Swarupkati is definitely not a regular tourist destination. Here you have to be prepared to get as much attention – if not even more – as Lady Di got during her Australia tour. No, I’m really not exaggerating! The last time we got this much attention was during our accidental visit to Tilamuta in Indonesia (the captain of our boat got lost on the way from Togean Islands to the mainland).

What To Expect In Swarupkati.

Getting off the launch in Swarupkati was not an easy process, simply because we were surrounded by people who just stared at us. This is when it dawned on us that not many westerners have travelled to this part of the country…

A nice rickshaw puller brought us to the main street, winding parallel along the river. It was a nice ride. After approximately 15 minutes, we got to pretty much the one and only accommodation, yet it was still full with dreaming guests. The sleepy hotel manager promised us his best room around midday – at this point we’d like to thank our local friend Sabuj, who came along with us for this trip. In some cases a local translator really eases up things. Sabuj knew people in the area, and since it was breakfast-time, we went to the best restaurant in town - a real shack, with lots of people. Our arrival made quite a stir. The gossip just flew through the village the second we set foot onto the premises: “Western tourists have arrived“.

After finishing our meal, it was truly an amusing experience to walk to the jetty where a boat was ready to navigate us to the guava plantations: Around 200 people watched every step of our way and hoped to join us on our excursion. It was Hello Miss here, Hello Mister there. Screaming kids, waving people and a VIP from town who came along with us (we didn’t manage to find out his position, but everybody did as he said, so his VIP status was reasonable).

Arriving in Swarupkati immediately meant that the unloading process started. Several smaller boats approached our launch even before we got to the jetty.

Sabuj had his hands full trying to keep all the kids in Swarupkati under control.

Off To The Guava Plantations.

The boat was quite large and comfortable to sit in. We crossed the river on which we had come on with the launch from Dhaka and the slowly floated into the jungle on one of the rivers side arms. The area was so different to the otherwise busy life in Bangladesh. There were absolutely no roads, therefore it was quiet and the atmosphere truly special. We could only hear the sound of the jungle and flowing water. Everything comes in and out of the region through small channels by boat, and if you’re not familiar with the area, one will get lost after the first bend. It’s like a maze on water; almost a bit like Venice.

Of course our boatman knew every corner of the way and we stopped several times to admire the scenery. It was so green, lush and uninhabited (apart from few families living in farmhouses). As said before, westerners are definitely not a common sight here. Every single person we came across got excited, wanted to talk to us or, in most cases, wanted to take a photo.

After floating through these jungle plantations for several hours, we couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to do such a trip with a canoe and camp in the area for a few days…

Now this was quite a lovely farewell: Pretty much the entire village came to see us…

The VIP from town (left) & Sabuj (centre) were a real help during our trip to Swarupkati. Can’t help it, but somehow Sabuj kept reminding us of John F. Kennedy…

We were a real attraction in Swarupkati… and if you’re not down to earth, the attention you get here can really get to your head.

Very often boats are the only means of transportation for lowland dwellers in Swarupkati.

A local farmer brings some tasty guavas to the next market. But the prices, now as low as 80-120 Taka for 40 kg, are frustrating for the growers.

Checking Into The Best Place In Town.

When we got back to Swarupkati, our room – which was supposed to be the best room of the hotel – was ready for us. To make the story short: we decided to get out our hammocks and rather sleep in those. Sometimes, like in this particular case, it’s a waste of time to complain about the room. We knew that the hotel management really tried everything in their power to make our stay pleasant, yet the room was not all that nice – especially the sheets. On the bright side, we had a balcony and could watch ships go by the river all day long. Luckily there were two windows with iron bars, so setting up the hammocks was not an issue.

Pure Muscle At The Wood Market.

After settling in, Sabuj organised a visit to the local wood market. Again, someone from the community joined us and therefore we got a really good insight on why this markets has developed here. Most people own boats instead of cars, and therefore even of huge trunks of wood are transported on water. The trunks are tied together like a raft and the boat is sitting on top of the stems. With patience, the timber can then be navigated to its final destination.

The tree trunks are put onto the boat, as well as attached on the side and also underneath it.

Tree trunks are brought to the city centre of Swarupkati for further usage.

Once the tree trunks arrive in Swarupkati, further processing takes its course.

No machinery of any kind can be found at the wood market in Swarupkati. Here it’s all about pure man-power.

