Saturday, 2 February 2019
I woke up for prayers, finished packing and hit the shower. I went down to the restaurant on first floor for breakfast at 08:30. The hotel offered Bangladeshi-style breakfast but there was also bread and butter and jam, and some cereal. I then returned to my room to get my bags. I checked out at 09:35 and got into an argument over the hotel bill with the reception. When I booked, booking.com said I could pay in USD and the amount was USD66.30 but the lady at the reception told me they preferred me to either pay in Taka or USD100 (at hotel exchange rate of USD1 = BDT80) and they would give me the balance in Taka. I was not happy and showed them the print screen of my booking which said I could pay in USD at the earlier mentioned amount. Finally, after getting the Manager involved, I paid USD40 and BDT4000. Humph!
I left my bags at the lobby and took an auto rickshaw to Sonadanga bus station. The fare was BDT50 and that was the final price. From there, I boarded a bus bound for Bagerhat and told the conductor and bloke sitting next to me that I wanted to get down at Shait Gumbad Mosque. The bus left at 10:03 and reached the Mosque just after 11:00. The fare was BDT60. Shait Gumbad Mosque is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ticket for foreigners was BDT200. I spent more than an hour there. Today is where I met a LOT of very friendly locals who approached me, asked where I was from, how long I would be there, was I travelling alone, if I was a student and if they could take pictures with me. The locals don’t meet a lot of foreigners - I don’t know why people go to India but not many people visit the country - and they are curious to meet new people. They are not shy to approach you and chat you up. You will get a lot of stares everywhere (something I experienced especially in Malawi), sometimes a bit unnerving, but it’s not because they are rude or anything; rather, it’s because they are curious to know more about you.
I also walked along the beautiful Ghora Dighi, a lake for people to perform ablutions (I just realised there’s no washroom or water taps inside or outside the mosque for performing ablutions; at least there were water taps at Harbaria for me to perform ablutions the day before), before turning back. I then headed for the small museum on site and spent about 20 minutes there.
I left the complex and went out to the main road. A few rickshaw operators offered me rides to Mazar Khan Jahan Ali Mausoleum but they quoted me such ridiculous fare that I was actually thinking of just walking there (2 km away though and in the noon heat). Luckily for me, a bus bound for Bagerhat came along and I hailed it down. I received such a welcome on the bus, it was embarrassing. The conductor told me to pay only 10 Taka and when the bus stopped to let me down, he even pointed out the direction.
There’s an arch at the junction leading to the mausoleum and I walked along the road lined on both sides by shops. The road led up to an incline and I was stopped by a group of local tourists. One of them informed me that he saw me at the Sundarbans the day before and told me they were visiting from another town (the name escaped me). After a brief chit chat, I continued on my way to the mausoleum. I decided not to enter it and just peered from outside. Then I went to the nearby lake (Khan Jahan Ali Majar Dighi) before asking the direction of the Nine Dome Mosque (I saw at the museum that the mausoleum and the Nine Dome Mosque are located nearby each other). A man told me it was about half a km away and I thanked him before setting off. I passed a village on my way and it was interesting to come that close to a local village. I reached the mosque after ten minutes but didn’t enter as I didn’t feel like taking off my shoes. There was one man inside there performing prayers and I didn’t want to disturb him (Mikail had told me that women can enter only a handful of mosques in Bangladesh). I left after 15 minutes and retraced my route all the way back to the main road.
Mikail had told me to take the bus all the way to Bagerhat and then taking another bus back to Khulna. He reasoned it would be easier for me as I’m not a local and the locals may not understand me if I flag the bus down in between stations. I didn’t feel like doing that so I stood at the main road and waited for the bus. There was a big tree which provided shade to me from the afternoon sun so it wasn’t too bad. A bus came along after 15 minutes with the conductor shouting out ‘Khulna’ when he saw me so I ran after it and boarded it. The fare was also BDT60 and we reached Sonadanga bus station about an hour later. I took an auto rickshaw back to the hotel, again for BDT50, and reached the hotel at 15:15. I rested for a while in the lobby before venturing out the the nearby Divisional Museum. The ticket was BDT100. The display area was quite small and occupied only one floor. One of the guards chatted to me and insisted on taking pictures of me in the museum. I left after 30 minutes and went back to the hotel.
I performed prayers, read my book, went again for evening prayers, waved off mosquitoes in the lobby, had some snack and then went to freshen up while waiting. Mikail said he would come at 20:30 to send me to the train station and I also hadn’t paid him the train ticket. He showed up with a friend who had a motorbike so I rode a rickshaw by myself to the station. The train was supposed to depart at 21:15 but it was delayed and we finally left at 23:00. Mikail left at 21:00 as he had to return to the office to attend to some matters so we bade farewell to each other and I thanked him again for all his help.
