I spent an afternoon in Jalalabad, sitting in the tranquil garden of the Spinghar Hotel - truly an oasis of sorts when coming from the noise and grime of the capital. I reflected on the last month in Afghanistan and was overcome by a particularly intense bout of 'soulfulness' on the situation, possibly prompted by feelings of sadness upon leaving the country.

I imagined a different country. Not utopian, to be sure, but still far away. A country where the news of a family forced to watch the beheading of their father - he was a headmaster of a school in the south - isn't considered a small story. A country where children don't consider education a luxury. A country where power runs more often than just every third day. A country where you can travel safely after dark. A country where the presence of mines don't dictate where you can walk. A country where international support and money doesn't decrease as interest wanes. A country where decisions are made on the basis of needs, and not wants.

I spent most of the evening reading in Anne Applebaum's comprehensive Gulag: a history. This helped, too, to put things in perspective. My meal of rice and cauliflower seemed positively luxurious when set against the regimentalised rations of the Soviet camps in the east. To all who have the time and the interest, I'd recommend this book, not the 'duty'-read that its name might suggest.

Tomorrow I'll cross the border into Pakistan, crossing via the Khyber Pass, into a new country and a new issue - the 8th October earthquake that killed some 73,000 and devastated parts of the country. Even in Afghanistan, here in Jalalabad, three children were killed as houses collapsed in the after-shocks.

I'll be visiting Peshawar, Mansehra, Islamabad, Balakot and perhaps Muzafferabad.