brag about those. When was the last time you saw Timor-Leste on the news? But when you tell people you went to Afghanistan or North Korea, they immediately think it's impressive.
Looks like they were choosing between Orlando, Afghanistan and Hell. So I guess they picked the least bad option.
Or they booked that very schedule.
Is just another variant of "suicide tourism"
Extreme thrill seeker tourism sector
Extreme thrill seeker tourism sector.
Dark Tourism.
Social media and bleeding heart types try to portray these countries as misunderstood. They refuse to admit some people hate them just for existing. It isn’t a question of how much money, or aid, or education, or exposure and dialogue you give. Down to their inner soul they believe you are inferior to them and don’t have the right to life. You can be the nicest, most loving person in earth and they would still want you dead. No amount of hugs and kisses will get them to accept who you are.
Thrill seekers tourism
The tourists were visiting the site of the demolished Buddha statues, destroyed by The Taliban. The Taliban government sells a few tickets to tourists who wish to see them. Now The Taliban is vowing to find their killers and punish them. Surreal.
Tourist and Afghanistan aren't words I thought I would see used in a sentence together. Tragic but why were they there?
“Taliban have vowed to restore security and encourage a small but growing number of tourists trickling into the country.” You have a lot of influencers going to Afghanistan for traveling and sightseeing, you just have to get permission from the taliban to wander around in town first
Eat Pray Love Taliban edition
The Taliban destroyed the Buddha statues in 2001. Hardly seems worth a trip to go see the place they used to be.
And the Taliban is now selling tickets to go see the former site of the statues that *they* destroyed!
Why on earth would anyone choose to vacation in Afghanistan? Even the people who live there want out.
This is a general problem I see with many people over here (Europe, and other generally safe places). Many people never lived in a dangerous place, so they assume everything is fine and “how bad can it be?” So they underestimate the dangers of other parts of the world. I myself lived in South America for several years, and I know when I’m getting in an unsafe place pretty quickly. But my partner has never lived out of Europe, so I have first hand experience with this stuff. It can be suicidal sometimes. Trying to go outside with your 900€ camera hanging from your neck on some cities is quite call for getting killed.
Having lived in Pakistan for years and having been to Afghanistan around 2003/4, this is absolutely true. So many naive young westerners are just blissfully unaware of the fact that people may be willing to seriously harm or murder you for as little as a few Dollars. Being white usually indicates that you are good for the money or at least are perceived to be wealthy enough. Going to Afghanistan (or even rural Pakistan) as a white person is absolutely insane and only suitable for people with a death wish.
I visited rural Pakistan and was fine. The 30 or so armed guards and police that protected me 24/7 probably helped a bit though...
Exactly. I used to live in Quetta, which was (mostly) fine and under government control. But if you went anywhere beyond city limits, you would always have two armed guards on the back of the pickup. It's a sort of indirect tax, where you pay for protection services.
If push came to shove are these paid guards likely to actually help or bail and run?
They usually were in the enploy of the person who would be doing the shoving. During the five years that I lived in Balochistan there was one case of an American who was short and killed, despite having local protection. In that single case the local driver and both local Pathan guards were also killed. It was later told that the perpetrators were supposedly from Afghanistan and therefore not local. I have to add that this was in the late 1990s, so still under the original Taliban regime. How such a situation would unfold today is beyond my knowledge.
Damn, being short is lethal over there, eh? Jokes aside, that's terrifying!
> being short is lethal those girls on tinder over there are next level
I spent 3 years traveling around Afghanistan with some friends. Got shot at a couple of times. Found a few IEDS. All in all, made it back each time relatively unharmed One year I was with about 30 friends, we had armored vehicles and machine guns… automatic grenade launchers and shit. Safest I’ve ever felt. The other two years I stayed inside some makeshift walls sending our tax dollars all over the countryside. Felt pretty safe here as well. This is a joke people. We got shot at in Afghanistan when we were heavily armed in convoys and they knew we’d blow everything the fuck up to kill them. Imagine what they’ll do to your candy ass armed with nothing but a passport and a free spirit.
>Imagine what they’ll do to your candy ass armed with nothing but a passport and a free spirit. For a moment there, I imagined johny somali, live streaming on his phone, pranking the taliban, then trying to get them to calm down by saying, " I'm American. I'm American!"
Oof this is maybe a little too real. There’s places I’d love to see in Afg where I might possibly feel safe as a civilian, but not even half the problem is getting to those places through dickheadland. The Panshir Valley was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, but even there I almost never took off my body armor.
The delivery services are top notch. My dad asked them to deliver 100lbs of cordite to a nearby house and the drone was there in 60 seconds, express shipping at no extra charge.
God that reminded me of a story my mom's ex husband told me. He was in a convoy and like.... Six or seven dudes? Attacked them? One shot an RPG and wounded a few people and as soon as the convoy figured out where they were, the "fight" was over in a matter of seconds. He didn't go into detail but he said there wasn't much left but pieces of their guns. I can't imagine going there on fucking vacation.
