In Bangladesh, WE ARE THE BEST!

In Bangladesh, we are the best….. June 9th 2012 Welcome to part one the journey in Bangladesh. So far this trip has had some ups and downs in terms of the destinations that have been visited thus far. As many of my friends will know, I have been most excited about the prospect of Bangladesh. To be honest, other than brief news headlines and some history of the British Raj I learned in school, I knew next to nothing about Bangladesh. I went down town in Calgary, to my favourite shop, the Map store. This store has some of the best info for travelling to the far corners of the earth, I have managed to snag maps for west Africa, Zimbabwe, the middle east and just about every lonely planet or travel book/magazine you can think of. But even they had to do a special order for the Bangladesh guide book, as it seems no really comes here.

When you see the India guide book, it is like an archive, while the Bangladesh one reflects a pamphlet, lol.

Regardless, here I am. In Cox’s Bazaar, close to the Myanmar border, soaking up the beach life, Bangladesh style. This means, fully clothed, and drinking cups of Chai tea. A far contrast from the beaches of Thailand, Australia or the Caribbean. But I did not come to Bangladesh to indulge in the beach, I came to see something different, and that is EXACTLY what I found.

Arriving in Dhaka, I went through customs. The man says, welcome to Bangladesh, what is the purpose of your visit, I reply, Tourism. He says, ahhhhhhh, do you have a guide? No, I say. He says, are you alone? I say, yes. He replies, WOW! Regardless he stamps me in, I grab my luggage, get into the taxi cue and meet a New Zealand man coming from Dubai for work, John. We share a taxi into the centre, exchanging some laughs and puzzling over this crazy place we have just arrived, where it seems every public bus has been in an accident, and although there is 20 million people in Dhaka, the capital, it is surprisingly clean.

I part ways with John, and wander into the old city to my own hotel. I go to look for something to eat and to find an ATM that will accept my VISA card, lol, as all the ones at the airport rejected me. I am stared at by everyone, however I am afforded some of the finest service I have ever received and had the best 1 dollar dinner I have ever had. I then quickly realize, good bye to the land of tourist prices and overt western tourism and welcome to one of the few places left in the world that have not been engulfed by western tourists.

The next day I rocked around old Dhaka, indulging in the crazy streets, the various historical sights, including the Bangladeshi equivalent of the Taj Mahal, the Lalbagh Fort. I saw Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian holy places throughout Dhaka and the four religions live in a much more harmonious state than I expected. I went down to the Bari-Ganga river that flows from India and played some cricket with kids on its shores, enjoying about 20 cups of tea from every eager man wanting to talk to me about everything from where I am from, to my religious convictions, to my marriage plans. It was one of the most authentic experience I have had on this trip, no one looked at me as a dollar anymore and everywhere I went I was met with perplexing curiosity and unbelievable kindness.

Case study to follow: I met a man on the flight from Nepal, Rana.. He was from the Chittagong Hill Tracts , a region of Bangladesh close to the Myanmar border. He over heard me speaking to a German girl about the region, I spoke of my plans to go there and she spoke of how she had heard it was dangerous. He was quick to clarify this point, and made it his mission to show me just how amazing it was. “To be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing”, a quote from a song I love. I went with this man, Rana and it turns out he is kind of the King Pin of a town called Rangamati. This area is home to the Chakma tribal peoples, who resemble the people of Myanmar and are of the Buddhist faith. It is also home to Bengali settlers, the first of which were brought by the British over one hundred years ago to teach the Chakma and other tribal peoples how to farm. Rana’s grandfather was one of these first Bengali settlers brought by the British to reign in the tribals on the Burmese border, which was also a British territory at the time.

Rana took me all over Rangamati, showing me the Buddhist temples, beautiful landscapes and even had me take a boat ride. He invited me to dinner at his family home and introduced me to many of his friends around the city, which included both Bengali’s and Chakma people. I could not believe how amazing this place was and the fact that so few people come here is truly sad, as it has to be the most beautiful part of Bangladesh. Rana called the army check posts along the way as I bussed to a city called Bandarban, they bypassed my need to have permits and I got to the town and was able to register with the local government on arrival. Very lucky I have to say, and Bandarban was another great hit on the Bangladesh trail. I saw a Buddhist temple that is very much to the styling of the famous golden temple of Myanmar. And the people of Bandarban are of the Marma tribe, and speak the same language as the Burmese people. I found this to be just fascinating and as I stared over the mountains from an incredible view point I could not help but imagine what it must be like in Northern Myanmar, an area essentially off limits to tourists. I wonder if one day Myanmar will become more open and the possibility of crossing overland from Thailand to Bangladesh will become viable? Who knows for now, but hey I shall keep it stored in the back of my mind for another trip. I left Bandarban and arrived where I sit now in Cox’s Bazaar. I am preparing to board a long distance bus over night to the tea region of the north and onwards to India.

We shall see what lies in store for Bangladesh in the remaining days. Bangladesh is an off the beaten track destination and shall remain so for quite sometime, but if one is willing to take the chance to see something different, and experience something they have never felt before, than this is the place! Wishing everyone well back home and abroad. Cheers, William Delaney