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Bed that saved me from the Taliban
81–90 of 148 posts
Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban
#82Turns out 4-5 guys with AK's and some grenades took over an international hotel in central Kabul and killed 40+ people.
What's the excuse for the hotel not having any security?
Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
When breaking places the intact things are broken first. Breaking an already broken vase just isn’t the same. Just my hunch at least. Untidy bed is already ”broken”.
To me it’s very close to 50/50 maybe 55/44 but maybe that is the difference.
Sometimes that's enough.
Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder why they shot at the tidy bed but not the unkempt one. The narrator seems to imply he knew hiding under the unkempt one was the better option. Why is that ? Also, what's with "holding the bed with my toes and fists" ? I don't picture that really well.
> Also, what's with "holding the bed with my toes and fists" ? I don't picture that really well. The bed didn't have enough space for him to fit with its legs on the floor. I imagine he was lying face-up under the bed, with his arms outstretched, fists balled up supporting one end of the bed (under strut). At the other end, his heels would have been on the floor, with his toes bearing the weight of the bed edit: uplo…
(Nice drawing).
Hopefully the assailant only sat up on the bed after our guy tore it open and slid inside the frame. Still, he stayed hours at first, holding the bed 10 centimeters from the ground.
Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
This isn't true at all. Luxury hotels, most especially managed or chain brands are some of the safest places in third-world countries. The odds of buglary, petty crimes and those vices you listed happening is close to zero. This is the reason why they are attractive to expats and high-end clients. They have the best security and are usually located in prime areas making them less susceptible to some of those claims y…
This is what most Westerner think, but the reality is the opposite. I'll explain. Luxury hotels in 3rd world countries are very different from normal hotels. They are "hotels" in name only. Here, luxury hotels function pretty much like castles and keeps for local "feudal elites." What they do is not so much about providing lodging and comfort, but providing physical security and security from sights of common people…
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Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban
#86Great article. But one detail seems to be wrong: It says "I had to do something, so I went out on to the balcony. I could see the fire on __my left hand side__, it was heavy and I realised that if it reached my room I wasn't going to survive." The provided image circles the balcony on the right hand side of the fire, so it would have been either his right hand side where he saw the fire, the image has been mirrored,…
or he was on the balcony, facing the building describing the the fire was on his left hand side. Amazing read, amazing he made it out, his training and being calm helped him, luck was a factor as well.
Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reading it, I actually had the same idea. But still, the possible would exist that there's someone in the room who didn't dare climb down in the end.
Yes. But then it seems like a mistake to have put the mattress against the door since that strongly suggests that someone is in the room.
He did this to physically shield himself from random shrapnel. His purpose in opening the balcony door was to give the impression that somebody may have egressed.
This is taught in tradecraft courses, and this mention along with others in the article suggests to me that he's been through some tradecraft and/or SERE-type trainings -- probably oriented towards journalists.
Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban
#88Turns out 4-5 guys with AK's and some grenades took over an international hotel in central Kabul and killed 40+ people. What's the excuse for the hotel not having any security?
It's a hotel in Afghanistan, a country presently immersed in turmoil.
Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban
#89Turns out 4-5 guys with AK's and some grenades took over an international hotel in central Kabul and killed 40+ people. What's the excuse for the hotel not having any security?
It's a hotel in Afghanistan, a country presently immersed in turmoil.
It had already been attacked and was full of international guests. In the capital city. 4-5 guys should not be able to take complete control of the hotel with no heavy weaponry. That means security is deficient or non-existent.
Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban
#90Amazing read. Happy that he made it out. Loved the closing comment as well (I wonder why everyone of us can't live like this without going through a NDE, I myself am a guilty party): >You know, sitting on the beach in Greece with friends I've heard people complaining that because we had a financial crisis they miss some of the comforts they used to have. I am like, "Come on! Enjoy your life and health. You are eating…
You don't need to go through a NDE. Try going hiking on the mountains. You'll come back with a better attitude about life and your usual problems will look meaningless. I used to go at least once a year. Need to get back on it.
My parents go most every weekend. They're still stress prone.