Week 39: Ben arrives and we explore the historical sites of Paharpur and Mahasthangarh

39^th-1st in Dhaka 5/28

This morning I called my sister Sandee to wish her a happy birthday! She was very happy to receive the call, even though it was short. She also still had one hour to go until her birthday even started, but I told her it’d already been her birthday here for nine hours!

An article on me and my blog was posted in this month’s NC State engineering e-newsletter. I’ve posted the link on the sidebar as well.

Spent the day at home mostly processing data. Went out to get some errands done, including faxing our Rangamati permission stuff again to the Deputy Collector. No one said this would be easy.

In the evening I headed over to Baridhara. Tonight is the July 4 party, even though it’s May 28, at the US embassy. I was debating whether or not to go, and I decided that, since I was invited for being a Fulbright, I have a responsibility to go. I am an ambassador for my program, and not going would not be living up to the few expectations the Fulbright program has for us. The hassle of dressing up nice in the heat is minor compared to the impact I can make on a few important people tonight by spreading the good news of the Fulbright program. So that motivated me to go, and I was prepared to be a good Fulbright ambassador.
I met up with Erin and Karen at Erin’s place to clean up from the sweaty bus ride, and put on my tie. We then headed by rickshaw, in the rain which had started around dusk, down the road to the embassy. Had to go through three checkpoints, each time having to show our invitation, just to reach the embassy’s gates. (pics: the US Embassy decorated in July 4 colors for the party...unintentionally blurry but I'm sure they prefer that for security reasons, Karen/myself/Erin dressed up for the US Embassy's July 4th party)

There was lots of snack food, and a lot of it representing 4^th of July fare. I was extremely happy to see hot dogs, full sized, just cut up into sections. I at least ate one full one across the evening. Mini-jumbo pretzels, mini fried chicken, skewers of summer fruit, and brownies topped off the summer feast!
The US ambassador, new to the country in the last two months, gave the first address. I only met him for a handshake at the door, but got to meet many other ambassadors throughout the evening. I was first introduced by my friend Leigh to several Arab ambassadors including the one from Egypt, Kuwait, Emirates, Palestine, and Libya. They were talking together when we walked up. Only the Egyptian ambassador stayed past the pleasantries, and we talked long about traffic (of course) and other topics for about fifteen minutes.

39^th-2nd in Dhaka 5/29

Today I saw that Google Maps was updated for Bangladesh! Was so excited had to bump it into the blog a week earlier. But it is really exciting. You can see the roads, schools, hospitals, parks, everything! Nice to know all the places I located by satellite on my map on the sidebar were correct! I no longer feel like I’m living in a barren wasteland (as I would have to think by looking at a map before.)

Called the Deputy Collector of Rangamati again, hoping they got my fax or courier service package. Well they didn’t, but they said they would, and the guy on the phone made it seem like we don’t even need permission. We’ll see.

This morning I found out a bit more about Moweena: she has two children and they still live in her village with her father. She also has a granddaughter from her son. She lives in Dhaka with her sister, and they both do domestic work.

I headed out the buses with the hopes of getting four done. Well combining a #12 bus which cut its route short, another #12 bus which I had to get off early, a #13 bus which wasn’t doing its full route, and a #13 bus which took two hours, I only got two full buses done. Local buses are much harder to research than ticket buses.

39^th-3rd in Dhaka 5/30

Today Ben arrived at 7:30, my friend from North Carolina State University. They wouldn’t let me in the fenced in area where Ben would walk out of. So I had to wait outside the gates and watch for him. Finally he came out, and I looked for an army officer to ask if I can enter, but all were occupied. So I insteade I walked right through the gate, yelled “BEN!” twice, and he heard me, turned, and we gave each other a big hug.

Took a CNG back home, talked for a bit. He told me that my photo from the Aktel ad is now in the airport in the baggage claim area. I had no idea, and have no clue how long it’s been up. He thought I knew and that’s why he didn’t take a picture.

Although it was hot, we decided to go for a walk, and went around part of Dhanmondi Lake, catching up and sweating in the heat. Walked down Sat Masjid Road for a bit, got some mango juice, and later met up with Diya, and we got some cold soda and went to Anam Rangs Plaza to enjoy the air conditioning.

Coming home we both passed out. I napped for about three hours, Ben about five.