Sunday, 3 February 2019
I didn’t really sleep as I was afraid I would miss my stop. I knew that it would take a few hours to reach Joypurhat but was not sure how long the journey would take. Also, there was hardly any announcement and station names are all in Bengali even if I could read them in the dim station light. It turned out the man next to me and a few others in the same carriage were also getting down at Joypurhat. We finally arrived Joypurhat station at 06:30 and I walked along the railway tracks to the station building. I hurried to perform ablutions and prayers and was told by a man to go to the upper level of the station mosque to perform my morning prayers. Alhamdulillah.
After prayers, I went into the train staff office and chatted with the woman in charge there (she told me she was single but didn’t understand me when I asked if many women have office jobs) before she said I could wait in the waiting room. She showed me the waiting room so I sat and waited there for the ticket office to open. I had finished my novel in the hotel lobby so I started a new book.
The ticket office opened at 08:20 (hurrah!) and I bought a Drutajan Express ticket to Dhaka for BDT1,055. I then paid BDT5 to use washroom before deciding I would try go to Somapura Mahavihara in Paharpur, about 15 km away. I finally managed to get an auto rickshaw driver to drive me to and back Somapura Mahavihara for BDT400. What I didn’t realise was the road would be so bad that it took us one hour to get there. The bad dusty untarred roads had my teeth gnashing as I was jostled here and there. I just looked at the site from outside and told the driver to turn around as I didn’t want to risk missing my train. So he did just that. The return trip took 50 minutes but on slightly better roads and I wished he had just taken that route to get there. We reached the station at 10:50 and I paid and thanked him. I then stood waiting for the train which turned out to be delayed too.
The Drutajan Express for Dhaka only arrived at 11:55 and left at 12:00. I sat next to a friendly man who attempted to engage me in conversation. I was too exhausted from the lack of sleep and the bone-shattering auto rickshaw ride that I dozed off shortly into journey. When I woke up, the man had already gone down at Santahar. I got up to use the washroom and perform ablutions and prayers as I knew we would arrive Dhaka after dark. It was a pleasant journey and I enjoyed looking out the window at the countryside that passed by us: the paddy fields, ponds, small towns and villages, banana trees, small vegetable plots, more paddy fields, more ponds. It seemed the locals worked in their paddy fields and farms at all hours and there were just so many things to do. It was green everywhere and very peaceful. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same of a couple of passengers in the train: one boy who kept coughing and coughing without covering his mouth and one woman who upon seeing the empty seat next to me decided to plant herself there and she threw her biscuit wrappers on the floor too.
We finally arrived Kamlapur station in Dhaka at 19:30 and I walked for 10 minutes along the platform to the main entrance/exit. I took a rickshaw to Hotel 71 and the driver demanded BDT100 from me (the hotel staff later told me he overcharged me). I checked in (the reception was at level 11) and paid the hotel USD77. The hotel staff didn’t make a fuss about me paying in USD at all, unlike the Khulna hotel staff. My room was a simple room, the decor was a bit dated but it was clean and comfortable.
After calling home, I decided to take a shower (I only located the heater button after my brief shower, duh me). Then I performed prayers before hitting the sack.
Monday, 4 February 2019
I woke up for morning prayers then had another shower (with hot water this time). I went up to the rooftop to take pictures before having breakfast which was served at Swadhika Restaurant on the 19th floor. The restaurant serves Bangladeshi, Continental and Chinese fare and I must say I left feeling satisfied with the food. I returned to my room and contemplated what to do. Should I walk to Old Dhaka or take an Uber motorbike? I was leaning towards the latter and had checked the fare on Uber but when I went to the lobby, the friendly staff advised me to take a rickshaw instead. He said the hotel could arrange an English speaking rickshaw puller and it would cost BDT200/hour so after a brief calculation, I decided to take his advice. Barely five minutes later, I was already in the rickshaw and we set off for Old Dhaka.
I wanted to go to Baitul Mukarram, the national mosque first which was quite near the hotel so we headed there first. There is a stadium very near to the mosque with the hockey stadium across this stadium. We then passed the President place, then stopped briefly at Baldah Garden. We continued on, the rickshaw puller navigating the traffic with ease. Must say I was amazed with the locals: they are mainly slender and slim and yet are so strong - lifting, hauling, carrying, pulling things.
