Blogs from Bangladesh, Asia - page 8

The streets of Dhaka old town make Indian cities seem serene. It is electric, charged, and if you’re not alert you may well be, by a rickshaw. In a city of maybe twenty million, over 600,000 of the inhabitants work peddle rickshaws; they are everywhere, often in great interflowing streams, but more frequently static as tangled metallic chains. Delhi – with its multitude of motor rickshaws, motorbikes and cars - is now apparently more polluted than Beijing. Poor Dhaka (alas not pollution-free) has its rickshaw culture to thank on two counts: peddle power is as green as it gets, whilst they account for an awful lot of employment. They are also quite beautiful with hand painted panels and embroidered canopies. If they were Dhaka’s only endearing feature we’d like it very much, but its jewel are ... read more

For someone (such as myself) who has rarely gone on suburban/rural tours around Bangladesh, Munshiganj is definitely the perfect platform to embark on the journey to explore the countryside. Munshiganj is situated on the banks of the Meghna River, possibly the most serene as well as important river for communication. It is the perfect setting on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital city that gives you the feel of blossoming industrialization in a sub-rural setting. As a result, Munshiganj has earned the reputation of being one of the most well accommodated areas for ship builders. Historically, Munshiganj used to be the political and cultural centre of ancient Bengal. It was the capital city of the Candra, Varman and Sena dynasties, from the beginning of the 10th century AD to the beginning of the 13th century AD. ... read more

Geo: 24.7418, 90.4037Visiting small villages and locals homes was again a highlight of our time in Bangladesh, and as it seems it is a big highlight for the people we visited. How often would they have the opportunity to invite a foreigner over?We managed a few different trips, but unfortunately due to our strict schedule we were not able to stay over night, but even half a day was better than nothing.One of our first visits was across the river where we went with Alamgir via bicycle. Women don't ride bikes in Bangladesh, so Anna got a few looks. After hitching the local boat across the river we set off on a 30 minute ride through some amazing green countryside with rice paddy fields and small villages. We were visiting a legend and the oldest man ... read more

What is the objective of a passionate backpacker? To travel in comfort or to take trouble but getting to see the beauties of the world? If you fall under the category of traveler who will go through difficulties and hardship to get a glimpse of a remote area surrounded with hills, forests, river and massive rocks then Nafakum in Bandarban is the place for you. I was born and brought up in Dhaka and I do not encourage you at all to come and visit Dhaka. Stay away from this city- there is nothing here for tourists- unless you come from a very quiet and peaceful country and want to experience what massive gatherings of people and extreme congestion of traffic means. But Nafakum is a different story altogether. This place is remote and very difficult ... read more

If I can't even rack up the almost mandatory fifteen minutes of fame, does being in close proximity to someone famous count? While at Bangkok airport during a stopover, the passengers waiting to board the flight to Dhaka were in awe of a Bengali, and I was more than curious as to who he was. It seemed everyone wanted to shake the gent's hand and pose for a photo, and he was extraordinarily gracious with his time. There was such reverence on display, surely he couldn't be a politician! After arriving in Dhaka I found out from the hotel owner it was Dr Muhammad Yunus. I described the scene in Bangkok and she pointed to the map of Bangladesh on her wall, and asked if a portrait on it was the person. When I said yes, ... read more