Very good thread.
It has been close to a decade since I've been back for good and never had a dull or boring moment here. Our country is teeming with people and each person has an interesting story he or she usually doesn't hesitate to share once in his or her own element. Meeting people and discovering their stories, especially in rural Bangladesh and our urban shanties is what I love the most living here in Bangladesh. Strange for someone fundamentally solitary and somewhat unsocial.
I love driving out to Munshiganj, Sylhet, southern Noakhali, Chittagong, Rangamati and Bandarban as often I as I can and spend entire days and nights on a boat reading, writing and listening to music. It is especially awesome when it rains incessantly and I feel the sound of rain and music fuse into a sustained experience of peace and joy deep in my heart.
I often drive out to southern Noakhali or northern Chittagong and find small piers alongside the Bay of Bengal. The local, always chillaxed fishermen go out to the Bay during any "number 3 warning" to catch particular types of fish and for about BDT 3,000 "af-and-daun", you can tag along to experience them expertly negotiate 20-foot waves, often additionally chilled under the influence of local Ganja or Bhang, and singing traditional, timeless Bhawaiya tunes about finding love, missing loved ones, heartbreak, finding GOD, cathartic encounters with holy men and women, bravery and nostalgic reminiscence of better days of unity and brotherhood among men of different faith. The trip from southern Noakhali to Swandeep via Nijhum Deep and Hatiya takes about 7-8 hours round trip. From Kumira in northern Chittagong to Swandeep takes about 4 and will cost BDT 1,500 "af-and-daun". You should bring your own life jacket even if you're a great ocean swimmer because the only rescue gear they have on board is a rope and if you're lucky, the rarely found rubber or styrofoam bouy.
Everything depends on the tides but you usually get back to the mainland during bhata with water receding at least a mile from the pier, if you're not spending the night on any of the islands. It is simply incredible how the always fit and graceful locals just glide across the exposed, slippery mud and seaweed when we can't take two careful steps without falling on our asses.
There's so much to explore and discover in such small place of your own kind. There's so much to learn from new friends who never fail to inspire genuine respect and humility with their resilience, moral and physical strength and sensibilities, deep yet easily love of life, and absolute mastery over a precious environment they nurture.