A million interesting things to do in Bangladesh!

[Zeeshan]

Classify and taxonomofy the lishties of pithas and eat them up one by one up.

Edit: I believe there are 8000 species.

[Ajfar]

Originally Posted by Ajfar
My mama has a tour company, they recently bought a decent size ship/boat. They are in the process of fixing/building it up, when they do they will start offering tour packages to go around to Bandarban and nearby areas, at least that's what I heard. Hopefully I will be able to go on this. It's called Tiger Tour BD, if anyone wants to check it out.

This is what I was talking about. M.V Tanguarhaor

With a maximum capacity of 26 travellers, served by a crew of 18 friendly and welcoming young people, for whom hospitality is not just a skill but a continuing tradition, in cabins with attached hot and cold water (all treated before discharge), air conditioning and fans, supported by solar and wind power, and a comfortable dining room with visitable kitchen, in which chefs from every port of call will serve their local speciality, sharing the benefits of tourism throughout the riverside communities with their own culture, traditions, entertainments and skills

You can read more about it here
http://mvtanguarhaor.blogspot.com/

[Naimul_Hd]

^^ for 26 travellers 18 crew member ? :O

The tour packages will be very costly then. Nevertheless, a good initiative. Must thing to do in my next trip

[Sohel]

Paddle propelled Nouka and Baujra rides are the best. One shouldn't be any hurry when on the water, IMHO.

[Maysun]

I remember one nauka ride (almost 10 years ago) so vividly as it was my only one.

We had to go to one of khala's in-law's house and to do that we had to cross the Karnaphuli river and it was at dusk. So all the bigger diesel engine propelled boats retired for the day and we had to do with a nauka.

I was quite excited at first. But then as we moved forward it was really scary. The thing was so light and if it's tilted or jolted a bit sideways, the nauka would capsize. And my mama was trying to freak me out by doing so. On top of that the sailor was smoking his bidi and telling stories of all the accidents that had happened over the years. And his tales kept me so engrossed and by the time I realized it we were on the other side of the bank.

[ialbd]

looks like a million might not cover it...

[Rifat]

Anyone visited the Tea Gardens in Sylhet? such a wonderful place. Take a train and travel across the countryside and watch the beautiful scenario(has been mentioned before in this thread).

places I wanted to visit:

- lal bagher kella
- Sundarban
- Cox Bazaar

in Dhaka: Places to visit/Things to eat

- must eat some chinese food
- must have some Hajiir Biriyani
- must have fuuchka/chotpoti(eat at your own discretion, may Give you stomach problems)/jhal muri
- visit Shahid Minaar
- visit Shriti Shaoudho
- visit Shongshod Bhobon (or walk past it)
- visit Shishu Park and/or Wonderland
- visit the places/Fair marketplace during the 1st day of Boishakh(Boishakhi Mela)
- go shopping in the hat bazaar at least once to meet people and shop
- spend at least one Eid in Bangladesh at least once in your life
- if you are a kid/student, Study your butt off...

in village(any village)

MUST TRY FOOD from maatir chula(the oven/stove is made out of clay), food tastes super awesome, Alhamdulillah...
must play cricket with local lads
squat toilet (takes a while to get used to, but it may be healthier)
visit farm, watch others work in the farm, slaughter a chicken
playing luddu/caroom with polapain to pass time

most of these things have probably been mentioned here before, so my apologies in advance

Havn't been to Bangladesh since 2004, I wonder how much of the country has changed since my description of it...

Kabir bhai has nailed this thread. I should check his posts in this thread the next time i go visit Bangladesh.(Given that i stay there for more than two weeks, so that i have enough time to do stuff)

[Zeeshan]

Try shrooms with Ananta bhai

[dash]

Visit gulisthan at mid day and get lost in the sea of humanity...just to be the one of many is a feeling most common and the most ignored

[Zunaid]

Go to bangabazar. Is it still there?

[Zeeshan]

Try shrooms with Shakib bhai

[Zunaid]

Originally Posted by Rifat
Anyone visited the Tea Gardens in Sylhet? such a wonderful place. Take a train and travel across the countryside and watch the beautiful scenario(has been mentioned before in this thread).

