Murphy bicycling through Afghanistan

I want to share a quote from another Dervla Murphy book, Full Tilt: From Dublin to Delhi with a Bicycle, (although I know I've recommended this book before.) This piece reminds me of how lucky I have been to have met so many wonderful Thai people and been invited into their homes. I owe much of this to Jim, who encourages me to hitchhike with him - and in this way, we have made friends with folks we never would have met had we taken a bus or train with other westerners.

Regarding the artificial life led by foreigners in Afghanistan in the 60s:
“The sense of their isolation from the world around them is quite stifling...met a European couple who have been in Kabul for 18 months without once entering the home of an ordinary Afghan -- and they are not exceptions. The attitude is that the 'natives' are people to be observed from a discreet distance and photographed as often as possible, but not lived among. The result is boredom. The collecting of souvenirs seems to be a substitute for the cheaper and richer experience of being temporarily integrated in the life of the country.“

"Murphy is the best kind of traveler: observant, high-spirited, and impervious to discomfort. . . . Shortly after her tenth birthday, Dervla Murphy decided to cycle to India. Almost 20 years later, she set out to achieve her ambition. Her epic journey began during the coldest winter in memory, taking her through Europe, Persia, Afghanistan, over the Himalayas to Pakistan, and into India. This captivating account—Murphy’s first—is an enchantment that holds the reader to the final page."