We went by New Market in the evening. Headed to my tailor to see about buying this shirt I wanted to get and thought Ben would like too. But they were out of the material. We also looked into buying some suits. Ben bought his first lungi, as well as some sandals to wear when it rains. It poured as we came back by rickshaw. More than I’ve seen here. We got pretty soaked, even though we got on the rickshaw just in time.

We started watching a movie at home, Good Luck Chuck and the power went out twice. So at one point we just went to get dinner at my favorite hotel. Although it wasn’t very late, the place was more empty than usual. Ben got to eat his first real filling of rice.

39^th-4th in Dhaka 5/31

Both of us felt a little bit sick this morning when we woke up. Ben felt sick because of a headache, myself because of typical stomach problems. After these had passed and we’d had a big breakfast of rice and dal, we headed out to see some sights.

First was BUET, and I took him around the standard tour of the campus, seeing all the sights. He specifically enjoyed the views from the top of the Civil Building, comparing them to the views from Cox and Dabney at State.

We then walked over to Shahid Minar, Was surprised we weren’t surrounded by beggars, and the place was quieter than usual on a normal day. We sat around for awhile as we were getting quite hot and tired and there was some shade to be found. (pic: Ben in front of Shahid Minar)

Then we walked over to Dhakeshwari Temple. It is my third time there, but in a long time. The temple was quieter than the other two times. The only action was a bride who was walked up to the shrine and was crying, supported by two family members. (pic: lunch time at Dhakeshwari Temple)

From there we took a bus to Baridhara where we were meeting up for flag football at the American School. It was organized by Leigh, and we got invited by Aaron. A lot of people showed up, and we ended up having four teams of eight. With that many people we didn't have enough flag football flags, so we played two-hand touch. We played two games, with the winners of each squaring off and the losers squaring off after. That meant that for the final game, because both our teams won, my team got to face Ben and Aaron’s team, who beat us easily. I got to catch a winning touchdown in the first game though. It was fun to run around and be sweaty for awhile. The American School’s field is very nice, nicer than anything NC State had. (pics: two-hand touch football on the fields of the American International School, resting after football in the gymnasium part of the school)

39^th-5th in Dhaka 6/1

We went to the tailor in the morning. We had spent the morning researching about fabrics and styles to learn more about what we wanted to buy. We looked at my suits and shirts I’ve already gotten tailored, and checked out their measurements. At the tailor we spent a lot of time choosing our fabrics, ultimately buying four shirts each and material for a suit. We then went upstairs and got measured. We’re excited to see our stuff come out in a week and a half weeks. (pics: Ben choosing his fabric for shirts, Ben getting measured for his suit)

We had lunch at Ayon’s, and after lunch, his mother invited us over again for a lunch on Wednesday. Before and after we sat and talked with Ayon, and at one point Ayon showed us pictures from his family albums.

From there Ben and I headed to Nazira Bazar to buy some rickshaw art. We each bought some pieces after checking out a few stores. The most humorous one we saw was where the artist painted a city scene where a train had collided with a truck on the train tracks and driver was lying through the truck window bleeding…who paints that?!? (pics: one of the old buildings in Nazira Bazar of Old Dhaka, rickshaw art for sale in Nazira Bazar)

Then headed around town trying to buy a bus ticket. This proved to be more difficult as I thought, but I guess I’m used to that. We passed by Baitul Mukarram and I showed it to Ben as we passed. It is interesting going around with Ben here as he tells me a lot about the differences between here and Egypt, where he spent a lot of time. Also, because he is very proficient in Arabic, he keeps pointing out to me the signs in which things are spelled wrong or written incorrectly.

39^th-6th in Bogra 6/2

We headed out to Bogra today. The bus was a smooth ride, but hit some major showers halfway through, making us have to close the bus windows. It was a magnificent storm, flooding the roads we drove on and reducing our bus to a crawl as the visibility went to zero. But by the time we arrived in Bogra, the rain had ended.

In Bogra we took a rickshaw to a hotel we wanted to stay at the main bus terminal called the Safeway Motel. The place was nice and looked deserted, but low and behold, they were booked up for the night! Wondering what to do, the hotel owner eased our concerns and stared calling every hotel in the area on his own accord. Finally he found us a hotel after about 10 minutes, just down the road. I wasn’t quite sure where it was, but he said no worries, and told his private car to take us there. Such service without even asking!
Our hotel was really nice, called the Bogra Resort. It was on top of a few shops doing car repair. We got some lunch after checking in at a street side restaurant. It didn’t have running water and we didn’t dare drink the water they gave us. The food was ridiculously spicy, and both of us had runny noses while we ate and were left gasping for breath.