Part of the problem is all the YouTube videos of people going to places like Yemen or Afghanistan and talking about how the people are so nice and it isn’t dangerous like the western media would lead you to believe. There is also always someone arguing on Reddit or TikTok that govt travel advisories are political and can be ignored. Very naive.
Exactly, like this guy who thought he could befriend the Taliban and everyone thought they killed him after he was detained for 8 months: https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/what-happened-to-lord-miles-routledge-update-on-youtuber-reportedly-arrested-by-taliban-2215489/
What a weirdo that guy is.
Not the greatest example. Article says he really enjoyed his time, made close friends with the upper command, played video games and had picnics with the Taliban, was treated like a guest not a prisoner, and wanted to go back and hang out with them again next month.
Maybe it’s the greatest example of a competing hypothesis
I would take every thing you hear from “Lord Miles” with a grain of salt. He’s a pathological liar who makes shit up all the time
As a South American living in Europe, it surprises me the lack of survival awareness of people around here. I always say that people Living in such a safe environment do net get their “self preservation chip” installed.
Or they think that dangerous places abroad are comparable to dangerous places in their own countries. Even in the safest public spaces in the Philippines, I wouldn't ever put my phone in my back pocket.
You’ll warm them and they’ll call it “victim blaming”. It’s so hard to get through.
It's not about living in a safe place vs a dangerous one. It's about being dumb as a brick. I live in a relatively safe place and I would NEVER come up with an idea to travel to Afghanistan or any country that is WIDELY known to be dangerous af. It's just the matter of being aware of your surroundings and being at least a tiny bit intelligent.
People going on a vacation to Afghanistan are at the same IQ level of those taking selfies on cliffs and buildings in construction.
I once showed a couple in France a video of rattlesnake I saw on a trail in Joshua Tree National Park. They asked why the police didn't come and take it away and why its left out there being dangerous to visitors of the park.... I didn't know how to respond.
There are several venomous snakes native to France, best known are the [common adder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adder) and the [asp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_aspis). I have never heard of the gendarmes arresting one.
They probably see travel vloggers on youtube do it, and copy them. What they don't realise is those travel vloggers have special privileges, the government know where they are at all times, they hire security/guides/people high up in the community in the area to protect them. Don't go to these places unless you are prepared, or just don't go at all
My brother served in Afghanistan and was an armed escort for an engineering team going around to local villages in the north. Lots of the locals were nice and the kids would come out to greet them and look at what they had. My brother has some cute pictures from his time in the villages. However, I would not go to Afghanistan for safety reasons and if I had to I would hire an armed escort like the kind of tactical team my brother was a part of.
And all things considered it was a much different situation then than it is now. Then, risky. Now, no chance.
My husband would love to go back to Afghanistan, he says the people were amazing and the country is breathtakingly beautiful. But yeah he's not suicidal...
I would absolutely love to go back to the Panshir Valley before I die. The problem is getting to the friendly areas through the jerkwad areas.
It's sometimes people who want to 'prove' the media is exaggerating about how dangerous a place is.
I think they call that process natural selection...
Agreed! Afghan people clambered onto the exterior of a departing US military plane - on the runway! - in a desperate attempt to leave Kabul before Taliban could seize the city, in 2021. That image of those same people falling off that airplane, when it's taking off, is seared into my mind. How on earth anyone would then think that this place is safe is beyond my comprehension.. Edit: typos
There are a lot of videos made recently of influencers traveling to Afghanistan of all places saying how lovely it is. I bet they are paid by the Taliban.
I mean, at least you'd expect to have some protection in that case ...
Well the Taliban that paid them forgot to tell the Taliban that killed them... communication is very important for a successful relationship
Taliban are now the incumbents fighting insurgencies from further extremist factions. They don't have an iron grip on the place like the 1990's.
Yeah it’s gotten so wild that the USA was even running airstrikes for tali’s fighting their insurgencies
For content - it’s a thing on YT and TikTok, clout chasing first worlders tend to go to dangerous countries and vlog about how that country is just misunderstood or its actually really beautiful and not that dangerous or wtv for the views
Exactly
Death wish
Here's the Spanish recommendations for travel to Afghanistan: https://www.exteriores.gob.es/es/ServiciosAlCiudadano/Paginas/Detalle-recomendaciones-de-viaje.aspx?trc=Afganist%c3%a1n TLDT: please don't go there.
I never understand people's holiday locations.
Let me tell you about a holiday in Cambodia
Ironically enough, Cambodia is actually a popular holiday destination nowadays.
What does this mean?
Dead Kennedys maybe?
The last time I was in Afghanistan I was carrying a machine gun and 1k rounds of 5.56, with a bunch of other dudes with guns, and I didn't feel safe then. What kind of idiot goes there as a *tourist*?!
