An Intro to the Taj

Life at the Taj ain't all that bad. It's a huge walled-off compound in what one might call the suburbs of Jalalabad, sans the soccer moms in SUVs. The compound houses a large guest house, a (slightly warm) pool, a garden, a decent-sized soccer field and of course ample space for the Fab Lab. After getting the tour and settling in a bit, Tim, our entrepid security guru and zen master, gave us our official 'Welcome to Jalalabad' security brief. At the very least, we now know how to detect a ticking time bomb.
There are a number of local Afghan men who work at the Taj, including guards, gardeners, cooks, and of course the "Dinner is Served" announcer. I'm not quite sure what he does for the rest of the day but he becomes slightly disgruntled if you don't follow him immediately to the dining room at meal time.

There are two gardens at The Taj, one managed by the locals and another managed by Japanese ag specialists who have been staying at the Taj. They are both chock full of veggies, including tomatoes, eggplants, watermelon and corn, although the uniform bamboo structures gives away which one the Japanese have created.


The jubiliant Ken can often be spotted hanging out on the Baba deck; it's alluring amenities make it prime habitat for a Nanjemoy fellow.

Ah, the pool and bar area of the Taj. A relaxing place to grab a drink and spend a few hours (or more) chatting with the expats and hearing war stories that involve big guns, armored trucks and beer runs. Since it's a holy day, Friday is a day off for locals and expats alike. Meaning...Thursday's are a big night at the Taj bar. During our last Thursday night I think the bar went through five cases of beer and plenty of bad Russian vodka.