Done that. Stayed at the Srimangal Tea Resort. Lovely. Also add a trek to the Lawachhara Forest.

Originally Posted by Rifat
places I wanted to visit:

- lal bagher kella
- Sundarban
- Cox Bazaar

Done all three. We actually went to Sundarban in a launch of the Karnaphuli Paper Mill. Stayed 2-nights at a logging camp in the heart of the forest. Where the cabins are built on 25 foot tall stilts. Went trekking into the mangrove swamps. Went Kuakata. Loved it all. will go back in a heartbeat.

Originally Posted by Rifat
in Dhaka: Places to visit/Things to eat

- must eat some chinese food
- must have some Hajiir Biriyani
- must have fuuchka/chotpoti(eat at your own discretion, may Give you stomach problems)/jhal muri
- visit Shahid Minaar
- visit Shriti Shaoudho
- visit Shongshod Bhobon (or walk past it)
- visit Shishu Park and/or Wonderland
- visit the places/Fair marketplace during the 1st day of Boishakh(Boishakhi Mela)
- go shopping in the hat bazaar at least once to meet people and shop
- spend at least one Eid in Bangladesh at least once in your life
- if you are a kid/student, Study your butt off...

Done it all except for the Shishu Park / Wonderland thing - alas Wonderland is no more.

As for Haji's - we actually went there at first opening. Right around dawn when he made his first hari. We reached there around 3:45 am and waited until he opened. There was quite a line too.

Originally Posted by Rifat
in village(any village)

MUST TRY FOOD from maatir chula(the oven/stove is made out of clay), food tastes super awesome, Alhamdulillah...
must play cricket with local lads
squat toilet (takes a while to get used to, but it may be healthier)
visit farm, watch others work in the farm, slaughter a chicken
playing luddu/caroom with polapain to pass time

Other than the first, you don't need to go to the villages to do that.

Didn't do the cricket with the village 'lads'. Cricket became popular after my time. But I played cricket in the Dhaka oli-goli during lagatar hartals.

As for squat toilet - many Dhaka houses had and still has squat toilets. I lived in one for for several years. Been there done that.

I used to play ludu with my brother and sister growing up. Played carom with friends during college years.

I have not only slaughtered a chicken but also ducks and a goat.

Originally Posted by Rifat

most of these things have probably been mentioned here before, so my apologies in advance

Havn't been to Bangladesh since 2004, I wonder how much of the country has changed since my description of it...

Kabir bhai has nailed this thread. I should check his posts in this thread the next time i go visit Bangladesh.(Given that i stay there for more than two weeks, so that i have enough time to do stuff)

Rifat - it's a different world. Dhaka is at least. Go out of it and it is much the same.

[Ajfar]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
Also add a trek to the Lawachhara Forest.

I went there when I was in BD this past december. Lawachhara forest has the only chloroform tree in all of south east Asia. My favorite part about this place was the train line that runs through the middle of the forrest. I stole this picture of the rail line through Lawachara from my Mami's facebook.



There's a lake and a tea garden not too far from Lawacharra, it's called Madhabpur Tea Garden. The lake falls within the boundary of the tea garden. Nice scenic hilly area. Nice place to watch sunset. I wish they kept it a little clean.

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by Ajfar
There's a lake and a tea garden not too far from Lawacharra, it's called Madhabpur Tea Garden. The lake falls within the boundary of the tea garden. Nice scenic hilly area. Nice place to watch sunset. I wish they kept it a little clean.

dionysus tionysus hoy naki Ajfar?

[Kabir]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
Done that. Stayed at the Srimangal Tea Resort. Lovely. Also add a trek to the Lawachhara Forest.

Srimangal - aah, what a beauty it is! I went there when I was really, really young. But I'll never forget that. Stay at a tea garden - will blow your mind away.

Done all three. We actually went to Sundarban in a launch of the Karnaphuli Paper Mill.

Forgot about the paper mills - yes, been there as well. In fact, I remember going to some place where they made wooden pots and all. The smell of the wood (don't remember the kind, is it shegun kaath?) will blow you away in a weird way.

Rifat - it's a different world. Dhaka is at least. Go out of it and it is much the same.

