26. BANGLADESH

Bangladesh is a country I have never ever thought about visiting in my life. But since we were traveling West Bengal in India, learned about Bengali culture and were quite close to the border to Bangladesh we gave it a try. We spent 15 days there and I honestly think that this was the craziest, most overwhelming and most adventurous time I have had in my entire life. In the Western world Bangladesh is only known for three things: Extreme pollution, clothing manufacturers and a crazy overpopulation. And oh yes, all three things are so present in the country everywhere. But we figured out pretty fast that there is soo much more that results in the crazy country called Bangladesh.

First of all, we struggled a lot to obtain a tourist visa since tourism is not really common here (surprise :D). Bangladesh recorded a total of 125,000 tourists in 2014, ranking 157th in the world. 99 percent of those visitors are flying to Dhaka to purchase and trade materials and fabrics. After visiting the Bangladeshi embassy and a visa office in Kolkata, they could not provide a visa for us ("you have to go to your home country to get a visa."). So we decided to take a local 3-hour train to the nearest border from Kolkata and let the adventure begin. In total we spent more than 6 hours on the border waiting in a line of hundreds of Bangladeshi migrant workers, being interviewed by border officers and losing our minds in the complicated process. The experienced border police told us that I am the first German person he ever met. Eventually, we managed to get a 30-day visa for visiting purposes and were free to leave the government building.

After spending a night in the border town of Benapole, Bangladesh's capital Dhaka was our first place to visit. There is not even a single doubt that Dhaka is by far the worst place I have ever visited on planet earth. The population density is insane, around 20 million people are living there in a relatively small area. The streets, rivers, busses and parks are filled with colorful chaos that is probably unmatched in the world. The city has the highest amounts of rickshaws in the entire world (over 500,000) and getting from one place to another is a time-consuming nightmare. Sometimes we needed 3 hours for a distance of 5 kilometers. The smells, views and attention we got while roaming around Dhaka are really out of this world and you need a lot of energy to not get tired after a couple of minutes. Old Dhaka was the wildest place I have seen in my entire life.

Bangladesh has one of the most homogenous populations in the world (Bengalis make up 99 % of the entire population). That combined with one of the lowest visitors per year and the gigantic amount of people (170,000,000) within a relatively small country made us stand out extremely! Constant stares (really intense ones :D), newspaper interviews, politician invitations or huge groups of people surrounding us happened every day. Traveling around Bangladesh is not that hard (besides managing train tickets). In all our 14 nights in Bangladesh, we used Couchsurfing to find accommodation and slept at wonderful people's homes. The main problems a traveler will face in Bangladesh are pollution, corruption and road hazards.

The pollution and corruption in the country is something insane. Bangladesh would actually be such a beautiful country laying on the deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas. It has amazing lush green landscapes with amazing wildlife. But unfortunately, most people are destroying that completely and most rivers are used as public garbage dumps. Dhaka itself is probably the biggest dumping ground on the planet. Bangladesh is also one of the most corrupt countries in the world and it's hard to find a single police officer to trust in. We experienced corruption personally at the land border, at the railway station and later at the airport. Due to their low salaries, it's not uncommon to target people for bribes.

Besides all the clear and really big problematic aspects, Bangladesh has one absolutely amazing thing that made us like the country most of the time anyway: The people! Wow, what world-class hospitality we experienced there! Being treated with meals, free rides, getting tea everywhere, cold drinks and even getting presents was something really touching and hard to accept at many times. Hospitality is something I especially experience in Muslim countries, but Bangladesh really lifted that to new levels. No scams or weird unwanted interactions like in Northern India, just curious and friendly people who are really interested in a cultural exchange. Bangladeshis are the clear highlight of the country!

After a couple of days in Dhaka staying with the Turkish ex-pat Yahya in Gulshan, we visited two more places:

First Sreemangal in the North, the tea capital of Bangladesh. We went hiking in a national park with great wildlife, had a boat ride with Tanni's family and explored the tea plantations around. And second Boalmari, my personal highlight of the entire trip. We met Faahim via a contact in Kolkata and visited him and his family in a very small town. We went for boat trips, had strolls around, visited plenty of people's houses and learned so many new things within only a few days. There I also got a heavy food poisoning. I guess no Bangladesh visit would be complete without that. Faahim's family were among the nicest people I met on this full trip and it was time for us to travel back to Dhaka to catch our flight to Delhi.

Bangladesh is definitely not a holiday destination and comes with some really challenging issues but in general, I had one of the most interesting times there and met some incredibly nice people. It's pretty surely also the cheapest country in the world to travel in and if you are up for a wild adventure to a country with no tourist infrastructure, great locals, tough challenges and stepping out of any possible comfort zone, then Bangladesh is your place to go!

One last and very interesting topic I have learned about a lot in Bangladesh is the clothing industry. There were many things I knew already but also a couple of shocking things I have learned and experienced firsthand. I could write a full article about that but to make it short: Please friends, do all your shopping cautious, thoughtful and humble. Do your research about where the clothes are coming from and start to buy more second-hand and locally produced clothes. Doubt the system of trends, marketing and first of all social media influencers The impact of your decisions is much more powerful than you might think.

To get a good visual impression of Dhaka:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ii5lfTXh_g&ab_channel=IndigoTraveller

3 Highlights:
- Staying with Faahim's family in a village

- Strolling around Dhaka and getting your senses and mind blown away

- Landscapes and tea plantations around Sreemangal

Visited places in Bangladesh

Waiting for hours in line during an incredible heat

Connecting with first locals at the border

The other side of the border - Hello Bangladesh!

Gulshan district in Dhaka

Lalbagh Fort, one of the few sights to visit in Dhaka

A typical alley in Dhaka, one of thousands

The busy riverbank in Dhaka

The population density is insane and unmatched in the world

Trying to get an overview of Dhaka on one of it's roofs

Trying to catch a ferry to a different city

My new identity in Bangladesh: Ariro Melme

Sitting on a rickshaw in Dhaka

Inside an auto rickshaw in Dhaka's terrible traffic. Sometimes we needed up to 3 hours for 5 km. Still better than walking.

Crossing the newly constructed Padma Bridge

Life on the road

Learning about growing tea in Sreemangal

A typical tea shop

Starting our hike in Lawachara National Park

An abundance of monkey breeds, reptiles, insects and mammals

Rural areas around Sreemangal in Northern Bangaldesh

Moments I wish I would have a better camera

Boat ride on one of the countries countless rivers, lakes and canals

The beautiful and peaceful site of Bangladesh

Beauty treatment from Enava and Manha

Fishing dinner in a pond

Okay maybe only a snack, kids are not impressed

Thank you for the amazing drawing, Enava

7 layer tea

A beautiful fruit shop in Boalmari

It doesn't matter where you are, all eyes are on you 24/7. Most people react in pure shock and see a foreigner the first time in their life.

Faahim's beautiful family house in Boalmari

RIP :(

Having a chat at a local shop

Washing time!

The connection between humans and (farm) animals is sooo much better and respectful than in the west, where farm life is mostly seen as an orange you squeeze for money