Blogs from Bangladesh, Asia - page 2

While planning my winter travel I had considered visiting Bangladesh, because of their focus on micro loans. But I was hesitant to travel here alone based on the difficult time I had traveling alone in India many years ago. I ended up connecting with a gal that I grew up with who lived in BD for a year for her husband's job placement. She was the first one to encourage me to visit and assured me that I would not face the same issues I did in India. While in BD Gina Rennpage, along with two other expats, started a program to feed children in the neighboring slum districts. For my West Michigan friends: think Kid's Food Basket, but the children eat the meals mid day while at school. The three founders are all now living ... read more

Weekends in Bangladesh are Friday and Saturday due to the Muslim religion. As I write this on Saturday evening, it feels like Sunday evening knowing the work week begins again tomorrow. I spent part of my first weekend exploring historical sites on the outskirts of Dhaka. My first stop was Lalbagh Fort. This fort was built in 1670s as part of the Mughal Empire which is known for its reddish or pink style of architecture.The fort was built as the official residence of the governor of the Mughal province. This region is now known as Old Dhaka. The complex includes the governor's house, the tomb of Pari Bibi and a mosque. The expansive grounds are covered by lawns, fountains and water channels. The open space this fort offers is a refreshing change from the neighborhood it ... read more

I successfully made it to Dhaka (they pronounce it Taka) and have started to get my bearings. If I can give a first impression of the city and country it would be to comment on their hospitality. I have been fortunate to have quickly met a group of Bangladeshi friends and they have been wonderful. They check up on me more than once a day to see how I am doing, if I need a ride, need directions or any other assistance. They also plan outings to take me to see different parts of the city or attend events. I am living in an apartment with two people from Germany who are working on their PhD. They are here to do a project with BRAC University. Their experiment is to see the impact on a marriage ... read more

Today is our full day in Kathmandu, Nepal. We stayed outside at the Asan Bazar for the entirety of our morning, which ended up being a fairly cool temperature, 62 degrees. Though the weather was nice this morning, when we visited the Garden of Dreams it was 6 degrees warmer, at 68. The weather today was really nice, even though it was dry, which is normal for December in Nepal. Our journey for these five days has been an enjoyable one, but I can't wait to go back home!... read more

Though today was one of the cooler days of December, about 60 degrees the whole day, we weren't able to enjoy it. We spent the whole day traveling from Dhaka to Kolkata and then to Siliguri, India. We only made two stops the whole day, getting off and on a bus to Kolkata, and then a stop for lunch. We made sure to really soak in the weather at each of our stops.... read more