Going to new places excites me and my parents more than anything else. This time Bangladesh is our destination for attending a marriage ceremony. It was tough to sort out many things as we couldn't get updated information at all. Our flight was from CCU to Agartala at 7.20 am. We boarded on time and reached Agartala Airport on 8.10 am. From there we hired a prepaid auto which took us to the border area that costs approx Rs 250. We didn't have exchanged currency so the authority staff told us to wait till 11 am to exchange money at the SBI counter. There are plenty of other shops outside, where money exchange can be carried out. It's better you exchange your money into Dollars from the SBI branch inside the custom office as the custom officer asks you to show Dollars you had exchanged. After the immigration check procces we took a private cab from the other side to reach Comilla, that is approx 90kms from the border.
We stayed at our friend's house at Comilla and went for some nearby places. We visited the famous Chandi Mata Mandir on hill, which have an epic historical background. It was quite a beautiful and peaceful place.
Next morning we took a bus from Comilla main bus station to Dhaka Kamlapur Bus Station that cost approx 250 taka per person (A/C). It took 4 hours to reach due to heavy traffic but enjoying the scenario won't let you get bored easily. We realized that we reached Dhaka seeing heavy jam on roads as it is capital of Bangladesh. Lots of beautifully decorated rickshaw magnetized us. From bus station we went directly to our friend's home in Malibagh area.
In the evening we went to Hatibagh Jheel. It is in the proper city. There is a beautiful bridge on the jheel. We saw many other foreigners roaming around.
We started our day with an early visit to Mata Siddheshwari Temple, which was nearby to our stay. We had a great breakfast in the nearby sweet shop. After that we took Uber to Lal Bagh Fort which costs less than 300taka. It is in old Dhaka. (P.S- If you want to visit few main attraction in Dhaka then go for Uber, its easily accessible and you can take your own time to move without rush).In 1678, Mughal emperor Muhammad Azam (third son of Aurangazeb) started the work of the fort during his vice-royalty in Bangladesh. But he could not complete the construction work as his father Aurangazeb called him back to the capital Delhi after 15 months of his deputation.Ticket for SAARC country foreigners cost 100 taka . It's a historical landmark in Dhaka.Lalbagh Fort consists of three buildings including the Mosque (west side, the tomb of Pari-Bibi (middle of east-west of the fort) and the Diwan-i-aam palace (east side).
After that we took rickshaw to Ahsan Manzil. In mughal period, Sheikh Enayet Ullah, the landlord of Jamalpur porgona built a beautiful palace named “Rangmahal”. He used to amuse here keeping gorgeous girls collecting from home and abroad, dressing them with dazzling dresses and luxurious ornaments.In 1985, Dhaka National Museum acquired the property and made it a museum.To enter into Ahsan Manzil, SAARC country tourists have to pay 75 taka and nationals from other countries have to pay 100 taka.
We went to Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, Bangladesh Parliament House. The house of the Parliament of Bangladesh, located at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. The modern architecture is quite breathtaking. Across the road there is Chandrima Udyan,where the former Bangladeshi President, Ziaur Rahman was buried. It is connected to the road with a bridge which runs over the Crescent Lake (from which the park derives its original name). But stay alert because there are plenty of muggers and robbers roaming around in that place.
Last we headed to Sree Sree Dhakeswari National Temple. Dhakesshori means Goddess of Dhaka. It is one of the part of famous Shakti peeth in the subcontinent of India. The gem of Sati's crown had fallen here. It is a very important place for Bangladeshi Hindus. Several thousand worshipers including Muslim comes to this place on Durga Puja event in this place.
We had reservation in 13107 Dhaka Kolkata Maitree Express. It's operated by Bangladesh Railways. This train runs on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The train starts from Dhaka Cantonment, that is 9km from the main city. It have A/C chair car as well as sleeper coaches. You can book it's ticket from Kamlapur Main Railway Reservation counter or Fairlie place at Kolkata {(timing is from 9.30am to 5pm every day)P.S- for a hurdle less experience reach there by 7 am}. The train starts at 8.15 am BDT but you have to reach there 2 hours before for the checking process. Catering facilities is available in train. The international passenger train have two stoppages before Kolkata, one is Darshana and another is Gede( Indian territory) where the staff changes. We reached Kolkata Station at 4.40 pm IST which is 40 min late. After that immigration process took almost 2 hrs. And our trip ends here.
Overall our first trip to BDesh 😉 will be a memorable one. People are too polite and friendly. Food is excellent. Honestly Bangladesh is over populated and little chaotic, so for the 'off beat trip' you have to keep patience for the unbearable traffic. If you have to reach place on time start your journey 2hrs before because nothing runs on time.
Final Conclusion-Stay open mind and you will get help from native people.
