Reply to: Afghanistan

[Old Greg]

This thread reminds of the TripAdvisor Yemen tourist forum, in which people were trying to travel during the height of the war.


Yemen Forum, Travel Discussion for Yemen - TripAdvisor

The classics are the pregnant German woman who wishes to travel to see her long gone Yemeni partner, the dad. Thankfully she didn't fly in the end.

Don't go to Afghanistan. You'll be stuck within a NATO compound. Most expat assignments for non-army personnel fail and for good reason. If you have dependents absolutely do not go.

That sounds like a good thing.

[vwdan]

My brother quite enjoyed it out there, but he did have a lot of weapons at his disposal...

[rogerfederer]

This thread reminds of the TripAdvisor Yemen tourist forum, in which people were trying to travel during the height of the war.


Yemen Forum, Travel Discussion for Yemen - TripAdvisor

The classics are the pregnant German woman who wishes to travel to see her long gone Yemeni partner, the dad. Thankfully she didn't fly in the end.

Don't go to Afghanistan. You'll be stuck within a NATO compound. Most expat assignments for non-army personnel fail and for good reason. If you have dependents absolutely do not go.

[Lance]

Good nightlife and plenty of drink, you can get stoned for next to nothing

True. Stoned for adultery. Stoned for thinking about adultery.

[Big Blue Plymouth]

Really?

The Famous Shoe Company turned you down at interview then?

I call you out as a liar.

I've sent you a PM.

[cojak]

Been approached about a dev role in Afghanistan with NATO.

Role is based at Bagram Air Base and you work on a 6 week on / 6 week off basis.

Anyone else worked out of there or looked into it? I'm quite tempted but I suspect that the entirety of the contract is going to be spent on the air base with little or no scope for getting out and experiencing the local culture.

The woman from the French agency did try and paint a rosier picture but I once you're out there it's probably going to be too late to change your mind.

Really?

The Famous Shoe Company turned you down at interview then?

I call you out as a liar.

[sal]

Ffs he said time off is paid. So 6 weeks you get paid to sit at home. Yeah I can see why because it's not easy work stuck in a camp for 6 weeks with the threat of Taliban and elections, what a great mix! Hence the 650 rate and 6 weeks off pro rata.

Who said the time off is paid?

Good nightlife and plenty of drink, you can get stoned for next to nothing to death

FTFY

[saptastic]

I know someone who did a contract in Afghanistan. He said it was an eye opener but stuck on the base generally. It was purely for the money though - don't have any expectations on travelling about - it comes down to if the money is good relative to what else is on offer and leaving family.

[Big Blue Plymouth]

Ffs he said time off is paid. So 6 weeks you get paid to sit at home. Yeah I can see why because it's not easy work stuck in a camp for 6 weeks with the threat of Taliban and elections, what a great mix! Hence the 650 rate and 6 weeks off pro rata.

Not according to the woman that spoke to me.

[Paddy]

Been approached about a dev role in Afghanistan with NATO.

Role is based at Bagram Air Base and you work on a 6 week on / 6 week off basis.

Anyone else worked out of there or looked into it? I'm quite tempted but I suspect that the entirety of the contract is going to be spent on the air base with little or no scope for getting out and experiencing the local culture.

The woman from the French agency did try and paint a rosier picture but I once you're out there it's probably going to be too late to change your mind.

Good nightlife and plenty of drink, you can get stoned for next to nothing

[cosmic]

So it's 600 Euro pd and you don't get time off paid.

Accommodation is provided but it's probably hot bunking with big Cletus from the US Marine Corps.

And you only get 1 return flight per year. HTF are you supposed to source your own flights when no major carriers fly there. Multiple hops via Damascus and Mogadishu?

Ffs he said time off is paid. So 6 weeks you get paid to sit at home. Yeah I can see why because it's not easy work stuck in a camp for 6 weeks with the threat of Taliban and elections, what a great mix! Hence the 650 rate and 6 weeks off pro rata.

[darmstadt]

I was asked to go and work at Peshawar Airforce base in Pakistan for a few weeks which is pretty much on the border with Afghanistan. This was just as the Taliban were kicking off and having looked into it, decided that it really didn't look much fun so turned it down (well resigned from the contract actually as this would have been one of my site visits) although I have worked in various other 'dodgy' places since then (Swindon, Slough and Washington DC)

[sal]

So it's 600 Euro pd and you don't get time off paid.

Accommodation is provided but it's probably hot bunking with big Cletus from the US Marine Corps.

And you only get 1 return flight per year. HTF are you supposed to source your own flights when no major carriers fly there. Multiple hops via Damascus and Mogadishu?

Why are you even contemplating it. It's a horrible deal, the 50% forced bench time alone is a deal breaker, yet alone the location.

[PhiltheGreek]

Been approached about a dev role in Afghanistan with NATO.

Role is based at Bagram Air Base and you work on a 6 week on / 6 week off basis.

Anyone else worked out of there or looked into it? I'm quite tempted but I suspect that the entirety of the contract is going to be spent on the air base with little or no scope for getting out and experiencing the local culture.

The woman from the French agency did try and paint a rosier picture but I once you're out there it's probably going to be too late to change your mind.

If you want to experience the misogynistic repression and suicidal driving aspect of life there just get a dev role in Bradford - at least that way you can get home every weekend.

[edison]

Been approached about a dev role in Afghanistan with NATO.

Role is based at Bagram Air Base and you work on a 6 week on / 6 week off basis.

Anyone else worked out of there or looked into it? I'm quite tempted but I suspect that the entirety of the contract is going to be spent on the air base with little or no scope for getting out and experiencing the local culture.

The woman from the French agency did try and paint a rosier picture but I once you're out there it's probably going to be too late to change your mind.

Experiencing the local culture? You've only got to look at the UK FCO travel advice for Afghanistan to quickly realise you would be mad to go and work there. The FCO says elections are taking place soon which would make it even more dangerous. Good luck getting travel insurance!!

I was once contacted by an agent I knew fairly well about a year long contract in Kazakhstan. Whilst the role was fairly interesting and rate was pretty good, the potential safety risks as well as tedium of working somewhere like that put me off. When I told her I couldn't possibly work there, she gave a big laugh and replied "everyone says that!"