· Digging DhakaDhaka, Bangladesh · 17th Jan 2008 · Posted by Chris
So, here we are in Dhaka, Bangladesh. After finally getting up the strength (literally) to make it to the airport, we landed in Dhaka after a very uneventful flight during which we didn't eat any packet peanuts. :)
The ever-smiling faces of our saviours, Pippin & Mary, were there to greet us and guide us gently to a waiting van so we could get to our hotel without any problems. We were staying at the 'Royal Garden' hotel, a very nice place in the diplomatic section of the new section of Dhaka - complete with guards carrying guns!
After resting up and getting a good night's rest, we joined the New Zealand contingent for a walk around Dhaka. Chittagong was one type of crazy but Dhaka is another type entirely. It's far more cosmopolitan than Chittagong but just as insane. The traffic is still like playing the old game 'Frogger' where crossing the road is a series of stops and starts while scooters, cars, buses and vans hurtle past on either side.
One of the guys in our group, Ben, stopped at a shop selling every available type of eyeglasses. Of course, everyone else just browsed while he shopped ... yeah right! The group bought something like 8 pairs of various glasses and frames while in there. Annie even bought some nice frames ... yes, eventually she'll need them to see her computer screen! If she lets me, I'll take some photos of her wearing the new frames and upload them here - that can wait until later though.
Just like in Chittagong though, we were still the object of almost morbid fascination everywhere we went. We were fitting in as best we could by wearing our local clothing. All the women were resplendent in their 'kameez' dresses - sorry I don't know the plural of that word ... kameezii? That's for you Stoo. :P
One of the attractions we didn't make it to in Dhaka was the local amusement park - our fragile stomachs probably weren't up to the challenge. However, according to Pippin the 3D Ride goes something like this (it's a bit geeky so sorry if this means nothing to you). You sit down in a room with a screen in front of you, which opens up to a Microsoft Windows desktop screen. The operator of the ride then double-clicks an icon on the desktop and after a machine somewhere grinds into action, a message pops up saying "Your evaluation period has expired! Please purchase this software now!" (or something to that effect). Naturally, the guy ignores the warning, clicks OK to continue then uses the File menu to open the 3D movie. Sounds like quite an experience to me!
Just in case you're wondering about this post's extract, I'll just say that toast and jam was almost all we could eat while in Dhaka - mmmmmmm, nothing like existing on crumbs and sugar.
The following day we drove about 10km though the Dhaka traffic to Rilla's aunt's place for dinner - the journey took over an hour! As with every meal in Bangladesh so far our hosts put on a massive feast for us. The array of dishes was unbelievable and the entire family, as usual, went out of their way to accommodate our group and make sure we were all comfortable and having a good time. It'd be tough to think of anyone that would make better hosts. Thanks to everyone involved - it's always so nice to be made welcome every time we visit your homes. :)
The following day was the end of our Bangladesh experience and it was sad to have to say goodbye to Rilla, Pippin, Jim & Mary and everyone else that did such a great job of arranging everything for us.
I know this post has been mostly thanks to people but we seriously couldn't have done it without them. It would've been nice to make more of the trip but I put the blame squarely on our weak NZ stomachs ... hehe. For now though we're using Bangkok as a bit of a base so it's back there next. Bye!
The ever-smiling faces of our saviours, Pippin & Mary, were there to greet us and guide us gently to a waiting van so we could get to our hotel without any problems. We were staying at the 'Royal Garden' hotel, a very nice place in the diplomatic section of the new section of Dhaka - complete with guards carrying guns!
After resting up and getting a good night's rest, we joined the New Zealand contingent for a walk around Dhaka. Chittagong was one type of crazy but Dhaka is another type entirely. It's far more cosmopolitan than Chittagong but just as insane. The traffic is still like playing the old game 'Frogger' where crossing the road is a series of stops and starts while scooters, cars, buses and vans hurtle past on either side.
One of the guys in our group, Ben, stopped at a shop selling every available type of eyeglasses. Of course, everyone else just browsed while he shopped ... yeah right! The group bought something like 8 pairs of various glasses and frames while in there. Annie even bought some nice frames ... yes, eventually she'll need them to see her computer screen! If she lets me, I'll take some photos of her wearing the new frames and upload them here - that can wait until later though.
Just like in Chittagong though, we were still the object of almost morbid fascination everywhere we went. We were fitting in as best we could by wearing our local clothing. All the women were resplendent in their 'kameez' dresses - sorry I don't know the plural of that word ... kameezii? That's for you Stoo. :P
One of the attractions we didn't make it to in Dhaka was the local amusement park - our fragile stomachs probably weren't up to the challenge. However, according to Pippin the 3D Ride goes something like this (it's a bit geeky so sorry if this means nothing to you). You sit down in a room with a screen in front of you, which opens up to a Microsoft Windows desktop screen. The operator of the ride then double-clicks an icon on the desktop and after a machine somewhere grinds into action, a message pops up saying "Your evaluation period has expired! Please purchase this software now!" (or something to that effect). Naturally, the guy ignores the warning, clicks OK to continue then uses the File menu to open the 3D movie. Sounds like quite an experience to me!
Just in case you're wondering about this post's extract, I'll just say that toast and jam was almost all we could eat while in Dhaka - mmmmmmm, nothing like existing on crumbs and sugar.
The following day we drove about 10km though the Dhaka traffic to Rilla's aunt's place for dinner - the journey took over an hour! As with every meal in Bangladesh so far our hosts put on a massive feast for us. The array of dishes was unbelievable and the entire family, as usual, went out of their way to accommodate our group and make sure we were all comfortable and having a good time. It'd be tough to think of anyone that would make better hosts. Thanks to everyone involved - it's always so nice to be made welcome every time we visit your homes. :)
The following day was the end of our Bangladesh experience and it was sad to have to say goodbye to Rilla, Pippin, Jim & Mary and everyone else that did such a great job of arranging everything for us.
I know this post has been mostly thanks to people but we seriously couldn't have done it without them. It would've been nice to make more of the trip but I put the blame squarely on our weak NZ stomachs ... hehe. For now though we're using Bangkok as a bit of a base so it's back there next. Bye!
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