Tongi River

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Blogger Dougo

Today we headed off on another adventurous trip into the Bangla unknown. With our trusty Lonely Planet guide book and map (don’t get me started again!), we all piled into the school van and headed off to Tongi River, north of the airport on the outskirts of Dhaka.

Our driver, Bilash, proved to be a god send. The Lonely Planet said the launches for the boats that would take us up river were 100m west of the bridge. They were to the east. Bilash managed to bargain us a boat (we had to pay the price of a full boat coz no boats were running) and ensured the guy understood we wanted to be back by 3pm (2 hours later).

Four hours later we returned, having wound our way through the pollution filled water of outer Dhaka and the rice paddies of outlying villages. Locals had waved us by, little kids smiling and jumping with glee. Massive brick kilns surrounded by thousands of drying bricks. Eagles, hawks and kites soared overhead. Fisherman stood and gazed at the crazy white people with their cameras.

Definitely a different side of a Dhaka.

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Photos

Playing in the 'river'
These kids obviously have an immune system far superior to mine. I will never forget their smiling faces as they played in the filth of Tongi River

Trash, rubbish, garbage
Wherever we past a community this is what we saw on the river bank. There simply isn't the infrastructure in place to dispose of all the waste. Imagine if plastic bags were not illegal.

Fishing nets
All along the river we saw these bamboo poles stuck into the river bed in exactly the same arrangement. Turns out they are a used for fishing. Attached to one end of two poles in the water is a fishing net. To lift the net, the fisherman pulls on the opposite end to lever his catch out of the river.

Our passenger
After paying for an entire boat load of passengers coz there was no boat or passengers running at the time we wanted to leave, this bloke decided he would hitch a ride.

Fisherman
This pic is very similar to one I posted on the Sundarbans blog, but I still love it.

Gorgeous
All along the river, kids waved with excitement as we went past. I think it must have been my sunglasses.

Poor man's 'best friend'
All many of things passed us by as we chugged along the river. This dog was among them.

Sorry!
Not all the kids were happy to see us. This poor bloke it seems had never seen a bunch of white skinned foreigners before. Karen waved and he subsequently burst into hysterics.