As soon as he sees the brightly colored storefronts of fruit sellers and general merchandisers on this small stretch of road, Gholam Karbalai knows he is safe.
Karbalai relaxes as he whizzes past the orange and pink exteriors in his green Toyota hatchback. He's just made it through 12 precarious miles of what is one of Afghanistan's most dangerous highways.
Karbalai, 55, has been driving passengers between Kabul and the central province of Bamian for 12 years. Bamian, about 80 miles west of the Afghan capital, is widely considered one of the nation's safer areas, but getting there by road — the way most Afghans travel, considering the cost of the thrice-weekly flights — requires choosing between two of the most dangerous roadways in the war-racked country.