We passed a predominantly Hindu area then continued on to Ahsan Manzil. This beautiful grand pink building used to be the residence of the Nawabs of Dhaka before it was acquired by the Dhaka National Museum and turned into a museum. Entrance for foreigners was BDT500 but I decided to skip it for now. We continued on the Sadarghat or the City Wharf which is one of the busiest ferry terminals in the world. We didn’t and couldn’t as the traffic around this area was bumper to bumper. From Sadarghat, we went to the Armenian Church where I spent sometime before continuing on to Chawk Bazar, passing Taara Masjid en route. Chawk Bazar is a bustling place and a photographer’s paradise. Next we went to Lalbagh Fort but it was closed as it was a Monday. The rickshaw puller also brought me to Dhakeshwari Temple but I didn’t want to stay so we continued on to the University of Dhaka which sprawls over a few blocks of buildings of faculties and halls of residence. I particularly like the red buildings of the University bounded by high Court Street and College Road. We also passed the Supreme Court buildings before returning to Baitul Mukarram Masjid for me to enter the mosque compound. After that, the rickshaw puller dropped me near the hotel and I paid him DBT800 for 3.5 hours of his service.
I then walked to a nearby supermarket to buy some tea and honey to bring back and that was the extent of my shopping.
I returned to my room, performed prayers and rested before going for complimentary tea at the hotel coffee house. I spent the rest of the evening finishing my packing, reading and resting.
Tuesday, 5 February 2019
I checked out after breakfast (met five Japanese men and a Malaysian couple at Swadhika Restaurant) and arranged for Uber to get to the airport. It cost me BDT500 so I quickly booked the service and went down. It took 57 minutes to get to the airport and while I think I could return again to the country to visit other places, I didn’t enjoy the ride to the airport with the traffic and the honking noises. It was enough to make me change my mind about a return visit! I checked in and went in immediately. There were some shops selling Bangladeshi products but after browsing I headed for the lounge to rest.
We boarded at noon and reached KLIA at 18:10, 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. My bag came out early and I was able to catch the 18:30 bus to KL Sentral.
So that was my trip to Bangladesh and my question is why don’t more people visit the country? It has a lot to offer: friendly locals, beautiful sceneries, halal food, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, even beautiful beaches.
I woke up for prayers, finished packing and hit the shower. I went down to the restaurant on first floor for breakfast at 08:30. The hotel offered Bangladeshi-style breakfast but there was also bread and butter and jam, and some cereal. I then returned to my room to get my bags. I checked out at 09:35 and got into an argument over the hotel bill with the reception. When I booked, booking.com said I could pay in USD and the amount was USD66.30 but the lady at the reception told me they preferred me to either pay in Taka or USD100 (at hotel exchange rate of USD1 = BDT80) and they would give me the balance in Taka. I was not happy and showed them the print screen of my booking which said I could pay in USD at the earlier mentioned amount. Finally, after getting the Manager involved, I paid USD40 and BDT4000. Humph!
I left my bags at the lobby and took an auto rickshaw to Sonadanga bus station. The fare was BDT50 and that was the final price. From there, I boarded a bus bound for Bagerhat and told the conductor and bloke sitting next to me that I wanted to get down at Shait Gumbad Mosque. The bus left at 10:03 and reached the Mosque just after 11:00. The fare was BDT60. Shait Gumbad Mosque is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ticket for foreigners was BDT200. I spent more than an hour there. Today is where I met a LOT of very friendly locals who approached me, asked where I was from, how long I would be there, was I travelling alone, if I was a student and if they could take pictures with me. The locals don’t meet a lot of foreigners - I don’t know why people go to India but not many people visit the country - and they are curious to meet new people. They are not shy to approach you and chat you up. You will get a lot of stares everywhere (something I experienced especially in Malawi), sometimes a bit unnerving, but it’s not because they are rude or anything; rather, it’s because they are curious to know more about you.
I also walked along the beautiful Ghora Dighi, a lake for people to perform ablutions (I just realised there’s no washroom or water taps inside or outside the mosque for performing ablutions; at least there were water taps at Harbaria for me to perform ablutions the day before), before turning back. I then headed for the small museum on site and spent about 20 minutes there.
I left the complex and went out to the main road. A few rickshaw operators offered me rides to Mazar Khan Jahan Ali Mausoleum but they quoted me such ridiculous fare that I was actually thinking of just walking there (2 km away though and in the noon heat). Luckily for me, a bus bound for Bagerhat came along and I hailed it down. I received such a welcome on the bus, it was embarrassing. The conductor told me to pay only 10 Taka and when the bus stopped to let me down, he even pointed out the direction.