After, we got on a local bus to take us to Mahasthan. This village is the site one of the oldest known settlements in Bangladesh, dating back to the 3^rd century BC, called Mahasthangarh. From where we got off the bus a rickshaw took us to the museum. The ride there took us by the Citadel, the main structure of the area and about one mile long! The museum was at the other end, and after paying the high fare of Tk100 to enter the museum, we took a look inside. Typical Bangladeshi museum, had some neat artifacts, a lot dating back to 2300 years ago. There was a decent map of the area and it showed all the structures in about 100 sq km. There are Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim sites ranging from different time periods, but most of the remaining structures are from a 8^th to 11^th century Buddhist period. We took our time looking around a temple across the street from the museum, a Hindu structure from the 6^th century called Govinda Bhita. (pics: two boys standing on the remains of Govinda Bhita in Mahasthangarh, Ben walking along the remains of a wall of Govinda Bhita)

From there we walked to the Citadel, the one that is almost a mile long. We walked along its outer wall for its full length, encountering several people on the way inquiring about our nationality. The Citadel was empty of anything historical on the inside except for a few mounds with a bit of brick work spotted here and there. Instead, the entire interior was being farmed and people were going about their daily work on this ancient site. (pics: Ben at the entrance to the Citadel, myself with the interior of the Citadel being farmed behind me, Ben standing along the outer wall of the Citadel, unrestored portion of the wall)

We bought some mangoes and took a bus back to Bogra, spending a little bit of time walking around the city’s center main market. Got scared at one point that I’d been robbed as I got surrounded by some guys and then later I noticed my backpack was open. Got scared, nothing happened, I likely left the pocket open.
Went back to the hotel and had dinner. Had to wait an hour and a half while they made it. They gave us a table in the corner of large dining room, we were the only ones in the hotel eating there. One guy serving us. Good meal though, they cut the mangoes we bought for us. Enjoyed watching the cable TV in our room while we waited for dinner.

39^th-7th in Paharpur 6/3

Grabbed a bus and headed to Paharpur. This was a good distance away. First leg was to take a local bus to Jaipurhat, and from there, another local bus to Paharpur village. Finally from Paharpur village, the historical sights there are a rickshaw ride away down a bumpy road. It was not easy to reach Bangladesh’s most impressive historical site. (pic: view of the road to Somapura Mahavira from Paharpur's bus stand)

We arrived to the Somapura Mahavira site in Parharpur and got surrounded by tourist shop owners! I’ve never seen anything like this in Bangladesh. They stopped our rickshaw from moving and were yelling for us to visit their stores and buy food. They had gifts, that I’d never seen before in Bangladesh. Maybe just three or four shops total. Is this a preview of what Bangladesh will turn into if it becomes a tourist country? It was quite impressive. They stopped our rickshaw a second time once we told it to go again, and continued to hold onto it and pointing and waving for us to buy things. Finally we broke free and made it to the gate. (pic: first tourist trap I've seen in Bangladesh)

We bought our tickets still with the tourist hawkers following us. The museum inside was lacking a map of the site, which really would have helped in comprehension. But a large brass image of the Buddha uncovered at the site was featured at its center, and that was a neat highlight.

Somapura Mahavihara, the monastery located at Paharpur, was at one point the largest monastery south of the Himalayas, and according to a sign at the site, still is. It is one of three World Heritage Sites in Bangladesh, the others being the Shait Gumbad Mosque in Bagherhat and the Sundarbans. It was built during the 6^th century during the Pala Dynasty. The center stupa is 72 feet tall with three tiers for circumambulation. Lining these are clay tiles carved with the images of animals and images of the Buddha. Five main images of the Buddha existed here, one buried under the stupa, and four more located on each side of the center spire. The center stupa is surrounded by a square of residential cells for the monks, 177 in total, covering a total area of 21 acres. Besides the central stupa, the site includes remnants of the washing area, the main gate, and a miniature model of the monastery.

