Two Swiss in Bangladesh.

As travelers already were several times in India, we ask to ourselves of course the question: What does Bangladesh distinguish from India? The Religion, sure in Bangladesh above all Muslims and in India live Hindus. Thus one finds considerably less colorfully dresses women; however, there are relatively few veiled women. The people of Bangladesh are every bit as kind as of India, nevertheless, certainly some more curious they are. The streets are better developed generally in Bangladesh, for it the railway system is still around some outdated than that of India. The style of driving of the Bangladeshis is still madder than in India. The city of Dhaka is in the matter of house building, shops and restaurants streets ahead of the Indian cities. However, Dhaka’s traffic is stamped by rickshaws. The streets block above all the material transport rickshaws. It is estimated that there is up to 400.000 rickshaws in the city.
Bangladesh can be travelled easily if one is adaptable a little bit and leaves at home own moral values. However, the poverty is of course a subject if one decides for or against a Bangladesh trip. A large part of the population is real very much poor and must work every day very hard only for the bare necessities and the food. However, I am surprised as how few visible this poverty is at a first glance. In Dhaka even some prosperity is for many people. What shocks, especially if one has not seen similar yet, crippled people on sidewalks or by transportations on the ground and recumbent for money beg. Bangladesh is worth more than only one trip, so let’s go, before it realizes all the others too

Sylhet and the picturesque Surma Valley is located about 200 kilometers away from the capital Dhaka and a regional highlight. A pilgrim’s place has big historical meaning for Muslims: the shrine of Hajrat Shah Jalal which we visit after the lunch as the first. Still today, more than 600 years after the death of the Muslim saint Hajrat Shah Jalal, believers come for the prayer from far here to his shrine to Sylhet. There is no tourist bazaar, no postcards, no meddlesome beggars and no daylight robbery, instead of this we are looked foreigner curiously and are asked maybe shyly: From which country do you come? The unique friendliness and warmth only of the inhabitants is worth a trip to Sylhet. However, also all the many small villages with really friendly, hearty and winning inhabitants distinguishes Sylhet. Till present for me Sylhet is one of the nicest and the most exciting Asian provincial towns I have visited. Sylhet owns quite a special vibes. Exotic, clear, vividly, genuinely, brightly, charmingly only some of the attributes are for this town and her people apply.

On the way to the Indian border our guide discovers a group of mud fishermen. Here by this dried out river, the fish escape in the humid mud where they could maybe survive up to the next monsoon, would not be there the clever inhabitants who make this fact use to themselves, and in a relatively easy way come to large amounts of fish. Over and over again there is somewhere something absolutely new to discover, these the travelling makes in Bangladesh so excitingly. The river Mari is fed by the Himalaya and brings sand and rock with itself to millions of cubic. We can happen this from a boat observe. On the border to India we get out and hit on many local tourists. 80 km away from Sylhet, is located the tea capital of the country, Srimangal. Yearly is picked here on 40.000 hectares more than 30 million tons of tea. But also pineapple and lemons plantations stamp the scenery. On the way we hold with a brickyard, one of countless ones. Bangladesh also seems to be the country of the brickyards, because in a country almost without stone like Bangladesh one depends on brick. Still before the lunch we go in the tea gardens of Srimangal where about kilometers of tea plants like a green carpet move through the country. In this region the most different indigenous people live, you can undertake here miraculous walks and watch the people at her work. A very idyllic life, one could mean. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The male and female tea workers who belong approximate to 20-30 different indigene groups are looked by the Bangladesh broads society furthermore disparagingly as coolies, as the people who belong on the plantations and not in her villages, hence they find only hard an employment beyond the tea plantation. The bad payment on the tea plantations is a serious problem for the workers.

After the breakfast in Srimangal we go in the direction of the north to the Hail Haor. A Haor is a wetland and is formed like bowl or a saucer, also known as a Back swamp. The Haor valley is an internationally important wetland. The bird’s observations on an observation tower, a boat journey on a rotten small boat and a walk in this unique nature are a great experience. Afterwards we visit a small settlement. The meetings with the locals are always very tender, however, here I am completely stirred by the warmth of these so easy people who must live without electricity and any luxury but emit calm and dignity. This encounter remains unforgettable for me. Today we go before the breakfast 8 km away to the Lawachara National Park. We walk 2 hours in the park and enjoy all alone the early morning silence, after the breakfast we visit one more village of the Kasia tribes, they live by the principle of matrilineality. Thus the women live after the marriage in the house of the mother and the husband moves to them. Their main source of income is the betel nut and the betel nut sheets. Now we visit a settlement of the people from Manipuri tribe. They are of Mongolian descent and speak a language of name Meithei. They eat fish, however, no meat. With the marriage it is paid attention to the fact that the bride and groom is not descended from the same clan.