There’s an arch at the junction leading to the mausoleum and I walked along the road lined on both sides by shops. The road led up to an incline and I was stopped by a group of local tourists. One of them informed me that he saw me at the Sundarbans the day before and told me they were visiting from another town (the name escaped me). After a brief chit chat, I continued on my way to the mausoleum. I decided not to enter it and just peered from outside. Then I went to the nearby lake (Khan Jahan Ali Majar Dighi) before asking the direction of the Nine Dome Mosque (I saw at the museum that the mausoleum and the Nine Dome Mosque are located nearby each other). A man told me it was about half a km away and I thanked him before setting off. I passed a village on my way and it was interesting to come that close to a local village. I reached the mosque after ten minutes but didn’t enter as I didn’t feel like taking off my shoes. There was one man inside there performing prayers and I didn’t want to disturb him (Mikail had told me that women can enter only a handful of mosques in Bangladesh). I left after 15 minutes and retraced my route all the way back to the main road.
Mikail had told me to take the bus all the way to Bagerhat and then taking another bus back to Khulna. He reasoned it would be easier for me as I’m not a local and the locals may not understand me if I flag the bus down in between stations. I didn’t feel like doing that so I stood at the main road and waited for the bus. There was a big tree which provided shade to me from the afternoon sun so it wasn’t too bad. A bus came along after 15 minutes with the conductor shouting out ‘Khulna’ when he saw me so I ran after it and boarded it. The fare was also BDT60 and we reached Sonadanga bus station about an hour later. I took an auto rickshaw back to the hotel, again for BDT50, and reached the hotel at 15:15. I rested for a while in the lobby before venturing out the the nearby Divisional Museum. The ticket was BDT100. The display area was quite small and occupied only one floor. One of the guards chatted to me and insisted on taking pictures of me in the museum. I left after 30 minutes and went back to the hotel.
I performed prayers, read my book, went again for evening prayers, waved off mosquitoes in the lobby, had some snack and then went to freshen up while waiting. Mikail said he would come at 20:30 to send me to the train station and I also hadn’t paid him the train ticket. He showed up with a friend who had a motorbike so I rode a rickshaw by myself to the station. The train was supposed to depart at 21:15 but it was delayed and we finally left at 23:00. Mikail left at 21:00 as he had to return to the office to attend to some matters so we bade farewell to each other and I thanked him again for all his help.
Sunday, 3 February 2019
I didn’t really sleep as I was afraid I would miss my stop. I knew that it would take a few hours to reach Joypurhat but was not sure how long the journey would take. Also, there was hardly any announcement and station names are all in Bengali even if I could read them in the dim station light. It turned out the man next to me and a few others in the same carriage were also getting down at Joypurhat. We finally arrived Joypurhat station at 06:30 and I walked along the railway tracks to the station building. I hurried to perform ablutions and prayers and was told by a man to go to the upper level of the station mosque to perform my morning prayers. Alhamdulillah.
After prayers, I went into the train staff office and chatted with the woman in charge there (she told me she was single but didn’t understand me when I asked if many women have office jobs) before she said I could wait in the waiting room. She showed me the waiting room so I sat and waited there for the ticket office to open. I had finished my novel in the hotel lobby so I started a new book.
The ticket office opened at 08:20 (hurrah!) and I bought a Drutajan Express ticket to Dhaka for BDT1,055. I then paid BDT5 to use washroom before deciding I would try go to Somapura Mahavihara in Paharpur, about 15 km away. I finally managed to get an auto rickshaw driver to drive me to and back Somapura Mahavihara for BDT400. What I didn’t realise was the road would be so bad that it took us one hour to get there. The bad dusty untarred roads had my teeth gnashing as I was jostled here and there. I just looked at the site from outside and told the driver to turn around as I didn’t want to risk missing my train. So he did just that. The return trip took 50 minutes but on slightly better roads and I wished he had just taken that route to get there. We reached the station at 10:50 and I paid and thanked him. I then stood waiting for the train which turned out to be delayed too.
The Drutajan Express for Dhaka only arrived at 11:55 and left at 12:00. I sat next to a friendly man who attempted to engage me in conversation. I was too exhausted from the lack of sleep and the bone-shattering auto rickshaw ride that I dozed off shortly into journey. When I woke up, the man had already gone down at Santahar. I got up to use the washroom and perform ablutions and prayers as I knew we would arrive Dhaka after dark. It was a pleasant journey and I enjoyed looking out the window at the countryside that passed by us: the paddy fields, ponds, small towns and villages, banana trees, small vegetable plots, more paddy fields, more ponds. It seemed the locals worked in their paddy fields and farms at all hours and there were just so many things to do. It was green everywhere and very peaceful. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same of a couple of passengers in the train: one boy who kept coughing and coughing without covering his mouth and one woman who upon seeing the empty seat next to me decided to plant herself there and she threw her biscuit wrappers on the floor too.