Ben and Somapura Mahavira behind him as seen from the museum, We walked the site taking photos, and at one point got accompanied by a Department of Archaeology tour guide who followed us the entire time giving facts about the site. The place was pretty empty. We asked about that, and he said that the site is more visited during the winter, with about 1000 visitors a month during the winter, and only about 500 a month during the summer. Foreigners show up he said, about 30 a month during the winter, and only two to five a month during the summer. So we could’ve been the only foreigners to show up all month! At one point one of the sellers popped out of nowhere trying to sell us Cokes. I had to strongly insist we didn’t want any before he’d leave. He must’ve walked ½ a mile to try to sell those to us. (pics:Somapura Mahavira's central stupa, myself/Ben in front Somapura Mahavira's central stupa as seen from the wall of the monastery, the wall of the monastery with the residential cells for the monks)

We saved the central stupa for after we’d walked the entire monastery’s outer wall. We circumambulated the stupa on all three levels, looking at all the carvings and noticing the different views. On the top level, where the Buddha images would have been, there were stairs up to where there was an opening in the brick work. We were told to walk up and look in, and after climbing up there, I did get a bit nervous standing on the very thin ledge. (pics: myself sitting on the steps of Somapura Mahavira, Ben looking up at the top (and at a goat) from the bottommost level, Ben on the ledge looking into the opening which would've been above an image of Buddha, looking down on the thin ledge and Ben below)

Our tempo back to Jaipurhat was leaking fumes really bad, and I had to cover my nose with my shirt as a filter, it was real bad. In Jaipurhat the only buses still to leave for the day going back to Dhaka were night buses, and we really didn’t want to get into Dhaka at two or three in the morning. So we took a local bus back to Bogra, hoping we could catch a bus there, and cut some time off the bus back to Dhaka.

In Bogra we asked around and found a counter selling tickets to Dhaka. We bought one, even though the price seemed high. They gave us specific seats on the bus, and we waited for this bus which they said was coming from Naogaon and would arrive at 8:30. Well the bus which they said was coming never seemed to come. I never saw a bus of that name. Instead we watched as they yelled to every bus that passed asking if there were two seats on the bus. It seemed like we had just outsourced hitchhiking! I asked them if they were just trying to get us a seat on any bus, and they denied it vehemently. Finally a bus came they wanted us to get on, and we stepped into it and the conductor asked where we were going. We said Dhaka, and he said they weren’t going there. So it became pretty clear our ticket was just a worthless piece of paper we paid for to allow them to hail a bus for us. I asked again, and again they denied it. I started getting annoyed as we were now waiting 40 minutes, instead of the promised ten. I could’ve used that time to find a real bus, not a hitchhiking pass.

So it came to be that I had my first fight in Bengali tonight. After it became apparent that it was pretty much an outsourced hitchhiking, I got mad. I felt they lied to me saying I had specific seats on a specific bus, yet it was just an overpriced ticket for them to yell at each bus that passed. I would not have minded that, or been angry, if they’d just told me from the start that this is what they were doing. But they kept denying even when I called them out on it. I ended up fighting with one of the guys, and going on a long tirade about how we’d now be stuck arriving in Dhaka at 2 or 3 AM. How there is nothing we could do in Dhaka at that time, how would we get home, etc. I think I held up my end of my first fight in Bengali pretty well.

As fate would have it, just as the partner of the guy I was yelling at was about to give our money back, a bus came by that they flagged down which had space for Ben and I. So Ben and I got to go on with our outsourced hitchhiking ticket. They had plenty of seats. And no one ever came to us saying we were in their seats. The bus was off to Dhaka and we’d be arriving around 2 AM. Although technically I should be writing this in next week’s post, we did arrive safely the next day at 2:30 AM and got a CNG to take us back to my flat.

Week 29: Dhaka asks my parents "Your country?"

29^th-1st in Dhaka 3/19

Today I took my voice recorder into a shop to see if it could be repaired. I took it to a place which repairs cell phones. I figured the technology was so much the same that they should be familiar with the parts and pieces and could handle it. I mean, they both have a speaker and microphone, screens, buttons, microchips, and most important, a place to plug in an external wire (I can hear my electrical engineering friends Saket, Greg, and Ben laughing at me right now from across the world.)

Well the guy poked, tested, checked, soldered, and played for about 20 minutes. And after testing it, no luck. Still didn’t work. Power went out while testing, and he couldn’t put it back together because his soldering iron requires electricity, and all was off. So I left my expensive device in his hands and said I’d come back tonight.

Did three routes today. ATCL was first, and I took it from Mohammedpur to Motijheel. Then quickly took a local bus to BUET to have a meeting with Dr. Rahman. Sadly the meeting only lasted 10 minutes as he had more students waiting. But it was nice to catch up and tell him my progress. I’ll go back and see him after my parents leave.

