Kieran Brown paid £900 for an eight-day guided tour of Afghanistan despite the war-torn nation being on the Government’s do-not-visit list.
The 30-year-old says he and three pals bought a travel visa from Pakistan and crossed the border to be driven around ‘the world’s most dangerous country’.
The former barman was stunned to find its fresh bread and £1.50 kebabs were ‘better than he’d tasted in Turkey’ and its mountainous landscape rivalled the Swiss Alps.
He says the ‘welcoming’ Taliban even offered him a cup of tea and played volleyball with members who joked the game was another ‘USA vs Afghanistan’.
Kieran admits he was stunned by the luxury hotel accommodation that was included in his tour, which he said cost around £28 per night.
The content creator posted clips of his experience to social media with the caption ‘this is your sign to book a lads trip to Afghanistan’.
However, some slammed his recommendation as ‘disgraceful’ given the Taliban’s record of killing British troops and limiting women’s rights.
Here is the current travel advice for the region.
FCDO advises against all travel to Afghanistan
“You should not travel to Afghanistan. The security situation is volatile. Travel throughout Afghanistan is extremely dangerous and border crossings may not be open.
“There is a heightened risk of British nationals being detained in Afghanistan. If you are a British national and you are detained in Afghanistan, you could face months or years of imprisonment. FCDO’s ability to help you is extremely limited and support in person is not possible in Afghanistan.”
Kieran has since described the captions as satire and said he would only recommend experienced travellers visit Afghanistan.
The UK Government’s travel advice says ‘you should not travel to Afghanistan. The security situation is volatile and travel throughout Afghanistan is extremely dangerous’.
Kieran, from Sidcup, Kent, said: “We had an amazing time.
“This country has always been off limits during my childhood so I was intrigued by it.
“The food was really cheap and it was 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.
“It was much more developed than I imagined.
“Kabul felt as developed as a city in Bulgaria does. We went bowling and there were shopping malls and cinemas.
“Every hotel I stayed at was more luxurious than I guessed but maybe that’s because we were on a high-end tour.
“It was one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever been to. There were mountains, glacier blue lakes. It was like the Swiss Alps.
“If you’ve not left the UK and you’re considering going there instead of Benidorm then I definitely wouldn’t go but if you’re an experienced traveller, sure, try it.
“You need to have your wits about you”
Kieran found crossing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border a difficult experience as he could see people trying to flee Afghanistan and being stopped by violent security guards.
He recalls how gyms and shops in cities he visited had no background music because music is banned by the Taliban.
Kieran said the worst part of his trip was visiting a school where he heard the high career aspirations of young girls about to be removed from education at age 11.
He felt welcomed by both the Taliban and the locals but learned how residents’ quality of life had decreased.
The content creator claims to have donated £50 to the school as part of his £1,000 spent on the tour and food.
Kieran said: “The Taliban [at the border] were nice. They offered us tea and said that we were welcome in their country.
“They want to be a recognised government so it’s in their best interests that no tourists are hurt as it would hinder their chances of recognition.
“The people were really happy that we were in the country visiting them and felt welcome the whole time.
“They treat tourists well but they don’t treat people from Afghanistan well, like women.
“I spoke to a couple of men and they felt their life quality had reduced by around 30 per cent since they took over.
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“Seeing how young girls are going to have rights taken away from them wasn’t nice to see.”
Clips of Kieran’s trip posted in 2024 and in March this year have floods of negative comments from users angry that he’d holiday there and suggest others should too.
One sarcastically commented “Cute that you get to enjoy this beautiful country. In case you didn’t know, women are struggling hard in this beautiful country.
“I hope you used your lads trip to do something about it.”
A second said: “Imagine being English and going to a country and funding men that shot and killed your own people. Disgrace.”
A third added: “Nah, we’re alright mate.”
Kieran has since responded by claiming the captions were ‘satire’ and that he just wrote them to make his videos go viral.
Kieran said: “The videos were satire. I wasn’t encouraging people to choose Afghanistan over going to Ibiza and I think a lot of people who watched that video could tell that.
“It was a funny way to make the video go viral.
“This was my own experience and someone else could go and not have the same experience as me.
“I told my story through my social media then it’s up to other people to get their own perception.”
