This was a great trip that provided many new and interesting experiences. A few of my favorites were:
– Visit to a ship repair yard where you could walk through the place unescorted and watch the workers in action.
– Travel by boat through the Sundarbans and explore canals in a noiseless wooden rowboat. The quiet rowboat allowed us to see monkeys, Axis deer (males with their oversized antlers), and many species of birds that I had never seen before.
– Driving in crowed Dhaka where they don’t have any traffic signals or stop signs and wondering how any traffic moved at all.
– Walking through the crowded streets of Old Dhaka and getting my foot run over by a rickshaw was a new experience.
– Visiting a market where I saw types of fish and fruit and vegetables that I’d never seen before. A persistent merchant tried selling me a goat for $8.00 US. I said no.
– Ordering American chop suey at a high-end restaurant where the noodles were stuck together so hard that I had to use a knife to break off chunks so I could eat it. I was hungry so I ate the whole thing.
– Seeing a woman cross through stopped evening traffic get hit and knocked down by a slow moving motorcycle snaking through traffic. The woman calmly got back up, dusted herself off, collect her bag, and just continue on her way. The guy on the motorcycle never got off his bike to help her. He just watched. No words were exchanged and there was no confrontation. The woman and the motorcyclist acted as if this was just a normal everyday experience in Bangladesh.
This well-run trip had excellent guides (Hasan). Our expert drivers stayed calm and cool while driving. Hotels were nice with a helpful staff. Lots of good cheap food.
Airport pick-up and drop-off were a big help. I really liked this trip.
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