4 glorious days off work stretched in front of us - how should we spend it? Drinking tea and sheltering from the horrendous daily onslaught of Dhaka noise seemed like a sensational way to escape. We rose early on Friday morning to catch the 4 hour train ride to the northern state of Sylhet, renowned world wide for it's magnificent tea. The jam-packed train station was the usual source of panic for me, made worse by the combination of extreme interest in my sensationally white skin and the presence of Dylan, our friends' baby boy. 8 white people, 2 of them extremely tall, 1 carrying a fair headed, blonde child in a massive backpack, all wandering aimlessly on an overcrowded platform - perfect early morning viewing for the multitude of locals! The train finally arrived and ... read more

Two glorious weeks of non-Bangladeshness, ahhhh, smell that glorious air!!... read more

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Blogger Bec You know the places or destinations you have secretly locked away in your heart and soul, ever hopeful that it will live up to your overblown fantastical expectations but knowing that they probably won't? For me, that place is the Taj Mahal. I have dreamed of this building for as long as I have known of it's existence. As a dreamy teenager, I had always hoped of a proposal in front of it. As a eager but amateur photographer I have always dreamed of taking the perfect, never before taken shot. As a prolific reader and fairly adventurous traveller, I have always tried to wrangle a trip to the Romantic's Mecca. Finally, with the arrival of Mum and Dad's 30th wedding anniversary, the trip was planned and paid for. As the day crept ... read more

Blogger Becca A few thousand bricks, a local community keen for a new house, and about 12 munchkins desperate to show off their ENTIRE wardrobe - that's our Habitat for Humanity experience here in Dhaka! Mum, Dad and Owen are here and they wanted a real "Dhaka experience". So, instead of the normal Christmas, our family decided to do a service based Christmas instead. We chose a Habitat for Humanity build in a Christian community outside of Dhaka. A group of families within the community get together and helps build each other's new homes. I didn't know this but the local families actually have to pay back the cost of the materials used in the build: I always assumed that the new house was a donation. We left Dhaka city early-ish after a quick breakfast ... read more