Bangladesh for travellers

17 Dec 2011 4

Picture postcards?

The postcard vendor looks at me blankly

From which country?

I am in Bangladesh, the country without picture postcards.

The entire village welcomes the Bideshi (foreigner)

Too bad. Sure, you have to make an effort to find picture postcard views, but Bangladesh has its beautiful sides:

• The muezzin starts singing in Arabic at exactly 5:15 pm
• The rikshaw driver swears in the rikshaw jam
• The traveling salesmen sings about the quality of his fish in the streets
• The boat’s prow divides the murky waters of the Buriganga
• The badminton ball bounces across the illuminated net in the evening
• The döner kebab spit revolves around its own center

A traffic jam made out only of rickshaws

As a food lover, I immediately fell in love with the döner kebab spits and grilled chickens at every corner. I like to eat meat and yet eat very little.

Somewhere in this country incredibly many people die of starvation every day. I sure didn’t come here to feed on someone else’s food.

Every evening's Badminton in the park with floodlights

Then I eat even less, because I am lying ill in bed. A visit to Bangladesh is arguably only complete after several days of fever and diarrhea. Just leave the capital, Dhaka. In the countryside, proceed to wash down your non high heated meal with milk tea from a dubious source.

As soon as I am fit again, I eat normally. I do not see anyone starving. I see poor people and rich, overweight and skinny. I see fruit sellers, tailors, students and booksellers. Bangladeshis are at the first glance hardly different from Indians.

Shopping mall in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka

And Bangladesh is like India without cows. I behold

• shopping malls
• parks
• luxury hotels
• BMWs
• a Muslim festival
• a people’s concert by the lake
• a rock concert on the university campus
  (with an Iron Maiden cover song)

I sure haven’t imagined Bangladesh like this. I even find myself a cheesecake in a posh coffee shop.

surrounded Bideshis

You notice the low number of Bangladesh travelers, not only by the to lack of picture postcards. The South Asian foreigner curiosity is extreme here.

Those monkeys!

a Bangladeshi comments about the extreme foreigner curiosity of his countrymen

You are being stared at, approached and touched everywhere and always. Often enough, you are surrounded by a cluster of staring locals.

A Muslim festival

Once in a blue moon, you have a chance encounter with another Bideshi in Bangladesh. This foreigner is almost certainly member of a non-governmental organization for the development of the country.

The most successful export good of Bangladesh, next to inexpensive jeans and cheap T-shirts, seems to be a good conscience.

To be honest, the offer is tempting.

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by Florian Blümm   Dhaka, Bangladesch   Travel Report, World Tour   Bangladesch, Essen, Fleisch, Islam  

4 comments to Bangladesh for travellers

• LUPO

  19. December, 2011 at 11:21

  Des mit den Ansichtskarten: Soll des vielleicht ne schale Ausrede dafür sein, dass ich zeitlebens noch nie nen solchen Gruß von dir bekommen hab?!

• floc

  19. December, 2011 at 17:42

  Ja Lupo, da faellt mir ein: Deine Nachmieter in Wue freuen sich ueber regelmaessige Bilder aus aller Welt (:

• LUPO

  19. December, 2011 at 17:52

  Toll, du magst sogar meine Nachmieter lieber als mich. Wunderbar. Ich spüre eine immer tiefer werdene Kluft zwischen uns. Heute hab ich sogar eine Mittagssuppe ohne dich gegessen…

• Oli

  18. May, 2013 at 3:45

  Bangladesch reizt mich eigentlich seit langer Zeit. Aber ich habs leider noch nie geschafft.

  Lustige Detail am Rande. Ich war 2010 auf der Weltausstellung in Shanghai und hab dort auch den Pavillon von Bangladesh besucht. Dort gab es ein Plakat auf dem es hiess: “Visit Bangladesh before the tourists come”.