Stopped by a travel agency to get a price quote for my trip to Nepal with Emily. Made the reservation but had to wait until tomorrow to confirm.

Went back to Motijheel and grabbed a Rahbar Gold bus to Uttara. This bus took 30 minutes to arrive. I don’t understand how some of these bus companies stay in business with horrible service.

Took Anik bus back to Azimpur. On this ride I noticed lots of lightening. By the time I got to Azimpur, the wind and lightening had really picked up.

And by the time I got onto the next bus to take me back to Jigatola, it was really bad. People on the bus were yelling at the driver to drive faster, before the storm broke.

I got off the bus and about 4 minutes later the storm opened up. Wind and rain were howling and pouring. I stood underneath a store’s awning with four other people and waited to see if it’d slow down. It didn’t. Wind and rain were crazy. Wind was pushing rickshaws, undriven, down the street. I finally made a run for it and sprinted for a restaurant, where I could at least eat dinner while I waited out the storm. When I finished eating, the storm had slowed and meandered home.

29^th-2nd in Dhaka 3/20

Went to tour office, and they confirmed my ticket.

Been eating carrots and cucumbers on the street recently, had the guts to risk it possibly upsetting my stomach.

In Uttara had a late lunch, then took the Shakti bus. Interested to see where it would end up, first time riding full route. Route was pretty empty until we got to near the end, where at Gulistan and Lalmatia the route got packed with tons of people. Then the wind and lightening started again. By the time the bus ended, it was really windy and dust was blowing everywhere. Hard to even see without shielding your eyes. I didn’t even know where I was, had never been there, and only knew the name and the rough location. Walked until I found a main road about 100 meters down, then waited to see a bus that would take me someplace familiar. Didn’t take long, I recognized all the buses as I see them all daily. Hopped on and took the route back to where I needed as the storm broke and poured around us, not as bad as last night though.

After getting home I went and got a pizza. I was real worn out from all the riding. But the pizza was bad, they used American cheese instead of mozzarella. Wonder if they knew I can notice the difference.

29^th-3rd in Dhaka 3/21

Bought a fan for my kitchen and living room so that area of the home could cool down a bit. Mainly just laid around all day. Relaxing before all the hustle and bustle of my parents arrival. Told my boua to come for lunch tomorrow so my parents could eat comfortably here. Also contacted with the rental car driver on where and when we would meet.

Got a haircut to look clean and spiffy for my parents arrival. Haircut was interesting since the power went out midway through. Thus he couldn’t see what he was cutting…uh oh. Well they brought out a lantern and used its light to cut by. However, the power going out meant the ceiling fan stopped. It was good because my hair was no longer flying everywherere (that’s why you don’t put ceiling fans in a barber shop) but it was bad because I was sweating heavily after that, which is gross during a haircut.
Haircut ended up being so-so…I prefer it in lights I have to say.

All day I thought about my parents traveling in the skies.

29^th-4th in Dhaka 3/22

I met the rental car near my home and we drove up to the airport to pick up my parents. I was so excited, so neat that my parents were going to be in Bangladesh. The driver had a really nice car. He bought it himself, and handles renting it as his own business. Had nice padded seats, and you can tell he takes good care of it. He had some good CDs in the car too, but I decided since he has a CD player I’d bring some CDs of my own.

At the airport we got there awhile before my parents arrived. He parked in the parking deck because you can’t just sit and wait outside the main door. The arrival area is fenced off, and lots of people are waiting along the fence for family members to arrive, or simply just to watch people arrive all day for fun. People surround these gates on all sides, and many foreigners comment how intimidating and uncomfortable it is for a first time visitor to Bangladesh to arrive and just see masses of people staring at them. (pics: outside the arrival area at Dhaka's airport, masses of people standing along the fence outside the arrival area greeting all people coming to Dhaka)

I talked to some guards and asked them if I could stand inside the gated area for my parents. They said when they arrived, I’d be allowed to enter. So I went to stand outside. Then I was called back and they said they asked and it would be okay for me to wait inside the gated area.

Parents arrived, and we hugged each other! So happy! It was great to see them after 6.5 months! Their flights went off fine and landed fine. No complaints. We all agreed how spectacular and awesome it was that they were now in Bangladesh. The ride from the airport to their hotel was great, to show them my city and tell them things and just talk in person for the first time in months, and not over the scratchiness of skype.