Before the wood is put onto the larger boats for further transport, it has to be weighted.

The work at the wood market in Swarupkati is tough and should not be underestimated. These guys definitely get their fitness done each day…

The men working at the wood market in Swarupkati are as fit as you could be.

Many wood trunk are also directly processed in Swarupkati and then shipped to cities all over Bangladesh.

So in the end we arrived safely but still a bit shaken at Cox’s Bazar, ready to settle in at one of the few waterfront hotels. The name is actually a bit strange for a town … its origin comes from Captain Hiram Cox; an officer serving in the British East India Company who defeated the Burmese Governour, Warren Hastings, and set up a Bazar (market) here and therefore was named after him.

We immediately hired a tuk-tuk and were on the way South to check out the area. We passed Himchari National Park from which you have an amazing view of the beach – which by the way is the longest beach in the world (approx. 120 km of pure sand) and continued to Inani beach, which is one of the very few spots with rocks.

Apart from the beautiful beach itself (not to be compared to paradise beaches in Indonesia though), the sight of the day were definitely the fishing boats along waters of southern Bangladesh. Every single boat can be described as a piece of art! You immediately recognize the great craftsmanship involved in building such boats. They protect the fishermen from any weather weather, storms and high waves.

It takes about two months to build one boat and it costs approximately 5.000 €. There are even bigger fishing boats along the beach, also with a very unique shape (photos will follow soon) that cost about 8.000 € (including an engine and the nets).

We spent the entire day here, watching & waiting for the next boats to arrive with the catch of the day…

For Bangladeshi’s it doesn’t get much better than Cox’s Bazar, the country’s most popular beach town.

Cox’s Bazar is an important fishing port in Bangladesh.

The fishing boats at Cox’s Bazar look really different and you can see that a lot of work has gone into their building.

Fishing boats at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.

Cox’s Bazar sea beach is the longest sea beach in the world, 120 km long. The wavy water of Bay-of-Bengal touches the beach throughout these 120 km.

The minute we arrived, we were surrounded by ferrymen who were all eager to row us up and down the river in one of the the many Sampan ferries – the small wooden boats, powered and steered by one person. They wait in a cue to pick up passengers. Watching & documenting the daily life at this very busy port has already fascinated us during our visit in 2012 and we were eager to experience it all over again.

Once we settled the price (roughly 150 Taka per hour – excluding tips), the journey took its course. Rush hour in the Dhaka mean that thousands of people have to cross the busy waters of the Buriganga river. It’s said that this is one of the most dangerous waterways on Earth … and most dangerous for the ferrymen.

These men are really talented and fast with their boats; they navigate them like the cycle Rickshaw drivers maneuver their through the chaotic traffic in the city. It’s hard physical work too with temperatures of up to 40° Celsius (and very often the ferrymen are over 70 years old). Very impressive! It’s not a comfortable ride tough, because you have to sit cross-legged on the wooden boat deck, so cramps are a certain factor if you’re not used to sit in such a position (and of course this was the case for us).

Traffic along the Buriganga river is most common and happening at almost any given hour of the day: big boats and small boats filled with all sorts of different goods make their way up or down the river stream, launches (this is what ferries are called in Bangladesh) come and go, cargo-ships that need a repair job are parked along the waterway…all is normal here at Sadarghat port. As you can imagine with all these boats, several movements of these ferrymen are clearly not for the faint-hearted, but somehow it works out most of the times. Still, every day one or two boats capsize. And sometimes people die.

Sadarghat port is an experience itself and a must for every Bangladesh visitor – the daily chaos with all these boats on the river will stay with you for a long time.

The Sampans – the small wooden boats, powered and steered by one oar – are a lifeline in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Over 25.000 people cross the Buriganga river in Dhaka every day…

This ship is stationed in Sadarghat port to get a new paint-job done…

Transporting bricks along the Buriganga river and through Sadarghat port in Dhaka.

The daily chaos at Sadarghat port in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ferrymen have to push for position in the queue to pick up passengers.

A ferryman taking people across the Buriganga River in his wooden boat.

Arriving “In Style”.

We arrived in Sadarghat Port “in style”: first class travel on the Rocket Steamer “Ostrich”, which is the flagship of the Bangladesh inland water transport authority. If you intend to travel by ferry in Bangladesh, this is a good and reliable source, though there are other companies as well.

