skip to main  |skip to sidebarHoneymoon in IraqA chronicle of our 12 month honeymoon in Iraq and AfghanistanThursday, June 09, 2011Jalalabad100+ F here in Jalalabad before 1100 hours even.  Humidity is only 6% though.  Feels like walking through a giant oven.  In the evenings the wind starts up and conjours imaginations of walking towards a flamethrower.Other than the heat, JAF is a fantastic base.  Just big enough to be comfortable, small enough to avoid a lot of the BS.  I'm only here for a few days, but if I had to spend a long period of time in Afghanistan again, this would be a decent place to do it.Posted byChrisat03:19No comments:Location:Jalalabad Airport, Jalalabad, AfghanistanMonday, January 10, 2011Culture ClashLast night, in Dubai, sitting in the ultramodern hotel lounge, watching Real Madrid play Villarreal, with American country music playing out of the lounge sound system.Posted byChrisat06:41No comments:Sunday, June 27, 2010Dubai UAE-GateIf you are going to make more than 1 or 2 trips through Dubai and you don't like waiting in long lines, then taking advantage of the UAE-Gate program is definitely to your advantage.  The UAE-Gate is like a digital passport that lets you get through immigration, normally a 45 minute plus long line, in less than 5 minutes.Signing up for UAE-Gate has gotten even easier.  There is now a desk inside Terminal 1 (the main airline terminal) that lets you sign up for UAE-Gate before you even enter the country.  The cost is 200Durhams, roughly $60USD, takes about 20 minutes, and is good for two years.  I'm not sure if there are other payment options, or if you need to have Durhams on hand to pay for it.After you land in Dubai and exit the plane, be prepared for a very long walk.  First you walk through the secure area across the top of the airport to the center, where you drop down to the below ground level.  The main corridor is probably 1/2 mile long and you can choose to walk or ride the people conveyor.  The end of the corridor opens up into the visa processing area (no visa required for US citizens).  At the far end of the visa processing areas are stairs that take you up to immigration.  After you climb the stairs, stay on the right hand side and there will be a small counter marked UAE-Gate.  After the counter are some man-trap turnstyles, the actual E-gates, so turn back, you've gone too far.At the counter you need to give them your passport, they will take your picture, scan your thumbprints, collect your money, and give you a driver's license size card.  Now, whenever you enter or leave Dubai, all you need to do is insert the card into the e-gate, scan your airline ticket, and provide a thumbprint.If you don't have checked baggage to wait on, you can get from the plane, through the airport, and out to your taxi in less than 20 minutes.  If you do have checked baggage, you won't really save much time because it normally takes an hour from when you get off the plane until t