Blogs from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Asia - page 6

Tra le poche informazioni di prima mano che sono riuscito a raccogliere su questo paese, dimenticato dai piu' se non in occasione del puntuale, catastrofico ciclone che lo investe in media ogni 5 anni, la piu' preoccupante e' senza dubbio il fatto di dover essere costantemente al centro dell'attenzione, il soggetto preferito di una moltitudine di sguardi allibiti, come se un extraterrestre fosse atterrato in piazza del duomo a Milano. Dopotutto come puo' non essere cosi' in un paese di piu' di 150 milioni di abitanti che raramente vedono passare dalle loro parti viaggiatori occidentali dalla pelle bianca, dal fisico imponente (i bengalesi sono alti in media un metro e cinquanta, lo si capisce dalla distanza media tra i sedili sugli autobus....) e soprattutto...turisti con molto tempo da perdere! Desideroso di passare il piu' possibile inosservato, ... read more

The Characters An Aesop's Fable with a Moral The expatriate community in Bangladesh was quite small, so naturally the circles of the Noolans-with the non-government organization Symbiosis- and myself-an international school teacher- often collided. This was in Dhaka in 2009. "I'm Jeanette, from Adelaide, Australia," Jeanette said to me, "I hear you are a Yank. "Excuse me?" I abhor labels. "I'm from the United States, yeah, but not a Yank." "To Australians all Americans are Yanks," she stated. "At least she didn't tell us what state she's from, assuming we know exactly where that is," pointed out Steve. This was my introduction to candid, direct Australian culture. The first part of my trip will ... read more

Things are getting really busy here in the subdivision of Uttara. Everyones gearing up for the huge Estema festival happening this weekend. Its an Islamic gathering of men from all over Bangladesh and the surrounding countries for prayer. Some describe it like a pilgrimage. It is taking place behind our university across the river, so from the roof you can see the tents that have been set up, they stretch further than the eye can see. 3 Million men are expected and this year they've broken it into 2 weekends and asked people from different regions to come on a specific weekend. There are tea and food stalls set up all over, and thousands of men here already. We're going to try to go to the train station tomorrow to watch the people arrive in packed ... read more

Arrived two nights ago by Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur. The driver from the Hotel Pacific was there at the airport...but we had trouble finding him. An obliging taxi driver called the hotel and got his cell phone number and found him. We gave him 100 taka ($1.42 U.S.), which was too much I now realize, as baksheesh. The traffic jams are unbelievable. It took us maybe 2 hours to get to the hotel. Interesting to see the city on the way in though. Lots of kids and others running among the traffic selling popcorn in bags, books, other unrecognizable food and begging. One of the books was Hitler's Mein Kampf?! All of the buses are battered and bashed from numerous accidents. Hotel Pacific is okay. We upgraded to the "VIP suite" at 2500 taka ($35) ... read more

We were invited to a wedding celebration out in the village, just past Tongi. It took us a few hours to get there, but once we were there it was really nice to be out of the city and outside in the fresh air. It was our first time attending a local wedding and we were really excited! The traditions that go along with weddings here are so numerous and intricate that we are still learning about them all! We got to witness a few of these in person, including the eating of sweets and the wedding marching band. Mitu looked absolutely beautiful! Her family warmly welcomed us into their home and made sure we ate and danced as much as possible. We had a good time! We will try and post a video on here ... read more