Anyway, after leaving the ship, our “first class” travel was over for now. Rain had turned the road into a pool of mud and we were dirty faster than we could walk. An avid Rickshaw driver immediately tried to seduce us into his vehicle, even though he had no idea where we wanted to go and didn’t speak a single word of English – as all the others around him did. Still, thanks to the genius idea of the taking a photo of Dhaka with our iPhone, we were able to specify the direction of our hotel. With some stops and crowd gatherings, the poor Rickshaw puller finally knew our destination: “Hotel Pacific” in Mothijel, a suburb not too far from the harbour.

Hotel & Train Tickets.

The hotel was not an eye catcher at all. It was somehow in a renovating process, but good enough for the time being, with working A/C and running water in the bathroom. Our first night in Dhaka was secured. Phweew. Immediately after checking in, we started to roam the city. Our first destination was to the train station to get our tickets to Chittagong, because we were eager to see the Ship Breaking Yard. As it turned out, this was not an easy task, because upcoming Eid brought many people into the travelling mood to visit their loved ones at home.

But, that didn’t keep us from getting our tickets … plus, the train station was an interesting place to visit anyway. We always like these hubs, where people come and go, because, there’s action happening. And we even had a surreal encounter… While standing in line for the tickets, a local Bangladeshi all over sudden shouted to us “Hello, where you come from?” … We told him that we were from Austria and then he enthusiastic answered: “Ahhh, ich bin auch aus Österreich!” (which means “I’m also from Austria” in German) … We’re fellow countrymen! Where are you from in Austria?” … The conversation went on for about 10 minutes and it turned out, that he worked just around the corner from my office in Vienna. The world can truly be a tiny place! It was sort of funny, because this man was the only “foreigner” we saw during our 4 week journey through Bangladesh.

Exploring the Area & Sadarghat Port.

After we got our train tickets, we looked out for a Rickshaw driver to drive us around a little bit. All of them wanted us as customers but nobody got where we wanted to go … finally one was smart enough to realize that we just wanted to cycle around to explore the area and that we’d give him directions as we go. We spent the entire afternoon with him. We bought him lunch & tea and he was obviously very happy to cycle us around. In Sadarghat we got out for a tour of the harbour with one of the many rowing boats. Luckily we found an English speaking porter who managed to explain to the boatman that we just wanted row up and down the river for an hour or so. This porter hopped on our sightseeing trip as well, as did two other people … We didn’t mind, since the boat was large enough to hold us all. This was definitely a highlight during our entire Bangladesh trip!

Back on land, our Rickshaw driver waited and brought us back to our hotel, from where we continued to find a restaurant. During Ramadan, this can definitely keep you busy for a while because people only start eating after dark. We found some nice looking food stalls near the big mosque covered with curtains so that nobody could see inside. We bought some great food we’ve never eaten before: A grapefruit salad mixed with onions, cumin powder and coriander – one of the most refreshing salads for such a hot climate. It was sooo delicious and we returned there every evening while our stay in Dhaka.

On our stroll back to our hotel we passed Hotel Purbani, which looked a lot better than ours. We had a look at the rooms and immediately made a reservation for the next day. 33 US $ per room with working Wi-Fi convinced us to change places.

With this new hotel, we spend another couple of days in Dhaka…after all, there was much more to be explored!

Some Impressions.

A Rikschaw driver in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Loading a launch at Sadarghat port in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Sadarghat harbour in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Sadarghat harbour in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Sadarghat harbour in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Sadarghat harbour in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Train station in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

The daily newspaper was the decisive factor: The front page showed a photo with the line “Antique boat washed up on Kuakata beach”. This definitely sounded interesting but we had absolutely no idea where Kuakata was. A local friend quickly enlightened us … Kuakata was the southernmost tip of Bangladesh, where all the rivers flow into the ocean. We didn’t hesitate a second and went straight to the harbor. With our friend’s help, we managed to book ourselves into a nice cabin on one of the launches for the same evening.

Getting there.

River travelling is a very relaxing way of travelling because there’s no real danger like with the buses. We arrived in Barisal early in the morning and from there we had to continue with the bus to Kuakata. The trip took a couple of hours, because rivers also needed to be crossed by ferry, so there was a lot of waiting time involved. Anyway, the road to Kuakata was in a bad stage, but the government is working on it and things should get better soon. The positive side of such roads is that the bus drives can’t hit the speed pedal as much.

