Wandering Around Dhaka

I woke to the sound of the Muslim prayer call this morning, and I have NO idea what time it was.  It sounded nice, so I thought it better than any alarm clock I'd ever had, and went back to sleep.  I woke myself up around 8 and started organizing my day. 

I spent half the morning lazing around the apartment studiously planning the rest of my time in Bangladesh with the guidebook Kassandra loaned me (it's likely what I'll be doing with my evening too!).  When I got that all sorted out (mostly I wanted to have a sketch of my total comings and goings over the next 2 weeks and a hotel for tomorrow in Old Dhaka) I decided to go wander the streets.  I had no particular destination in mind, I just wanted to see what it was like on the streets of Bangladesh on a normal day!

I wandered up from the hotel and saw the US Embassy at the end of the road I'm staying on.  I walked toward an area I remembered driving through last night and passed several more embassies, consular offices, and high commissions (whatever THEY do!).  I passed lots of people out walking and busy working (construction, selling things, carrying stuff, friendly baby policemen guarding random empty spaces of sidewalks).



70Taka = $1ish
Above is Tk100, 200, 20 and 10
500mL bottle of sprite: Tk28

 I found myself an ATM and then a shop with pop (yay!) and bought myself a can of sprite (MAN I was thirsty with all the pollution and the heat!) and continued walking around.  I found a little lake park that I walked through, and then I sat down to thumb through the guide book again to take a break from the shade.  I'll share some photos of the walk through the day because it's just easier than trying to talk you through it!!

Bangladesh is definitely its very own place, unlike pretty much anywhere else I've been. People are friendly and a little shy, there are flowers and garden shops along the streets, and then other streets there are animals stalls and dead birds and rats... I'm not sure yet how it all fits together to be honest!

I have never, repeat: NEVER, been stared at so much in all my life.  Ever!  I was dressed entirely appropriate (pants and a shirt with sleeves and everything) but man, it was surreal walking around outside today!  Everywhere I looked there were cars and trucks and rickshaws and little green motorized rickshaw looking things whose names I've forgotten, and PEOPLE, people EVerywhere!!!  While I did feel like a minority in Korea, it was Nowhere near how it is here in Bangladesh, nowhere near.  I was a little unnerved by it at first, but as a whole day has passed in which I spent most of it outside with Bangladeshi people I really do feel only like it is out of interest and curiousity that they stare, and nothing nefarious or scary.  Not one boob grab or butt grab or anything even when crushed in a throng of people watching cricket, and NOT that much can be said about my lovely Korea!  :)

 Photos....

Earlier in the day the streets were near empty

  

All sorts of traffic around the circle



It's funny how the cars, bikes, rikshaws and CNGs all get along

 

I found an amusement park not too far away: Wonderland!
Only 50 Taka (Tk70 = $1) to go in, but I didn't want to go



Market selling fruit outside



Covered market selling shoes and housewares

Pimped out rickshaw, I love them!

 

This is the street I'm staying on at the moment

Now why are you all standing around up there?

Ooh, watching World Cup cricket - me too! Me too!
(is this a bad time to admit I know NOthing about it?)

Bangladesh Tigers Cricket Team - I might need to get a tshirt!
(The beautiful Bengal Tigers of course are from Bangladesh, Im hoping to see one (unlikely though it may be) when I go to the Sundurbans wildlife preserve down south!)

Setting up market stalls for nightfall

Cute carts that will be filled with food later when the market opens

Busy, dirty hodgepodge of a street!



Abandoned (perhaps once set on fire?) behind market stalls



Abandoned and papered in front of police station

Cockroaches - I'd be okay with never seeing one here

Ha! I can find a piece of Korea anywhere!! It was the Korean centre for economic cooperation or somesuch thing..

Canada too!  Whatever these folks do I have no idea
Decidedly, I'm in the wrong field!

Garden centres along the roadside

 

Catching a ride to work (check out the truck)
(I missed taking a photo of the streams of people leaving the mosque when prayers were done because I was too busy taking it all in (you miss out, sorry man!), you can only see a couple people in the background here)

Crows
Are crows carrion birds?  Flocks of them came to the top of this building, and it gave me a very* bad* feeling* about the quality of care you might get at this pet hospital!!

 Oh, and what I didn't take a picture of (I was too busy keeping the contents of my stomach where they belonged) was what I saw when I turned left at the end of the alley... first I thought it was just farm animals, goats (yay goats!), some cows (with their rears oddly marked, I think blessed for slaughter later), chickens, and then I noticed clumps on the ground of things that were skin and fur, others skin and bones and feathers, it was downright disgusting...

The worst part of it was when I had to slide past this huge rubbish container (like the size contractors se for renovations tossaways at home) that was dripping and leaking fluids... it was full of parts of things better left to your imagination... gross, gross, gross... it was just sitting in the middle of this little sidestreet and it was either either (a) keep walking, or (b) walk back through the rest of it again and I thought "hell, I'm already this far, I might as well get to the end... don't vomit, don't vomit, don't vomit "oh yah (wave, smile at friendly people talking to you!) hi!"

Blarghk.  Bet you wish YOU were there for that!

And with that, I am going to go plan the rest of my Bangladesh stay... I can hardly keep my eyes open, what a day!  (Oh, and I didn't write or show you pictures from the night market I stumbled into once I hit the road again around 4:30 (you saw pictures of it above as people started getting ready for it, but maybe tomorrow if I still have internet when I find a hotel!).  I took a few videos too so you can check it out soon!