Experience: Spending A Day In Dhaka, Bangladesh
Intro
For most Western tourists Bangladesh isn't usually a country that pops into their heads when they think about taking a vacation in the region. With India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and many other tourististic locations nearby, tourists tend to flock to those places instead of Bangladesh.
Well, due to my crazy roundabout routing, I was able to conjure up the good part of a day to explore the streets of Dhaka. I have reported on what it was like to take a small boat along the river, as well as ride a rickshaw, but I wanted to share a more in-depth part of exploring this bustling city.
Something to note: I tend to have friends all over the world, and one of the places happens to be Bangladesh. When I informed my friend that I was going, he arranged for his friends, and a driver to take me around for the day.
So Many Buses
Once landing on Turkish Airlines from Istanbul, an immigration assistant was waiting for me to head over to meet my friend friends outside. It was a bustling morning outside of Dhaka airport with loud noises everywhere, and rickshaws filling the streets.
With the long drive looming downtown due to rush hour traffic, we kept passing by buses. Obviously shared transport in this part of the world is completely normal, but I didn't quite comprehend just how many buses were in Bangladesh. You know the game which you play in Delhi which is "I'll bet you that you cannot go longer than 3 seconds without hearing a beep". It's like that but with buses. However, my favorite bus that I saw was the double-decker red bus as it reminded me of home 🏴.
My Friends Apartment
Once passing through thousands of buses, we made it to downtown Dhaka, nearby to where most of the major hotel chains are.
My friend had arranged for his friends to take me to his apartment to settle in, relax a little bit, and enjoy a cup of coffee before proceeding for the day ahead.
It was interesting to see my friend's apartment in Bangladesh as there was plenty of security around just in order to get in. Usually, you see more and more security for extremely upscale places, and while this was very nice, it wasn't as if it was a mansion.
I will say that the decor was absolutely stunning!
A Bit More Of Dhaka
Coffeed up (no champoffee this morning), it was time to get out and explore this wonderful city. We headed off to the boat, as well as rode a rickshaw, before heading into town to explore local markets and some of the sights.
The architecture of this city is gorgeous, but what really stood out to me was the people. Everywhere I went, people were very nice to me, and at one point, I was even offered to join in a cricket game.
The one not-so-great aspect was the amount of stray dogs on the street. After Mozambique, this was a little nerve-wracking...
The Traffic Is Bad
Okay, I get it, the traffic in India is horrific. However, in certain parts of Dhaka, Bangladesh traffic might come close to rivaling Indian traffic. A lot of the roads here aren't designed for two-way traffic, and at one point, it took 25 minutes to drive 1 km! 25 MINUTES!
The New Highway
The most enlightening experience of Dhaka wasn't seeing a double-decker bus, wasn't riding a rickshaw, or taking a boat, but hearing the locals rant and rave about their new highway.
For most people across the world, you will have access to somewhat of a decent highway, even in the likes of Mauritania and Nigeria. Well, on the way to the airport, we drove along the new highway which opened in late 2023, and everyone wanted me to take a picture with it in the background. 😅
See, what was really put into perspective to me was how much others and I take for granted in the world. A highway is something that I thought almost everyone had access to, and seeing how proud the citizens were of their first elevated highway was a heartwarming sight.
Thank you, Bangladesh 🇧🇩
Final Thoughts
Spending the day in Dhaka was an absolute treat, and I cannot thank my friend enough for sorting everything out (actually I did, as I took him out for a 400$ dinner lol). If you happen to be in the area, I highly recommend a visit to Bangladesh, it might not be the most beautiful country in the world in terms of nature, but kind people make up for it. I really hope the best for this country, and I cannot wait to return ❤️.
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