Blogs from Bangladesh, Asia - page 4

Woolly says – It was dark, and very very early, I hadn’t enjoyed being woken up at 3am to ensure that we got to the airport on time, but it was worth it when we landed in our third country of the trip. Bangladesh was once a notable centre of the global muslin and silk trade and known for its port. As part of British India, the region was influenced by the Bengali renaissance and played an important role in anti-colonial movements. The Partition of British India made East Bengal a part of the Dominion of Pakistan when it was renamed East Pakistan. The region witnessed the Bengali Language Movement in 1952 and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. After independence was achieved, a parliamentary republic was established, and the country was renamed Bangladesh. As we ... read more

The town Khohora, Assam, India had a nice, relaxed feel to it, one of those places where people from all over the world are walking around. We made plans to change to another room for the next night, met a cool father and daughter from California in internet place. Arrangements made to go on safari all day the next day, first on an elephant and then in a jeep. We chilled out in our room for some time in the afternoon, had a hearty dinner with a few beers and then off to sleep. The knock came early on our door this morning at 4:30AM to rouse us for safari. I had one of those moments coming out of REM sleep where I had no idea where I was for a second. We woozily walked out ... read more

I traveled to Bangladesh to support the country team with response to water born disease outbreak emergency in Cox Bazaar. The situation with the Royhinga is really one of the worst I have seen anywhere in the world. It is a situation which has been going on for years and has never received much media attention. With the current flare-up of violence in Myanmar around 70,000 people have crossed into Bangladesh. No Royhinga in Bangladesh have been granted refugee status since 1992, and only 33,000 have refugee status. All others (around 250,000 in Bangladesh now) are classified as 'undocumented Myanmar Nationals'. This means they are completely marginalised, have no rights and are open to any level of abuse including, violence, rape, child trafficking. They are crammed into tiny camps or living in urban areas. Since the ... read more

I guarantee that "I'm going on holiday to Bangladesh" could well be as seldomly-heard sentence as "Wasn't that a lovely traffic jam", but hey, there is a lot to be said for pioneering tourism, and a pioneering tourist is destined to pioneer, after all. The first port of call in Bangladesh happened to be the port city of Chittagong, and the country's second largest urban area. You might even be forgiven for thinking that this is a city devoid of actual tourist sights, but then again, we are in a nation which is pretty much devoid of an infrastructure which serves as a magnet for incoming international tourists. For the sake of argument, we'll dub Chittagong as a city of experiences, where cultural tweaks will probably impact upon the visitor the most, and the first port ... read more

When you do things from your soul, a river moves through you. Freshness and a deep joy are the signs. ~ Rumi Indeed! What else can give someone such pleasure! And that's why river is always something special! From the beginning of my life I used to hear and say that Bangladesh is a country of River. Truly, it was! Yes it was, cause due to the affect of climate change the scenario has been changed nowadays. However, I had a great opportunity to visit almost all the rivers of my country and it was a remarkable experience in my life! Its not only about river, its about life as well. If someone visit then he/she can see how people depends on it, how their life moves with it. Also you can observe how a same ... read more