One day later than planned, due to the sand storm in Abu Dhabi, we arrived in Dhaka. The drive from the airport to the hotel, was an interesting start in our three weeks journey in Bangladesh. Even that the highway had three lines in both directions the traffic was massive. The drivers were not really interested in the official lines, for that reason each direction had five lines of traffic. With a lot of stops and go and for sure honking we arrived at our hotel two hours later. What we did not know at this point, that this was no traffic at all and that this was the fastest drive we would experience in the city of Dhaka.
As the wedding we were invited to always started in the evening we had a few half days to discover the city of Dhaka. What is a must in Dhaka is to join one of the many restaurants to enjoy the traditional bangladeshi food like Paratha (kind of bread), Biryani (traditional wedding food), Daal and Borhani (traditional spicy yogurt wedding drink). In general, we did not have problems with food or drinks in Dhaka and Bangladesh. Follow some general rules, order bottles of water that will be opened at the table that you are sure it was sealed; do not eat rare fruit or vegetables, as it could be washed with unclean water. I for myself had a light food poisoning because I drank a tea on the streets. As nobody else had any problems, and we ate and drink all the same things, this could be the only source where I got my problems from. As we came prepared with drugs in our travel pharmacy, I was better three days later.
In the city we moved around with a driver or with bike or motor rikschas. Taking a rikscha, it is a cheap way to go around in the city. Popular sides in the city are the Lalbagh Fort, the Ahsan Manzil palace and the parliament house Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. Interesting to see was the Port of Dhaka. We took a one-hour boot ride to see the ships, boats and general work in the harbor.
In Dhaka and in Bangladesh in general western tourist are rare. Due to that reason many people will take pictures of you, with asking or without. Also, many people will come and start a conversation with; How are you? What is your name? Where are you from? We answered this questions daily 10 to 20 times. This was interesting, as we been the tourist, but we felt like it was the other way around.
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