The Manipuri enjoy her spare time, they play Polo, organize boat race and love the play and the dance. In the afternoon we drive once again by the tea gardens to a popular destination of the locals, the Madabpur Lake. This lake is about three km long and in the middle from tea plantations surrounded from hilly area and it’s a sanctuary of many birds of passage. However, for the locals we were the natural miracle, in any case, the photo shooting lasts longer than 15 minutes, until to us everybody has taken a photo with her mobile phones. In the outskirts of Srimangal we still call in a teahouse. Here there is the famous Seven Layers Tea. This traditional tea was invented by the local visionary Mymensingh Romash Ram Gour.

In the morning we go on foot to the railway station where we will take the train from Sylhet to Dhaka. The train has more than one hour of delay, however, it should be right to me, because what's more interesting than to observe the people at a railway station in Bangladesh!? From the outset a boy of a good 10 years, with a crippled foot joins to us and which I have taken immediately in my heart. Later still a smaller boy arrives; clothes are quite black of mud. The children accompany us still in the train. We seats in a six AC compartment, this is very big and the settees are covered with velvet and I imagine still 70 years ago, ladies from England have sat in her long clothes here. However, more excitingly it would be to sit below the salt; however a comfortable and aloof place, for such a long trip, just already has his advantages.

By rail from Srimangal we reach in the afternoon Dhaka with about two hours of delay. From there we are brought to the hotel, we receive a room to rest and to take a shower, before we will travel by the night train to Khulna. In close vicinity of the Railway station the landing stage to our Cruiser M.V.Kokilmoni is. It decreed by 12 cabins with 24 cabin beds with practical mosquito nets equipped. The journey in the sloop, with our group and the luggage, is adventurous a little bit but trouble-free. On the M.V.Kokilmoni we are welcomed very friendly by the 15-headed team of the Cruiser. After we have covered the cabin No. 3 there is already a tasty breakfast. Now we plunge into the world of the Bengali tiger, in the Sundarbans.
The national park has to owe the name to the endemic 20-m-high Sundari tree which grows only in this area. Soon we discover a gigantic saltwater crocodile that warms up himself on the shore in the sun. Food and the service on the M.V.Kokilmoni are distinguished. From the dining room, which lies scarcely above the water surface you will have a nice view to the mangroves. In the afternoon from 2 to three river dolphins accompany us for a short time. The delta is inhabited by various dolphin species.

Let’s go, day-awake around 6.00, tea and at half past six with the sloop by small side’s canals. Over and over again our coxswain stops the engine; we can enjoy the silence and the twittering of birds. Afterwards we go ashore and can observe many Chitals. The chital deer is one of the last bigger wild animals of the Sundarbans. He lives in flood areas and almost exclusively on sheets of the trees, which he eats on the hind legs standing on about two meters of height. After the extensive breakfast we go on the other river side in the direction of observation tower. We see many big and small birds. It is quite rather hot and we cross a big area of Grassland. Our group stretches quite in the length, how should one single ranger with his outdated gun be able to protect us from a tiger? The trail leads us, finally, to a big sandy beach by the open sea where we sit down for some time. Now our Bengali friends are completely hilarious with have a bath… We walk along the sandy beach and observe what there is moving.
The engines are started, and start again with the M.V.Kokilmoni. In the later afternoon it is anchored again, and our most thrilling shore leave expected us. Our Bengali friends also come ashore; however, they probably were on one’s feet already so much, as usual in a whole month. Today Nannu (our guide - note LT) is calling the challenge, he looks for an entrance in the undergrowth for himself, so that the monkeys flee completely excitedly. Only three from the Bengali group, we two and the ranger follow Nannu. Bernadette feels unsafe; however, I explain to her that Nannu knows definitely what he do. Over and over again it rustles in the bushes, and suddenly we stand in front of a Water monitor (Varanus salvator). They stay in the forest in groups and they can swim very well. Our companions were behind us and could not see the goanna and when this flees like lightning in the direction of the ranger, a tiger believes these rushes at him, and directs in lightning-speed his gun in the direction of the noise. Of course we must laugh, however, it points and our ranger is sent very much and watchful. Now we leave the undergrowth and in front of us a gigantic chital stands in the mild afternoon light. We still see more groups of these deer, always accompanied from a group of monkeys. The deer stay deliberately on the edge from settlements, because they feel surer there of the tiger. Also two wild boars still meet us from the next nearness.
This morning our last shore leave in the Sundarbans we have. The last time aboard direction Khulna, we enjoy the activity on the shore and on the river with the setting sun and there is our last dinner aboard. Together we go with the sloop onshore. Our Bengali friends go by the night train back to Dhaka and we go by rickshaw to our hotel. We have experienced three interesting, exciting however also peaceful days. Food and the service on the M.V.Kokilmoni were distinguished and in the cleanness there was nothing at all to fault. In the morning we go back to Dhaka. However, first to the town Bagerhat, just 40 km in the southeast of Khulna.

