A holiday in Cambodia has nothing on a getaway in Afghanistan, according to this influencer.
A British travel influencer has raised eyebrows after encouraging fellow vacationers to go on boys’ trips to Afghanistan, which he claims has the best kebabs on Earth and majestic mountains that put the Swiss Alps to shame.
“It was one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever been to,” Kieran Brown, 30, told Kennedy News while describing his controversial Middle Eastern getaway. The travel influencer specializes in traveling to “dangerous” countries such as Eritrea and Pakistan, frequently posting videos of his hair-raising vacation to his over 150,000 followers on Instagram.
For his latest off-the-beaten-path adventure, the Kent native decided to book an eight-day guided tour of Afghanistan despite the fact that the “Graveyard of Empires” is on both the UK and the US’ ‘Do Not Travel’ lists — the highest danger designation.
To get to the “world’s most dangerous country,” Brown and three friends purchased a travel visa in Pakistan and then crossed the border and filmed their adventures in the desert nation.
“Forget Ibiza or Marbella why don’t you and the boys go to Afghanistan this summer?” the Brit captioned a video of their unique travelogue.
Despite the apparent danger, the globetrotter said he had an “amazing time” on their trip, during which the friends they climbed mountains and played volleyball with Taliban members, who joked that game was another “USA vs Afghanistan.”
He called the food “really cheap” and “one of the best cuisines I’ve ever had. “
“You could get a kebab with fresh bread for $2 and I thought it was much better than in Turkey,” gushed the wanderer, waxing poetic about “mountains” and “glacier blue lakes” that reminded him of the “Swiss Alps.”
And, contrary to its reputation as a developing nation, Brown noted that Afghanistan appeared “much more developed” than he’d imagined, analogizing Kabul to Bulgaria.
“We went bowling and there were shopping malls and cinemas,” recalled Brown. “Every hotel I stayed at was more luxurious than I guessed, but maybe that’s because we were on a high-end tour.”
Total price for the plush accommodation? Around $37 per night.
Even the Taliban — who notably banned women from speaking in public in 2024 as part of their ongoing gender apartheid — were much friendlier than Brown expected, reportedly greeting the world traveler at the border with “tea” and claiming they were “welcome in their country.”
“They want to be a recognized government so it’s in their best interests that no tourists are hurt as it would hinder their chances of recognition,” Brown declared. “The people were really happy that we were in the country visiting them and felt welcome the whole time.”
Of course, not everything was so hunky dory in the Central Asian Nation. Brown said he was appalled over the treatment of women, claiming that the low point was visiting a school and hearing the career aspirations of young girls about to be removed from education at age 11.
The content creator also observed that no music played in gyms or malls as the Taliban banned it and that many residents claimed their quality of life had plummeted since the Taliban’s swift and violent takeover in 2021 following the US troop withdrawal.
While crossing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Brown said he saw several people trying to flee the country and being stopped violently by security guards.
He concluded that such a trip should be restricted to experienced travelers who have their wits about them, “dress appropriately and pay respect to the people in the country.”
Many viewers were less than impressed with Brown’s Afghan getaway, with many citing the nation’s danger and poor track record on human rights.
“Don’t romanticize a country where women are treated like property,” said one critic, while another wrote, “Imagine being English and going to a country and funding men that shot and killed your own people. Disgrace.”
“Cute that you get to enjoy this beautiful country,” said a third. “In case you didn’t know, women are struggling hard in this beautiful country. I hope you used your lad’s trip to do something about it.”
However, Brown has since hit back against critics, claiming that the videos were “satire.” and that he wasn’t actually encouraging people to choose Afghanistan over going to Ibiza.”
“I think a lot of people who watched that video could tell that,” scoffed Brown, adding, “This was my own experience and someone else could go and not have the same experience as me.”
The US State Department currently recommends that US citizens not travel to Afghanistan due to a variety of hazards, including “civil unrest, crime, terrorism, risk of wrongful detention, kidnapping, and limited health facilities.”
They noted that the US Embassy in Kabul suspended operations in 2021, preventing the US government from providing “routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Afghanistan.”
The Post reached out to Brown for further details.
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