Have you ever wondered where your morning tea comes from? … [Read more...]
Bangladesh Travel Articles, Photos and Panoramas
Bangladesh Travel: A Beginner’s Guide + Podcast
More than five weeks in Bangladesh? Is there really enough to do there? -- A typical response when we shared our Bangladesh travel plans.Let’s face it. Reliable independent travel information about Bangladesh doesn’t flow quite as freely as it does for some other nearby countries in Asia. … [Read more...]
Bangladeshi Food: An Overview
Bangladeshi food in a home is the best – it’s cooked with the care and love of a woman’s hands. In restaurants, food is cooked by men for quantity. -- A Bangladeshi friend captures the crux of Bangladeshi food.Although you may not have realized it, it’s quite possible you’ve eaten Bangaldeshi food. … [Read more...]
Bangladesh Village Homestay: Becoming One of the Family
This is the story of a homestay experience in rural Bangladesh -- and a young woman who hopes to be Prime Minister one day.There I was in a traditional courtyard kitchen in a village in Bangladesh. Dirt floor, earthen oven. Mrs. Ali, our host mother, stoked the fire and minded several hot pans. It was time to slice the onions and my turn was up. … [Read more...]
Travel Jeopardy: What Is Bangladesh?
What comes to mind when you hear the word Bangladesh?When we talk about our travels in Bangladesh, the mere mention often evokes a reaction that says, “Bangladesh? What is it? I'm curious."For good reason.People don’t know what to make of Bangladesh. They know the name, but often only because they’ve caught a short blip news cycle item like a natural … [Read more...]
Panorama of the Week: Buddhism in Bangladesh?
Once upon a time, Buddhism was the prominent religion across the land that is now Bangladesh.Although Buddhists only make up around 1% of the population today, you can find pockets of of Marma, Chakma and other ethnic communities practicing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh. There are even a few Bengali Buddhists about. … [Read more...]
Bangladesh Faces: Frequently Asked Questions and the People Who Ask Them
Oh, Bangladesh. To unpack this country is the stuff of lifetimes. But let’s begin with this: Bangladeshis are a curious lot. And there are a lot of them, as in 150 million or so, all living in a country the size of the state of Wisconsin.Wisconsin!Bangladesh doesn't get many foreign visitors, either. So if you do drop in and take a walk just about … [Read more...]
Panorama of the Week: Indigenous Market, Chittagong Hill Tracts
Open the panorama below and you might be wondering, "Is that really Bangladesh??"In scenes like this one at the indigenous market in the town of Bandarban, it's easy to forget which country we're visiting. Bandarban is part of an area known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). CHT's rolling hills in southeastern Bangladesh are home to over fifteen indigenous … [Read more...]
The Destination Is Everything, The Destination Is Nothing
Have you ever set off for a destination not really caring whether you actually arrive?The other morning, we hopped on rented single speed bikes (they looked like racing bikes, but rode like penny farthings) and headed off into the tea plantation hills of eastern Bangladesh. Our destination: Madhabpur Lake, 25 kilometers outside of our base of Srimongal.We … [Read more...]
Dhallywood Rickshaw Art in Bangladesh
It's just about impossible to imagine Bangladesh without the bicycle rickshaw. With colorful artwork on the back, hard-working drivers in front, bicycle rickshaws are not relics of the past, but the dominant form of transport throughout the country. The atmosphere of riding in one alternates between the peace of a slow ride above it all and the mania of a … [Read more...]