"Who goes to Bangladesh?" "Alone? In Bangladesh? Go to Bali instead!" "Why are you so obsessed with weird countries? " Go to a place where you can create content for your Instagram. Why Bangladesh?" were the kind of questions I had been encountering everytime I would tell people that Bangladesh was the first country I was visiting after college got over. Even at immigration in Calcutta, around seven officers curiously asked me why I was going to Bangladesh by myself & whether or not I knew anyone there or had a relative I was going to visit. No one could simply just accept the fact that I was going to Bangladesh to explore it. It was so hard for me to convince people to believe me. My family, relatives, funny people on social media, people who I don't know or care about were all so interested in knowing why I was going to Bangladesh. Except my friends. They know who they're always dealing with.
Well, I think I'm here to talk about my visit to our neighbouring country, Bangladesh. Because it shook me, surprised me, broke me down but took me back to the reason, the mirror, showing me why I do what I do.
If you'd prefer watching an entire vlog of my 10 day visit to Bangladesh, here it is.
And, if you'd prefer reading about it, here you go:
These are pictures from my first day in Dhaka. It's one of the fastest growing cities in the world, economically and population wise. It has its own dirty secrets & rugged monuments, unhygienic street food & people that are as sweet as giant jalebis, chaos that can intimidate you & nights that can engulf you in, malls, shopping centers & factories, coffee houses, traffic & men. Safe to say, Dhaka is Delhi's distant cousin & if you can excel living here, you can make it anywhere in the world. I've seen tradition & I've seen people who go against it. I've seen religion & I've seen people who go against it. But never have I seen unanimous pride in people's eyes for who they are & where they belong. Maximal in its nature yet firmly rooted to the ground, is the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka and its people.
Then, I took an over night bus to Sylhet, that's only 1 and a half hour away from the Meghalayan border and devoured its Tea Gardens. Did you know this region is known for its 8-layered tea? Which, sadly i did not get to try because it was a rainy day, and the tea makers were away.
I spent a beautiful day with my Auto wala and his family members the nexday at the Ratargul Swamp Forest, you should really watch the video for this one!
And, proceeded on to Chittagong. I, funnily, had my first couch surfing experience in Bangladesh but my host did not allow me to take my phone out even once, except for this one time. Why, you might ask? Because Chittagong is a city of ruthless thieves. A tourist must keep their baggage as close to them as they like but the chances of their phones ending up in the Chor Bazaar are more than police cooperating with you.
Now, this was the start of my favourite area in Bangladesh i.e. The Chittagong Hill Tracts or Rangamati. Military area, land of the Chakmas, and my favourite, this area deserves much more love than it gets.
And, it looked a little like this:
Also, ended up making a fabulous friend and spending two days with her family. It was beautiful. And, if you've read until here, you should really go watch the video to take it all in.
It wasn't enough. 10 days weren't enough at all. It's is so similar yet so different from India that I'll need to go back to feel it all again. The next time, I'd really love to cover St. Marten's Island, Sunderbans, more regions in The Chittagong Hill Tracts, and villages at the borders.
Thanks for going through this quickie. Hope quarantine is keeping you well. :)
