You will NEVER see a bumper sticker on the back of my car that reads… “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey!” I am all about the destination. The journey is just a means to an end.

For those of you who are groaning – bear with me ’cause the universe seems to be on your side….

The trip back to Afghanistan was…well, a trip.  It started with two incredibly heavy  bags that perplexed the airline staff. It got more complicated when they discovered my Afghanistan Visa…and spend the next 15 minutes trying to figure out whether or not I needed a visa for Dubai. Then got more complicated when they decided they wanted to see proof that I was returning to the US. (Apparently I’m a much hotter commodity in the States than I thought!)

Once the issue of the Visa / return ticket was settled (I needed neither) the next point of business was them telling me that I needed to purchase a smaller bag and repack some of the contents of my heaviest bag into it. Foolishly I complied.

By the time I was finished repacking the staff behind the counter had changed, and actually knew what they were doing…which was panicking that the earlier assistant had not checked me in for my flight that was now leaving in 25 minutes. I nearly choked when she quoted me a $400 fee for my extra bag plus one heavy bag, as it was the same amount the woman earlier had said my two HUGE bags would be before she had me repack to save $$$.

Honestly, I just didn’t have time to get mad. I paid and flew down the hallway to the security line…where I came to a screeching halt, waiting in a single line (on Labor Day weekend) until my plane left.

Enter the journey.

The women at the check-in desk sent me back to ticketing where a lovely man was kind enough to rebook my non-refundable ticket, refund my baggage fee and send me on my way back home for another day.

All along the way I’d been tempted to yell – fume – or just get intensely indignant (which I do particularly well)  but decided to focus on my bonus day in Portland. The strange calm freed me up to call one of my best girlfriends, who’d flow in from the Balkans late the night before. She just happened to be picking up her husband from the airport – so we all went to lunch.

…there might be something to the “journey” thing after all.

I did fly out early the next day and made it to Dubai without incident. I stayed there a couple of nights getting my Visa for Afghanistan processed and then flew into Kabul. Where I was welcomed by a VBIED that exploded at the airport entrance. Fortunately I was in the air at the time – so other than circling for a while, there was no major drama. I was ill when I arrived so was happy to have a flight out on Thursday morning, as opposed to the bumpy overland route – also had time to catch up with friends & colleagues in Kabul.

What I can say about arriving back in Mazar is that while the journey was interesting and not wholly without merit, the destination still has the edge!

Afghan National Police (ANP) exiting the Kabul airport.