Bangladesh Review
Bangladesh was the eighth destination on our world tour. We arrived mid-day amongst hundreds, possibly thousands, of other travelers. Our visa application cost more than all the other countries we visited combined. The Dhaka airport is a busy place. I was expecting something older and less sophisticated. The nice thing about our arrival experience was our escort through the immigration process where a gentleman was holding our place in line so we did not have to wait. Much thanks to our family in Dhaka for that. It was a privilege and a huge time saver. Once we were through immigration the wait caught up with us while retrieving our bags from baggage claim. There was a major shortage of baggage handlers at the airport that day so we ended up waiting for another hour. A few days later Carrie and Jenn would join us. The ladies had to dress more conservatively as the local customs and the cold weather dictated a change of attire from what we experienced in Thailand.
Dhaka is a bustling Asian city with more than twelve million people and growing. It is the capitol of Bangladesh and the main center for all things industrial, commercial, educational and political. There is a constant chaos on the streets that operates day and night, without stop. There is a large number of people living in extreme poverty in Bangladesh which is amplified in this large metropolis. There are many slums and places where people have set up makeshift tents against walls along the sidewalks. The streets are filled with scooters, buses packed with people, trucks with goods piled high and hawkers selling all kinds of things. It’s a major accomplishment to get from one side of the city to the other.
There was a sense of high security while driving through the city as if we were VIP’s and we should be protected from certain people while venturing through it. There were a few opportunities when I went walking around with Faizah’s (and mine now) cousin where that feeling went away, but was replaced with a sense of being the tall, white outsider. I got all kinds of looks from people almost as if to ask me ‘why are you in this place? You should be somewhere more hospitable than this.’ Generally speaking, the Deshi people were welcoming, warm and inquisitive. For many there is a sense that they aim to leave Bangladesh as though leaving the country was equal to being successful. This attitude may be changing though as Bangladesh develops further into an industrial nation. More businesses are coming to the country every day but this development is hindered by the corruption existent at nearly every level of government. Things are changing for the better, but the pace is slow and the benefits go to few.
Bangladesh is a relatively new country, winning its independence from Pakistan in 1971. The textiles industry is helping to improve the quality of life and income for most people there. Bangladesh is also the most densely populated country in the world with more than 147 million people and a population density of about 1,000 people per square kilometer. India’s population density is roughly half that but with almost ten times the total population.
We stayed with family in the educational sector of Dhaka right next to a university. Faizah’s mother, brother and step-father live in a medium sized apartment building where their four bedroom apartment consumes half of the third floor. Across the street was a myriad of construction projects stretching back as far as the eye can see. These sites had crews working around the clock, day and night so it was absolutely necessary to wear ear plugs at night while sleeping. The family employs a number of servants that assist with all things in the household. It took some getting used to when we first arrived, but after some time we were able to adjust to being waited on for all our needs. They cooked most of our meals, cleaned the rooms and bathrooms and attended to laundry.
Faizah’s mother wanted to throw a wedding reception for us while we were in Dhaka as there were many family and friends that were unable to attend our wedding in California in July, 2008. Before the reception was a smaller affair called a Mehndi where the guests have henna designs drawn on their hands and sometimes feet. The guests all came in beautiful, brightly-colored garments. We listened to music and had some mishtis.
The reception turned out to be larger than the original wedding reception with hundreds of attendees. It was a cold evening and the location for the party was outside at a wonderfully decorated banquet center. I met hundreds of family members, business associates and friends of the family. The food was excellent and plentiful.
The food in Bangladesh is similar to Indian food for the spices used but varies widely in the meat used. Indian cuisine uses a good amount of pork and Bangladesh uses a lot of beef and fish but no pork as it is forbidden under Islamic law. Deshi food tends to be hotter (spicy) than Indian food too. Both use a lot of rice in the dishes. Tap water is not safe for visitors to drink so bottled water is a must.
The next day we departed for Faizah’s uncle’s place about an hour outside Dhaka in the countryside. It was a welcome relief from the bustling city life. Lothu Mamu has a wonderful property on which he is building a future home. Our hosts BBQ’d a goat and served alcohol, which is very rare in Bangladesh as the majority of people in the country are Muslim. The contrast to the apartment in Dhaka was substantial. Here we could walk around the property, breathe in the fresh air and gaze out over the surrounding rice fields without the sounds of the city bombarding our ears.
