Off the Backpacker Trail in Bangladesh!

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When I asked a travel agent in Bangkok for the cheapest flight to Kathmandu, he informed me of a flight with a one night lay over in Bangladesh. It was about $200 cheaper than any other flight so it was an easy decision.. I was going to Bangladesh! Before heading out to good ol' Bangladesh I succumbed to the constant offers to buy a suit, which I was so against doing when I first came to Bangkok. It was such a good deal that I had to buy two.

Once I boarded the Bihman Airways flight I was startled by the 70's style floral pattern on all the seats. I was hoping that the plane wasn't as old as it appeared and that the Bengali's just had poor taste when decorating. Either way we arrived safely and upon checking in to get a transit visa, I was asked to hand over my plane ticket for the remaining leg to Kathmandu and it was replaced with a poker chip looking token. I was a bit unsure of this trade since that ticket was my only proof that I had purchased it, but I went along with the Bengali way and it turned out alright. That token also got me into a seriously creepy hotel that night. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I was told by a few others on my flight that there was a man outside the front door of our hotel with a spear on the end of a broom stick, appearing to be on guard. Protecting the hotel our perhaps locking us in??? The hotel had about six floors, was completely empty except for the few of us who had this flight and had an unusually and unnecessary large staff. They brought me to three different rooms before finding one that was just right. The first was a dungeon on the first floor with no windows and what resembled streaks of blood on the wall. They must have seen the look on my face because they instantly brought me to a second room. This one appeared suitable but for some reason they brought me to a third and at this point I really just wanted to sleep because it was about 3am. Before leaving me for the night, the staff provided the normal hotel services. First, he thoroughly sprayed bug spray around the windows and in the corners of the room which left a pungent smell that I was afraid to inhale. Then another staff brought me a nice hot glass of coke..service does not get any better.

The next morning I continued to be impressed when I was brought some strange tasting toast and eggs in bed. Then I turned on the TV and caught some of game 1 of the Cavs Celtics series on ESPN. A bit later, a couple from Holland, another American guy and myself went to have a walk around the streets of Bangladesh, but we were stopped on our way out the door. Since we only had a transit visa we were prohibited from walking outside of the hotel, but as soon as Michael, the other American guy, offered $10 they had no problem with the idea. They even gave us a tour guide and we walked around for about an hour. We were all amazed by what we saw and all the Bengali's seemed quite amazed with us as well. Everyone was staring at us with smiles of fascination, since many of them most likely do not often see foreigners, if ever, and many were eager to say "hello" to us as we passed. Several of them asked that we take their picture with our cameras and then thanked us with a big smile after we took the photo. We were brought to a busy crowded market with some unappetizing fish and red meat covered in flies and still everyone turned to look at us and gave us a smile.

When we got back to the airport, sure enough, I exchanged my little token for a ticket to Kathmandu and jumped back on the retro style plane. Although I was only there for a few hours, Bangladesh was quite an experience.

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