Michel Rentenaar is travelling to Afghanistan to be the civilian representative of the Dutch forces there. He'll be telling us what that experience is like first hand. This is his second column, describing the journey to Afghanistan, and his first impressions.

Farewell to the Netherlands
After months of preparation, the day I was leaving for Uruzgan dawned. Saying goodbye turned out to be heavier than my cases. I experienced a curious sort of stage fright before leaving for a land where the word 'theatre' has nothing to do with treading the boards, but refers to an area of military engagement.

The trip began normally enough, with a scheduled KLM flight to Dubai, surrounded by 30 kilos of excess baggage and the other members of the civilian team who had also just said goodbye to their loved ones. I gave my business-class gift, a KLM miniature house, to the man next to me. At Dubai, I was picked up to go on to the military airfield. Dubai towards the end of July can only be described as hellishly hot. The 'Welcome to Camp Mirage' sign flew past me in the dark, and I thought to myself that this particular mirage felt pretty real.

On the way to Afghanistan
After 24 hours of waiting in the desert's merciless heat, the day began like many others will probably start - in the dark, at 5 o'clock, with a quick breakfast in an army canteen. The lounge at Schiphol already seemed a long way away.

On with the shrapnel-proof vest and helmet. My T-shirt immediately became sopping wet in the heat. Along with 50 Dutch soldiers, neatly lined up in a grey Hercules plane. It was quiet except for the drone of the engines. Young, fit fighters looking straight ahead, tough, but visibly tense. An old hand blinked rather more often. Now, it was beginning in earnest. Next stop: Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

Meeting the general again
Kandahar Airfield, in southern Afghanistan, is, as I've said before, enormous. A military airbase as big as a town. On arrival, I met General Marc van Uhm again. Hearty handshakes and comments like: "Now, we’re off" and "Let’s get on with it". Then a quick visit to Dutch General Michiel van der Laan, director of Stability Division, Regional Command South. Simply put: the general responsible for reconstruction in southern Afghanistan. A clever and agreeable man with vision. Conversations with the political advisor to the British and the head of the civilian-military cooperation unit. An attempt to garner as much knowledge as possible before I get to Uruzgan.

Towards the end of the day, a quick stroll to 'Dutch corner'. Lots of orange, a mass-circulation Dutch magazine on the dustiest table ever, and loudspeakers broadcasting the 'Uruzgan FM' Dutch-language radio station, with a woman telling us it’s 22 degrees in Amsterdam and that sunny spells are moving in from the west.

Registering at the embassy
To Kabul later in the evening. A night flight via the British Bastion base in Helmand. Gave a new dimension to the idea of a bumpy ride. Zero-7’s Pageant of the Bizarre on my iPod provided some comfort. We were picked up in Kabul by lads from security in armoured cars. This time, it was really nice to see one of the guards I knew from Baghdad. Reminiscences about diving into Saddam Hussein’s swimming pool.

There was a warm welcome at the embassy, not only for me, as a diplomat, but also for the general. This mission is to a large extent about Uruzgan's general development and rebuilding its administration. Lots of work is being done via the embassy. In between embassy briefings, a quick visit to the European Union observer mission, with its office in a Kabul hotel - faded grandeur inside, the scars of war outside.

Clear agreements made with a Greek and a Spaniard about the deployment of observers in Uruzgan. It is very important that the election goes well in Uruzgan. Finally, some administrative procedures at the embassy. I needed passport photos for this. A female colleague going through the same rigmarole has the hair on her photo removed courtesy of Photoshop. There's still a long way to go.