In Bagerhat is a big number of mosques which are so important for Bangladesh that Bagerhat is a UNESCO world cultural heritage. We spend two hours on the ferry Kaberi, on the journey between Khulna and Dhaka and it’s very interesting for us, we take photos and have a lot of time for talks with the locals. The entrances to the ferry docks are catastrophic! With leave the harbor area 10 minutes is no way forward anymore. The traffic collapses totally, also in spite of the traffic governor, who is work with his floors wildly. Totally 4 days we spend in Dhaka and surroundings. In the first morning we start to explore the markets of Dhaka. Dhaka has maybe 80 markets. However, first one means to struggle by the everyday traffic chaos. Somewhere for half an hour is no way forward anymore, later we see a mobile crane, which lifts a minibus away. Let’s go! On the next day we read in the newspaper that there has been in Dhaka in 2 accidents, 14 dead people. But the adventure “roads” is over and the adventure “markets” begins (with the biggest and best one, the Kawran Bazar).

The Bhawal National Park is 940 ha and is the “green lung” of Dhaka, 40 km beyond the center. Here one meets to have a picnic, to walk and go by boat. Many families and school classes in crowded coaches reach the park with ear-deafening music. Pupils and whole families enjoy here a free day in playful mood. It’s nicely here in the middle of it and to belong to it. We also look to the cooks in the pots which prepare a lunch for 500 pupils.
Sonargaon, the original capital of the kingdom of Isa Khan in Bengal was an important river port and commercial center. The oldest remnant of former importance and plenitude of power, the Goaldi Mosque, was built in 1519 and is an interesting example of the pre-mogul architecture. Beside in the today’s mosque, live around 20 orphan’s boys and taught in the Koran. Around the corner we still visit a small settlement and will conceive again extremely warmly and thankfully, for us another highlight of this kind. Later we meet a group of locals who have participated yesterday here in a wedding party. The bride and groom have already gone, but the other wedding guests still cooks to him a tasty lunch, before they go then home also. Of course we were also invited to food, however, also here we thanked for the offer without being able to accept it. The mood is hilarious very much and fears of contacts do not know these charming people at all.

In a total of 4 and last day in and around Dhaka we undertake, one hour outside of Dhaka, a river cruise. We divided the boat with three young Japanese girls which with her teacher, an interpreter and a guide are on the way to a charitable organization, and which will remain there three days. On the way back we visited once again a village. There we take a lot of time and an active discussions between the inhabitant and us, with the help of our guide, who owns a big delicacy of feeling in dealing with the ordinary population. What great end of our trip!

Our result of the tour is consistently positively! We have experienced and seen a lot, even more than up on the agenda! The modular system of The Lonesome Traveler permitted us to assemble a program completely by our needs. However, the conversion of a program is another thing, though the program expiry became on upside down, however, only to our best. We informed our guide on the first day of our predilections: meetings with the people and the nature. Then he said us, we should allow to make him, what we also did and it has been worthwhile. However, he is very competent and very much modest. He wants without limitation always the best for his guests. His big ability is the sensitive contact with the population. He strikes apparently always right note, so that we never felt as intruders. We have so many seen and experienced and, nevertheless, always so much time had.
We also owe Holger, to us has consulted in the approach so competently and prudently.

So once again: Bangladesh is worth more than only one trip, so let’s go, together with The Lonesome Traveler, before it realize all the others too!

Guido & Bernadette (in April, 2012)