We finally arrived Kamlapur station in Dhaka at 19:30 and I walked for 10 minutes along the platform to the main entrance/exit. I took a rickshaw to Hotel 71 and the driver demanded BDT100 from me (the hotel staff later told me he overcharged me). I checked in (the reception was at level 11) and paid the hotel USD77. The hotel staff didn’t make a fuss about me paying in USD at all, unlike the Khulna hotel staff. My room was a simple room, the decor was a bit dated but it was clean and comfortable.
After calling home, I decided to take a shower (I only located the heater button after my brief shower, duh me). Then I performed prayers before hitting the sack.
Monday, 4 February 2019
I woke up for morning prayers then had another shower (with hot water this time). I went up to the rooftop to take pictures before having breakfast which was served at Swadhika Restaurant on the 19th floor. The restaurant serves Bangladeshi, Continental and Chinese fare and I must say I left feeling satisfied with the food. I returned to my room and contemplated what to do. Should I walk to Old Dhaka or take an Uber motorbike? I was leaning towards the latter and had checked the fare on Uber but when I went to the lobby, the friendly staff advised me to take a rickshaw instead. He said the hotel could arrange an English speaking rickshaw puller and it would cost BDT200/hour so after a brief calculation, I decided to take his advice. Barely five minutes later, I was already in the rickshaw and we set off for Old Dhaka.
I wanted to go to Baitul Mukarram, the national mosque first which was quite near the hotel so we headed there first. There is a stadium very near to the mosque with the hockey stadium across this stadium. We then passed the President place, then stopped briefly at Baldah Garden. We continued on, the rickshaw puller navigating the traffic with ease. Must say I was amazed with the locals: they are mainly slender and slim and yet are so strong - lifting, hauling, carrying, pulling things.
We passed a predominantly Hindu area then continued on to Ahsan Manzil. This beautiful grand pink building used to be the residence of the Nawabs of Dhaka before it was acquired by the Dhaka National Museum and turned into a museum. Entrance for foreigners was BDT500 but I decided to skip it for now. We continued on the Sadarghat or the City Wharf which is one of the busiest ferry terminals in the world. We didn’t and couldn’t as the traffic around this area was bumper to bumper. From Sadarghat, we went to the Armenian Church where I spent sometime before continuing on to Chawk Bazar, passing Taara Masjid en route. Chawk Bazar is a bustling place and a photographer’s paradise. Next we went to Lalbagh Fort but it was closed as it was a Monday. The rickshaw puller also brought me to Dhakeshwari Temple but I didn’t want to stay so we continued on to the University of Dhaka which sprawls over a few blocks of buildings of faculties and halls of residence. I particularly like the red buildings of the University bounded by high Court Street and College Road. We also passed the Supreme Court buildings before returning to Baitul Mukarram Masjid for me to enter the mosque compound. After that, the rickshaw puller dropped me near the hotel and I paid him DBT800 for 3.5 hours of his service.
Ahsan Manzil
Sadarghat
Taara Masjid or Star Mosque
Chawk Bazar
Lalbagh Fort
Mausoleum of Three Leaders
Part of the University of Dhaka
I then walked to a nearby supermarket to buy some tea and honey to bring back and that was the extent of my shopping.
I returned to my room, performed prayers and rested before going for complimentary tea at the hotel coffee house. I spent the rest of the evening finishing my packing, reading and resting.
Tuesday, 5 February 2019
I checked out after breakfast (met five Japanese men and a Malaysian couple at Swadhika Restaurant) and arranged for Uber to get to the airport. It cost me BDT500 so I quickly booked the service and went down. It took 57 minutes to get to the airport and while I think I could return again to the country to visit other places, I didn’t enjoy the ride to the airport with the traffic and the honking noises. It was enough to make me change my mind about a return visit! I checked in and went in immediately. There were some shops selling Bangladeshi products but after browsing I headed for the lounge to rest.
We boarded at noon and reached KLIA at 18:10, 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. My bag came out early and I was able to catch the 18:30 bus to KL Sentral.
So that was my trip to Bangladesh and my question is why don’t more people visit the country? It has a lot to offer: friendly locals, beautiful sceneries, halal food, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, even beautiful beaches.
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