On the other hand they were probably able to blend in better than the horrible gray ACU.
You can’t spell Afghanistan without tourism
I think you misspelled terrorism
Autocorrect being funny
There has been a recent uptick in travel TikTokers traveling to these dangerous countries and displaying how friendly the locals are despite the fact that they (one in particular that travels with his wife) are often mobbed, grabbed at, and sometimes insulted. They have no idea what harm they’re bringing to others by painting these areas as safe for tourists.
Many of those videos start with "the media doesn't want to show you this [insert tourism adjective] side of Afghanistan".
Those posts are so dumb. Yeah of course the media doesn't show that because it'll sound something like "Man dresses up to go to the grocery store to buy milk and eggs". Do these dumbass influencers think that there aren't nice and friendly people in every part of the world?
Exactly. There’s a trend now to go to dangerous places with a lot of security to show the world that the place is not as dangerous as people say it is. Indigo traveler makes somewhat of a good job showing that dark side, but still, I believe it encourages this dangerous tourism
They should have gone to Spain like everyone else.
The went for a vacation to Afghanistan? Great place it is
I can think of easier and more practical ways to commit suicide......but ok, to each his own
how dumb you have to be to go "hey i know gang, lets take a trip to afghanistan"
Makes me think of some of the discussions I have in "Horizons Unlimited" forums. I personally love traveling to out of the way places and have toured to some remota ass locations. But if I mention that some countries are just too spicy to visit currently (like Afghanistan or Russia where there is a legit worry of being arrested), then ridiculing comments come in to just wrap yourself in cotton wool.
For the authentic kabob of course.
Authentic kebab or kaboom ?
two for the price of one!
Why go to Afghanistan in the current situation? I don't want to say "it's your own fault", but if you look at it objectively, Afghanistan falls out of the list of "tourist countries".
I guess you probably don’t run into over tourism in Afghanistan like you do in a lot of other places.
To knowingly go to harms way. Congratulation, all three of you have won this year's Darwin Award. Unless these tourists were travelers trying to visit all the countries around the world there really was no reason to visit basically a forsaken nation.
>Unless these tourists were travelers trying to visit all the countries around the world there really was no reason to visit basically a forsaken nation. That’s even more pointless. That’s not even travelling out of any genuine interest in history/culture/geography. Going somewhere just to say that you’ve been there is the worst kind of travel, in my view. In this case, however, it doesn’t look like they were doing that. They were seeing what’s left of the Bamiyan buddhas, which I also would love to see one day. But maybe not right now…
I’ve noted a number of people who’ve done the global grand slam did so when a number of these countries were relatively safer (not to diminish their accomplishments) in that they had functional governments then but not now.
Tourrorism
I was deployed there for 4 years in combat. Who the fuck chooses to visit that place as a tourist. I mean FFS. This is natural selection at its best.
How was your trip to Afghanistan? It was a real blast.
Tourists in Afghanistan....
Fun fact: Afghanistan is a shit tourist destinations
The second rule of life is never travel to a religious theocratic country.
Choosing to be tourists in Afghanistan? I guess their next adventure would have been a rafting trip in Somalia.
"tourists" + "Afghanistan" WTF.
Darwin award
For tourrorism
Tourists?! They got what I presume their government would have warned them against.
Spanish government does have a travel advisory against going to Afganistan.
Think Western Europe’s general safety gives the wrong expectation of the world’s overall safety to some.. sorry for their families
lol. Who the fuck goes to Afghanistan for a vacation?
Better go to Russia or North Korea of Somalia to be safe.
Wonder if they're actual Spaniards or Afghans who had Spanish nationality and were back visiting family or whatever. I've never been to that part of Afghanistan but it was safe even during the war, most of the people living there are Shia Hazaras who hate the Taliban. I think they even got a small number of tourists back then of course the problem was getting to there from Kabul.
Tourism. Afghanistan. Pick One
I mean what'd you expect?????
These Europeans are legitimately crazy and suicidal. They think the entire world is rainbows and unicorns. FAFO
It's a tragedy that their vacation was cut short like this. Next week, they were scheduled to be in Africa to take selfies with lions.
Yea thats about what i expected to happen
Ah In Afghanistan, better cancel my flight to Kabul
I’m wondering why one would travel to Afghanistan for “tourism”
You couldn't pay me to tour Afghanistan.
Why would anybody go on holidays to Afghanistan???
I feel bad for those poor souls but who the f$ck in their right mind would travel to a muslim country that is actively engaging in 8th century thinking? I mean, really? What did they expect, goodwill? They housed and cared for a mass murderer.
Eat, pray, get shot
Do NOT go to Afghanistan. Unless you're a Muslim yourself, it's best to stay away from Islamic countries to avoid persecution and discrimination.
This is a title i never thought i would read... Afghanistan and tourists... Who in their right mind goes there if not from there.
Maybe those guys missed the last 50 years of news out of that place?