Arriving in Kuakata.

Every journey comes to an end after a while and when the the bus driver stopped in front of a hotel and said “Kuakata”, we got out … but there was no beach in sight. After walking around a little, some guy told us that the beach was still another kilometer away. After getting there, we checked into the “Seabreeze” hotel. It wasn’t a real flashy place, but the room on the first floor  was huge, with windows into all directions and a big terrace facing the ocean. All that for just 5oo Takas (around 5 €)!

The terrace was great for lying in the sun a little bit. It’s absolutely uncommon for women in Bangladesh to wear swimsuits on the beach and since we already got enough attention by just being there, we figured that this wasn’t turning into a typical beach vacation. But there were other things for us … for example the antique boat.

The beach.

Getting around Kuakata is really easy. Once simply needs to hire a motorcycle with a driver. This is exactly what we did and made our way along the beach. We first drove down to “Crab Beach” where thousands of red crabs (gecarcoidea natalis – a species only found on the Christmas island as well) ran around. After this, we finally came across the new found antique boat.

Also something you’ll see along the beach front are lots of destroyed buildings. When Cyclone Sidr hit the coast hard in 2007, half of the Sundarban nature was badly damaged and many lives were lost, but the strong Bangladeshi people made the infrastructure work again. Since then, disaster shelters have been built in case such a tragedy occurs again.

Kuakata itself is a very interesting town, but more about this in another article…

Departure from Sadarghat harbour in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Playing kids at Kuakata beach in Bangladesh.

A group of people at Kuakta beach, Bangladesh.

Fishermen at Kuakata beach, Bangladesh.

Red crab on the beach in Kuakata, Bangladesh.

Antique boat washed up on Kuakata beach, Bangladesh.

Producing fishing nets by hand in Kuakata, Bangladesh.

The only ones lying on beach chairs in Kuakata were goats…

Fishermen on the beach in Kuakata, Bangladesh.

Palm trees on the beach in Kuakata, Bangladesh.

A destroyed building from the cyclone in Kuakata, Bangladesh.

So as said, we wanted to see the facilities in Chittagong for ourselves. Of course we were warned that access will most probably not be possible, yet nothing could keep us from going. After some asking around and checking out the area, we simply decided to just go on a field trip and have a look. We came across and autorikshaw driver who was eager to bring us to the area where ship breaking takes place.

How did it all start?

• Research through the internet taught us, that the beginning of the ship breaking industry in Bangladesh came by “accident”. After a severe cyclone in 1960, a Greek ship was stranded on the beach of Chittagong and could not be re-floated for some years. Then it was scrapped and this was the birth of the Bangladesh ship breaking industry – which is the second largest in the world.

From Chittagong you have to head North. It’s quite a dusty trip because the road is under construction, so we were already exhausted when arriving in Fauzdharat. Anyway, the autorikshaw driver knew where we wanted to go and after some asking he turned left into a little path towards the beach. At the end was a big wall and that was it … so we got out and told him to wait. We walked a while and came to a river mouth where many lifesaving boats were “anchored” – obviously an interim storage place. The river mouth turned out to be the perfect way to get closer to the ships and the action.

But getting close to the ships was not as easy as expected … it was all very slippery, with deep mud. We only tried to protect our cameras, everything else looked very dirty after the first five minutes walking towards the beach anyway. Right and left were huge tankers ashore, which were already partly dismantled and you could hear the noise of cutting wheels. We walked further towards the beach – always checking the ground because we didn’t want to stumble into a mud hole (it happened anyway, but not too bad). All over sudden we were spotted by a bunch of children who came running towards us, jumping up and down in front of our cameras. They loved it and so we forgot a bit about our plan to check out the ships for a little while.

The way down the waters edge turned out to be pretty far. We walked for about half an hour while being accompanied by screaming children. An adult fisherman came along and tried to get the kids under control but he had no chance. So we made the best out of it and took lots of photos with them and the ships.

In between all the ship breaking yard were little villages where the workers live. Their kids already grow up near the ships and start working there either as fishermen or steel workers. The entire ship breaking yard area is so extensive that it’s no wonder the workers started settling near by.