We checked them into the hotel, they adjusted their belongings. Gave me all the things they brought me which included Cheez-its, brownies!!!, tour guide books, some news articles, some computer CDs, a Wolfpacker magazine, some birthday cards, and other small things.

I took them back to my home where we were supposed to have a meal from my boua. But she never showed. We were a bit upset. Really had wished she’d come so they could’ve tasted her cooking. I was also going to teach them how to eat with their hand properly in the unemabarassing confines of my home. They ended up napping while we waited, and finally after 2 hours we went to a nice Bangladeshi restaurant nearby where they could have some dishes and use their hands.

From there we had to attend an orientation meeting for our Sundarbans tour. Nothing special, they stated some simple things, and were speaking mostly in English for my parents. They gave us tea, cake, and sodas…always hospitable. We got all the details, and we were done.

Headed down to the Parliament building and roamed around it and Zia Uddyan for a bit. Took a big loop around the large green space. They got to experience their first real persistent beggar children, who followed us until we got back to the car. (pics: Dad/Mom at the tomb of Ziaur Rahman, Dad/Mom overlooking Chandrima Uddan)

We went to Bashundara City and let the rental car and driver go for the day. We roamed the mall for a good while. Passing through the semi-packed aisle and seeing the 8 levels that the largest mall in South Asia has to offer. Didn’t buy anything. Shopped mostly to see if we could get some Bangladeshi salowar kameez for mom.
We had dinner in the food court, I bought them some fuchka, their first, and hopefully not their last. Some kebabs and parota for dinner. Nothing fancy, just fun. (pic: Mom trying to fit an entire bite of fuchka in her mouth)

29^th-5th in Dhaka 3/23

Picked them up from the hotel and we went to Old Dhaka. First up was Bicycle Street to find rickshaw art. We ended up in the wrong place, and ended up taking their first rickshaw ride to Nazira Bazar just north of where we were. There we found about six shops selling rickshaw art. Saw lots of nice examples, and ultimately we decided to buy some with images of tigers on them and city scenes. This art is that which the rickshaws decorate their rickshaws with. There are a few famous artists that do this, and for them the city is more beautiful. (pics: items a rickshaw wallah can decorate his rickshaw with, rickshaw art)

After this we took rickshaws down to Ahsan Manzil, which was good for a quick look around and pictures of the river. But then we walked along the river for a bit until finding a dock to walk down onto. Once my parents saw the small boats, and were solicited by the boat drivers, they decided they wanted to take a spin in the busy Buriganga River. I had no problem with it, it’s fun. So we took a half hour spin on the boat, and they got to see some river life on the banks. Plus the garbage filled river. (pics: Dad/Mom stuck in traffic on their second rickshaw ride, Dad/Mom at Ahsan Manzil, on the boat in the Buriganga River, launches lined up in a row on the Buriganga River with our boat driver in front)

From there we walked up through the Hindu part of Old Dhaka, Tanti Bazar. Saw some of the temples. The streets were colorfully tinted purple and blue as yesterday was Holi, the festival of colors, where it’s celebrated by throwing colorful dyes on each other. We stopped at some of the jewelry shops. Mom was looking for some Bangladeshi pink river pearls. We found strings of them that could later be turned into jewelry. (pics: streets blue and purple from Holi, buying pearls at Tanti Bazar, strings of pearls from the Padma River)

We had walked a lot. It was a bit tiring. They definitely got to experience some rickshaw close calls, and plenty of staring. And of course everyone inquiring about how we were and what country we are from. They got a healthy dose of that.

From there we went to explore BUET. I showed them around all the places I know. Even got to show my mom the research library. My mom the librarian loved it. (pics: Dad/Mom at BUET in front of Civil Engineering Building, mom in BUET's library with another librarian)

Went to Shahid Minar. My parents were really glad to see the monument I’d talked so much about, and all the history behind it. Had two beggar boys following me there, and they were quite explorative, at one point lifting up my shirt to look at my stomach. I didn’t mind, as long as they weren’t bothering my parents. (pic: Mom/Dad in front of Shahid Minar)

We ended the busy part of the day going to New Market. They got to experience the crowds, the pushing, the yelling, and the advertising. My dad and I went to my tailor and got tailored shirts made. We’ll pick them up near the end of our stay. (pics: Dad picking out fabric for his shirts, myself arranging measurements for our shirts with my tailor)

