
From Bala Boluk to Farah we eventually veered off the Ring Road onto HWY 517, another one of the few paved roads. The trip was fairly uneventful except for that kid who threw a good-sized rock at our humvee as we were going through Shewan. This village is surrounded by poppy fields, and while most children seemed friendly towards us (except for the one) and the adults seemed indifferent, I could only think that they were indeed against our presence in the area, poppy cultivation being apparently their main source of income, not quite approved by the International Community or Afghan Government (but some in the government surely get kickbacks, this isn't the model government by any means!) So it was well worth going on this trip just to see the poppies, after all it's a little like going to New York City and not seeing the Empire State, one cannot go to Afghanistan and not see poppies!
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