DHAKA-TAY

 When an unannounced break from orientation presented itself, the group decided to make way for Dhaka, the capital city!

When you are going to somewhere in the Bangla language, you add an –ay or –tay at the end. Kinda like Pig Latin, minus the first letter switcheroo. So far it’s the favorite thing I’ve learned.

We all boarded a big bus bright n’ early Monday morning, expecting to travel 6-7 hours (without traffic) and arrive in a city that was bigger, more crowded, and grittier than Chittagong.  We were warned that we would be pushed and grabbed on streets overflowing with people and to keep close track of our belongings. Still, with the promise of real coffee and shwarma, we ventured.

The bus was surprisingly comfortable and traffic slight, and in about 8 hours we pulled into the bus station. I had taken the position of trip planner and booked a hostel for everyone, not sure if it actually existed due to lacking communication on their end.  But a nice driver was there to transport us, and off we went to what was overall a decent, if slightly eccentric and malodorous, accommodation for two nights. Not sure where they got their design advice.

Immediately I was overwhelmed by how different Dhaka was from my expectations and  from Chittagong. And this was a welcome change. Our neighborhood, Baridhara DOHS, was full of beautiful residences, greenery, and quiet streets good for walking. The first night we stuck in ex-pat territory, which in Dhaka means the neighborhoods of Baridhara (where the embassies are), Gulshan, and Banani. We took a rickshaw ride and then a nice stroll from Gulshan over a lovely bridge into Banani. What was noticeable was what was missing: calling out to us in the streets, people following us, and intense staring. Dhaka has far more foreigners, and thus we probably aren’t as much of an anomaly there. It was nice to breathe again and just to walk. I was enamored.

Capital city view from a bridge

Dinner consisted of a delicious schwarma sandwich from Shwarma House followed by GELATO. I love Bengali food, but my stomach also craves variety.

Shwarma time! Plus a mint lassi :)

"Are we really in Bangladesh?"

The next morning we again woke early to make it down to Old Dhaka before the streets got buck wild. This required about a 1 hour CNG ride, me sitting on laps part of the time, over rough and increasingly tinier streets, at the mercy of always aggressive drivers. You gotta have the right stuff to endure a ride like that, and I always smile thinking of putting my family and friends into that situation and what their reactions would be.

Our driver let us off at Sadarghat, the main boat station. This is where Bengalis catch boats small and large to cross the river to destinations beyond. It’s really a beautiful sight. We ventured by the river to see the action and then wandered the dense street nearby, which appeared to be the unloading ground for lots of fruit. I have never seen so many pineapples! We also saw the Pink Palace, some kind of historical building, and then decided to hop on a boat ourselves for a lil go around. We negotiated a price (that didn’t stop the driver from following us after asking for more money, sigh) and had a grand time cruising and waving.

Embarkation time

Starting our adventure on the river

Bengali ladies in the sun

We're on a boat! (Photo courtesy of Meghan Daniel)

Banana truck!

Pineapple mayhem

I think they were after some fruit

Bananas for sale

A street vendor

The stoic street guards of the Pink Palace

Now we were famished. After seeking a famous kebab place that never materialized and getting very lost many times (Dhaka's streets are circuitous and unmarked), we picked a random restaurant and had a delicious breakfast of roti (kinda like a flour tortilla – yum), a vegetable dish, biriani (Dhaka’s famous rice dish), and cha (essentially milk tea) for an exorbitantly cheap price. We then wandered around Old Dhaka for a while longer, stopping through a Hindu market street and some empty (!) fabric stores before catching rickshaws to Dhaka University. There the group got comically separated, but this gave my friend Amie and I a chance to meet a real, live Bangladeshi student. We checked out the beautiful, green campus (complete with a pond!) and then utilized said student to show us to our friends and have some interesting conversation. He explained that Dhaka University is Bangladesh’s biggest and most prestigious university. For every one student who attends between 60-100 want to. Compare that to even the most selective US institution. Wild.

While most Bengalis are Muslim, there is still a sizable Hindu population.

Clothes out to dry in the streets of Old Dhaka.

Dhaka University

An academic oasis

Then the group set its sights on a delightful break from the bustle: North End Coffee. It’s the talk of AUW faculty, and for good reason. Chittagong only offers Nescafe powder coffee, or alternatively tea. I think the cha tea is delicious, but I have been missing a good ice latte. North End is on a crowded, dusty street near the US Embassy, but walking inside tricks the mind into thinking one is back in the United States at any trendy coffee shop in any town. We chilled to the max there. I had a delicious soy ice latte and a gooey cinnamon roll :)

That night a smaller group and I checked out a delicious Korean restaurant, where I dined on dumplings and bimbimbap. So good. We closed the evening with a trip to the top of the Westin, the city’s priciest hotel, where we got a grand view of the biggest city in the most densely populated country in the world by night.

The following morning was our last. Becky, my roommate, and I had to leave earlier than the rest of the group to make it back to AUW in time for teacher orientation. (Good thing, because the rest of the girls suffered a 14-hour night bus with some window shattering action). We joined everyone for one last latte at North End, had one more meal at Shwarma House, and then CNGed through dense stop and go traffic (nausea) to get back to the bus station.

Dhaka, unsuspecting cosmopolitan gem, I’ll be back!