A few days later we were on our way to the Sundarbans. The Sundarbans is a wetlands delta and the world’s largest Mangrove forest in the southwest of Bangladesh which crosses the Indian border to the west. It runs along the southern shore and into the Indian Ocean. It’s a preserved national park and home to Bengal Tigers, crocodiles, deer, a myriad of birds and many other animals. We traveled by bus overnight to arrive on the shore at 4am where we boarded two small boats. These took us to the larger passenger ship, the M.V. Dinghy, where we would stay for the next three days. Along the way the bus took a ferry where we could get off the bus and use the ferry’s toilets, but this was not advised for the faint of heart. There were also a number of vendors selling food both raw and prepared. It made for a colorful break in the incredibly bumpy ride from Dhaka to Khulna.
Once onboard the Dinghy we promptly found our rooms and went to sleep while the ship headed out through the delta. We awoke to the sound of the engines stopping and knocking on our doors for lunch. After a deliciously spicy seafood lunch our guide gave us the rough plan for how we were going to cruise through the Sundarbans. On the way to our first excursion the ship passed through some tight channels and waterways where we saw a number of birds and a family of monkeys. When we arrived at our destination for the day’s walk, everyone boarded the two smaller boats and went ashore to a small pier. From there we took a foot path through the forest where we saw some deer and tiger prints in the mud. Although our trek was without tiger sightings we did manage to see a beautiful sunset and got to walk through the forest.
The next morning we awoke early to set out on a small boat voyage up one of the smaller tributaries. Everyone was bundled up to keep out the cold morning air. We kept quiet as our guides paddled up the waterway hoping to see a tiger or other animals up close. After a couple hours of bird sightings we headed back to the main ship and had another spicy meal. While we ate and relaxed the boat motored on to our next trekking spot. Along this walking journey to the beach we climbed a tower and hiked through dry brush land where several large bird species lived. After an hour we arrived at the beach and removed our shoes to feel the sand and water between our toes. Along the beach we found hundreds of tiny crabs that had created small sand balls from digging out burrows for themselves. It was the most relaxing part of the whole trip. Once aboard the Dinghy we cruised out further toward the Bay of Bengal. Along the way we spied two large crocodiles sunning themselves on the muddy banks of the delta.
For our third outing of the day our guide took everyone out to an island where you could see the formation of the wetlands and the precursor to the Mangrove forest. Faizah and I opted out to stay on the ship and watch the sunset and the rest of the tourists romp around in the sand and mud. The next morning there was another early boat ride into another small tributary in an attempt to see more wildlife. We succeeded in seeing some deer, eagles and other small birds but no tigers or crocodiles this time. We did see some otters from quite a distance but we couldn’t get much closer as they were rather skittish. After our return and a little siesta everyone boarded the small boats again to visit a small zoo. There we could see many of the animals of the Sundarbans, sans tigers.
That night we reached port again and headed back to Dhaka on the long, bumpy road. Sleeping is pretty much impossible without serious sleep aids on these buses even with the reclining seats and window shades. There is just too much abrupt motion from the driver speeding up and slamming on the brakes before potholes and speed bumps. Flying is a much better option and if there was a train, we would have taken that mode of transportation.
The following day everyone got into a van and we ventured out to see a small beautiful mosque and a fort that is now more of a park. Along the way we passed a jail with hundreds of people outside waiting to see friends and family inside. The mosque we visited was quite old, one of the oldest in Bangladesh and is still used to this day. While at the fort we were alerted that a solar eclipse was happening and someone was kind enough to lend us a special viewer you could look through to see the eclipse in effect.
Finally, for our last night in Bangladesh, we all went out to dinner at a nice local restaurant where we unexpectedly ran into a few people from the trip to the Sundarbans. The food was good and we managed to get back in time to pack for our early morning flight to India. In contrast to our arrival, the departure was very streamlined without any lines or delays. Carrie, Jenn, Faizah and I ventured into the duty free shop and picked up a couple bottles of Absolut for the next leg of our journey; India. As you will read in the next installment, this was a wise purchase.
In retrospect, Bangladesh was much easier than we thought it would be. I believe this was mostly due to having family there and not taking public transportation, which looked like a nightmare scenario based on what we saw in the streets of Dhaka. We didn’t see a majority of the country but what we did see was more diverse and beautiful than I had imagined. The markets were colorful, the streets were dirty, noisy and crowded. We never felt like our safety was at risk, but that’s not to say that there isn’t any crime or violence in Bangladesh, just that we didn’t experience any of it during our stay. If you go, get out of Dhaka and see the rest of the country. The Sundarbans is reason enough to visit if you find yourself in southern Asia. If you are looking for a luxurious destination Bangladesh is not the place for you, but if you want to see an exotic locale with friendly people, give it a shot.