Dinner was with the Siddiqui's: Altaf, his parents, his grandmother, and some other extended family. Anwar, Altaf’s brother, is my dad’s co-worker. Pretty much without him I never would have had the the friends or the fun I’ve had in Dhaka.
Dinner was lots of fun. Lots of chatting and laughing, story telling and of course eating. My parents ate some great Bangladeshi food that Anwar and Altaf’s mother cooked. It was a great visit. They even got to thumb through Anwar’s wedding album. (pics: dinner spread at the Siddiqui's, Mom/Dad enjoying dinner, Dad/Altaf/Mom looking at Anwar 's wedding pictures, the Siddiqui family at the dinner table with my parents)

29^th-6th in Dhaka 3/24

Met them at the hotel and we started the day off at the Liberation War Museum. Even though I’d been there before, I still read all things again, to help reinforce the history of Bangladesh a bit more in my brain. Dad went quicker through than Mom and I, which is typical of a Katz family museum visit. Sandee would’ve gone even quicker than Dad (at least in her younger days, then pouted that we were taking so long haha)
Museum was preparing for Independence Day coming up on March 26, decorations were up. (pics: Mom at the Liberation War Museum, getting ready for Independence Day)

From there, we headed to Nando’s for lunch. Dad enjoyed it a lot because the spices I brought him back from South Africa were available at this restaurant. No bottles to buy though.

Next was Lalbagh Fort. They were filming a movie there “Shudhu Tomake Chai” (I only want you) and we had to keep moving out of the back of their scenes. Dad and Mom got to swarms of people come up and ask us questions, and then take photos of us. Kids and their parents, school boys, and young couples. Some asked simple questions, some lectured us about America and Bangladesh. We spent two hours there, exploring all parts of the fort, more than I had had time for last time I visited. One of the best parts is always to look over the edge of the fort onto the streets of Old Dhaka. (pics: Mom/Dad/myself at Lalbagh Fort, Dad getting questioned by some visitors, movie shooting with many observers, movie shooting in the middle of Lalbagh Fort, Dad at the edge of Lalbagh Fort overlooking Old Dhaka)

We headed to Aarong where they bought some Bangladeshi crafts. There was one piece missing from one of the sets we wanted, so I’ll have to go aback sometime and see if they got the piece in.

After, we met with Jen, Ben, and Karen at Red Tomato and had dinner. I was glad as my parents seemed to get a lot of questions answered by different people than myself, differing viewpoints.

29^th-7th in the Sundarbans 3/25

I picked my parents up early with the car and headed to The Bengal Tours office. From there we were supposed to take a bus to Khulna to start our Sundarbans tour. Well all the quick rushing for an early arrival was useless because the bus came two hours late. Since the Padma River ferries are running less frequently due to low water levels, it causes major problems in travel times for buses heading to southwest Bangladesh.

The bus was very comfortable, with only three large seats per row. They played a Bangladeshi movie on the ride and I was actually able to understand some of it! Ultimately Mom and Dad took the window seats in our row, as I have plenty more opportunities to see the countryside. At the Padma River crossing where we had to wait a long while, we got out and watched the ferries and launches go back and forth. It was a fun way to pass the waiting time. Also had them drink coconut water for the first time. (pics: Dad/Mom on the bus ride, three ways to get across the Padma River: ferry, launch, and nouka, myself/Dad with some guys interested in questioning us at the Padma River ferry crossing, Mom/Dad walking through the lines of trucks and buses waiting to cross the Padma by ferry)

On this trip I spent any of my reading time with a guide book to Nepal, in preparation for my trip there in July with Emily.

Since our bus came 2 hours late and we got held up on the Padma River ferry crossing, our bus went to Mongla instead of Khulna, a little farther downstream. That way we could cut a few hours off the boat trip, as the bus goes a lot faster than the boat. We made it just fine and were back on schedule. The boat was in the middle of the river and we got to it by a little wooden boat that everyone fit on (about 24 of us.) We had just enough people to take the company’s bigger boat instead of their smaller one. Meant we had lots of space, including a cabin to myself.

We had dinner on the boat, got to meet all the passengers as some people met us in Mongla, and meanwhile the boat started on its way to the Sundarbans, checking in at a forest station and picking up two armed guards for the trip (to protect us from tigers and pirates!)