Anything that has changed is not important to visit anyway. But places like Sonargaon an Ahsan Manzil will always remain as must-visit places no matter how dirty and poorly kept they are.

[F6_Turbo]

Can I put forward a dissenting opinion? Haji Biryani was a big let down for me...I had it years and years ago, and had it again recently.

I'm sorry, it did nothing for me.

[Kabir]

Originally Posted by Sohel
And inevitably this thread begins to swerve toward food ...

Originally Posted by Zunaid
There's a thread for that - the muri ghanto one.

It's about all you can do in Bangladesh, not all you can do without eating in Bangladesh. I would much rather eat muri ghonto in a gramer bari sitting on the mati with mati'r thala bashon than in sunny deigo on a china sitting on a $5000 solid wood dining table.

[F6_Turbo]

Here's something interesting to do in Bangladesh....

You know how when we all got our learners permits and they told us, one of the golden rules of driving was to maintain a 2 second gap with the car in front of you...

Try following that principle while driving in Bangladesh

[AsifTheManRahman]

If I may share some pornographic material of the food kind:











Sorry, this was obligatory. It is every Bangladeshi's responsibility, by birth, to flood any thread on Bangladeshi attractions on any web forum with food pron.

[Kabir]

Being a Chatgaiya myself, I've certainly got a lot to share about Chittagong. Really, all those memories are truly second to none - they're all awesome in their own ways!

Here are a few places you MUST see in Chittagong.

- Foy's lake - quite a historic location...with this dam that was built a long long time ago. Do some research on this before you actually visit.
- Naval base - not open to public unless you're entering with an officer; but they have one of the nicest beache sin Chittagong...
- Cantonment area - not open to public unless you're entering with an officer; again, beautiful place and the drive inside is just awesome. It's great to get those salutes from the army guys who think you're an officer if u're going on a defense SUV!
- Newly built EPZ, can't recall its name; went there when it was in its last phase, and it's just breathtaking; took the whole family on picnic, found this checkpost with a really nice shade where we had lunch...and the lake all around there was used for washing our places...the whole family enjoyed; went in on a navy suv, so we could get in without a hitch.
- Chittagong university; one of the most beautiful university campuses you will see
- Potenga beach; this place has gone down over the years, but is still worth a visit; there's a strip in that area full of jhupris that sell fried lobsters...must try those! Best time to visit potenga is towards dusk hours...when it's dark, you'll see the ships lined up far away coz they can't come closer to land due to shallow water
- There's this church in the heart of Chittagong...forgot it's name, but it will sure amaze you. It's on top of a hill, so you'll also get that panoramic view from there.
- Sunset point - this place within the cantonment area, so it's closed off from general public...and it's AWESOME. You'll need some hookups to get there I believe.

Rangamati is a place just outside of Chittagong that you don't want to miss. It's probably one of the few places where you'll see hills within the lake. Not sure about the safety issues there now...when there are tensions with the rohingas, you wanna avoid this area.

So many more places to go to in Chittagong...just can't name them all. I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to visit almost all of them in my 18 years in BD. Having a mama who works for the navy sure helps.

[Kabir]

Not sure where you got this from, but this is the ugliest looking haleem I've ever seen. You'll find much better than this in Bangladesh.

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman

[Kabir]

Originally Posted by Ajfar
You can read more about it here
http://mvtanguarhaor.blogspot.com/

Wow, talk about waste of space! That ship looks big enough to comfortably hold more than 300 people.

[Nafi]

Fishing

[Crisis]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
Travel on a train. As in ON.

People carrying train!

Btw, here is my must-do in Bnagladesh.

Go to the toilet in Dhaka airport Anyone who goes there deserves a medal!

[Zunaid]

Originally Posted by Kabir
It's about all you can do in Bangladesh, not all you can do without eating in Bangladesh. I would much rather eat muri ghonto in a gramer bari sitting on the mati with mati'r thala bashon than in sunny deigo on a china sitting on a $5000 solid wood dining table.

But food deserves its own special thread. Do check it out.

http://www.banglacricket.com/alochon...ad.php?t=13853

PS: what's with the Sunny Diego quip? Chip a bit heavy on the shoulder?