Exploring Dhaka

Arriving in Dhaka

I could smell the pollution even before the cabin doors opened as we arrived at 0130.  It took 10 mins and USD50 to get my visa-on-arrival.  The first officer said a Letter of Invitation was required (which I didn’t have) but when I said I was a tourist, a second officer said that I didn’t need one.

Exiting the customs area, I found at ATM before ordering an Uber to take me to the hotel. There was a bit of a challenge finding the pick-up area which was located between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 (which are joined).

To complicate matters, the number plates here are written in Bengali whereas they show in the Latin alphabet and Arabic numbers in Uber.

I was on-the-way at 0020 and it felt cool in the night breeze as we moved.  At this time, there was no traffic except for crazy patch of unloading of produce near the market.

I got to the Hotel Capital at 0100 and was given a freshly squeezed juice of the local orange, which tasted like the ones in Malaysia.

It had been a long day coming from Kuching with a long connection and I retired soon after a shower.

Old Dhaka

I woke at 0630 due to the 2h time difference with Malaysia and went down for breakfast at 0700, which was the time that was advised at check-in.  But with Ramadhan, I was the only person eating and they told me to return at 0800.

There was a local and Western option and naturally, I went local.  The chicken bhuna was delicious with paratha.

Around 0900 I ordered a rickshaw on Uber to take me to the Ahsan Manzil Museum.  It would a while to come, so I cancelled the ride and took another rickshaw, now that I knew the appropriate price.

Entry into Ahsan Manzil Museum was pricey by local standards.  Completed in 1872, this was the seat of the Dhaka Nawab (governor).  Apart from the iconic façade, there was little to interest me in the place.  Just the usual collection of furniture and memorabilia.

Text continues after this gallery.

 

 

The Buriganga River was just outside the museum, but it was a short detour for me to get there.  The place was chaotic, but the sights and sounds were truly special.

A friendly by the name of Nur started talking to me about the large passenger ships parked nearby.  He explained that they take up to 8000 passengers upstream at night to cities in the hinterland.

It was apparent that he was a tout but having noticed how easy-going and straightforward people are, my instinct told me to not brush him off.

We paid a small fee of BDT10 (NZD0.15) for me board one of them for a quick look.

At the next big ship, a little paddle boat turned up, and Nur asked me to hop on for a short ride.  At this time, I wanted answers to questions like “Where are we going, how long are we going for, how much will it cost?”

He reassured me that I would pay what I like at the end.  These situations never end well but it was very uncharacteristic of me to again trust my instinct to go with him.

The little paddle boat took us across to the south bank of the Buriganga.  In the river, there were many boats, including sand barges that are only inches above the waterline.

Text continues after this gallery.

 

 

South bank:  Ship repair and parts industry

Landing on the south bank of the Buriganga, we were at a ship repair yard.  Some people were sitting underneath a ship, singing rhythmically while they wind the jack up by hand, to further lift the ship.

Text continues after this gallery.

 

 

There were shacks and shacks of parts such as chains, propellers, lights being stored here for sale.  I was told that some come from the ship-wreckers in Chittagong.

Next, we came to an area where propellers were made.  A mould of the lower half of the required propeller is made in the sandy ground.  An upper half of the mould is made separately to be installed above the ground surface.

Both sides are heated by a flame before molten metal is poured into the assembled mould.  The output is then finished by hand.

Text continues after this gallery.

 

 

South bank:  Local neighbourhoods

Having had a good look around where people work on the south bank of the Buriganga, we moved on to where they live.  We dropped into areas which some people would call slums where families lived in one room and shared cooking, bathing and toilet facilities with other families.

The litter of plastic was just beyond belief, especially in a dried-up riverbed.  We visited a school then walked through some busy markets where vegetables, meat and fish were sold.

Text continues after this gallery.

 

 

South bank:  Garment factories

Wandering through a Hindu area, we continued to a factory where embroidery was made using highly automated machinery.

Back on the more built-up waterfront of the Buriganga were many tall buildings which housed garment factories.  Nur said that most of the ones here are for the local market while the more premium factories are on my side of the city, across the river.

We climbed up to the top floor of the building for the panoramic view of the city and dropped into some factories.  School-aged boys were happily working away.  They have come from afar and sleep in the premises by night.  On the other hand, they only employ local women so that they can go home after their shift.

Text continues after this gallery.

 

 

Payment

Finally, came the hardest part of the day.  I asked Nur how much I owed him for his services.  He suggested MYR200 (NZD85) for the 3h of guiding, rickshaws and boat rides.

I thought it was far too much and chopped it down to BDT3000 (NZD42) and he accepted it without any protest.  That suggests that I might have been generous, but I didn’t mind.  The lovely gentleman had given me more insight than I had expected and a memorable time.

We crossed the river back to the old town on the north bank and said our goodbyes.  He checked on my plans for tomorrow and suggested that he guide me again for the same fee.  Instead of going by private car, he would take me by bus and back by train where I could sit outside or on the roof.  Another adventure awaits!

Back in old Dhaka

I continued my exploration by myself to the Armenian Church (Apostolic Church of the Holy Resurrection) which was 1781.  From there, I continued to the Tara Masjid (Star Mosque), so named because of the star motif that decorated it.

Text continues after this gallery.

 

 

The next stop was the Lalbagh Fort which was a bit far to walk.  I got on a motorised rickshaw to get the 1678 Mughal fort.  It was never completed as superstition suggested that the death of the Khan’s daughter was a bad omen.  She is buried inside the fort.

Text continues after this gallery.

 

 

Finally, I stopped briefly at the National Temple or Dhakeshwari Temple which was completed in the 12^th Century.  I was surprised that this Muslim-majority country has a national temple owned by the state.  Unfortunately, it was closed to visitors and devotees at the time of my visit.

The rickshaw ride back to the hotel was through heavy traffic.  It gave me the opportunity to catch some traffic jam photos with a difference.

As it was Ramadhan, the hotel offered set meals at iftar time around 1800.  If I wanted anything that was non-standard, I would have to wait till around 2000.  So, it was a set meal of chicken tehari (rice dish) for my first dinner in Bangladesh.