The fascinating thing is that everything is being recycled. There are tons of second-hand dealers along the main road, where you’ll find anything that was ever used on a ship: water tanks, washing machines, toilets, compasses, telephones, life vests … you name it, you will find it in one of these scrap shops. It would be the perfect place to furnish an apartment, office or restaurant. We were tempted on buying a Russian wall clock but decided against it in the end. It was simply to heavy and we still had five weeks more of travelling ahead.

The Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard, is the world’s second-largest ship breaking area (after the Alang ship breaking yard).

Yet the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard is the world’s largest ship-breaking industry, employs over 200.000 Bangladeshis and accounts for half of all the steel in Bangladesh.

Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially steel, to be recycled. Equipment on board the vessel can also be reused.

Ships are typically disassembled on gently sloping sandy beaches, where vessels to be broken are beached, usually deliberately, although the sizable ship breaking industry of Bangladesh traces its origin to a ship beached accidentally there during a cyclone.

Manoeuvring a large ship onto a beach at high speed takes skill and daring, and is not always successful.

Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair become uneconomical.

The Ship Breaking Yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

At one stage the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard was a tourist attraction, but outsiders are no longer welcome due to its poor safety record; a local watchdog group claims that one worker dies a week on average.

In recent years, ship breaking has become an issue of environmental concern beyond the health of the yard workers. Many ship breaking yards operate in developing nations with lax or no environmental law, enabling large quantities of highly toxic materials to escape into the general environment and causing serious health problems among ship breakers.

Kids playing football between the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard.

The shops in Chittagong are full of recycled cruise materials.

Protective equipment is sometimes absent or inadequate. Dangerous vapors and fumes from burning materials can be inhaled, and dusty asbestos-laden areas are commonplace.

You may have noticed the label “Made in Bangladesh” in garments from well known brands. Well, RMG (Ready Made Garments) is the second largest industry in Bangladesh (first is Jute production) … After reading an article in “Daily Star” – which was the only English newspaper in the country – we decided to have a look at some of these tanneries in Dhaka. Tanneries are the places where raw hides are turned into soft leather … for shoes, bags and jackets which will then be sold in Western countries (for a lot of cash of course).

Getting There.

Getting to Hazaribagh turned out to be very easy since we had a piece paper with our desired destination written in Bangla language. The Rickshaw cycler just nodded and had a kick started his vehicle … We passed the Christian cemetery, a quiet corner in this busy city (we visited it on another day but this is reserved for a different blog post) and soon after, we were stuck in traffic yet again. It’s very common in Dhaka, so you we had plenty of time to see what was going on in this part of the city. Some streets are huge, lined with beautiful trees and monuments in the middle of roundabouts. Beggars approach you constantly when waiting for the traffic to move.

Tip:

• Beware of donations! If you give one beggar some money you can be sure that others will follow. They will be there in seconds and this can really be annoying at times … after all, we’re not a bank ready to give out micro-credits.

The closer you get to the area of the tanneries the worse the smell gets. Why? Well, if the hides are still raw, the smell can be unbearable because you literally smell the rotten flesh. And once you are really close, you can also smell (and see) the chemicals which are used to transform a hide into a fine piece of leather. The open sewers along the roads are full of colour. That day, it black & blue. Anyway, so we finally got there but some of the tanneries refused to let us in to have a look. Others were very keen to show us around, so we got off the Rickshaw and started to walk around.

The first thing you notice when you walk through the streets of Hazaribagh is the all-pervasive stench of tanning chemicals. According to the Department of Environment, the tanneries discharge 22.000 cubic meters of untreated liquid toxic waste daily into the rivers, gutters and canals that run alongside in the roads of Hazaribagh. Toxins are also leaching into groundwater.

Working Conditions.

Workers are handling the skins without any kind of protection. All the toxic wastewater eventually makes its way into the Buriganga River, which is considered to be Dhaka’s lifeline. Thousands of people depend on the river daily for bathing, washing clothes, irrigation of food and transportation of goods. The river has suffered extreme biodiversity loss and has now turned black.It’s in the discussion that something needs to be done with all this chemical waste but the people responsible turn a blind eye to this rampant pollution and the working conditions as long as so much money is involved in that business. It’s clear that working under these conditions comes at a price: a lot of the workers suffer from asthma, skin diseases and even cancer.

A worker at a tannery gets about 6.000 Taka (which equals about 60 €) per moths. For this money, they have to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unbelievable! … Very often, you’ll also see child worker who are not far beyond their 13th birthday.

We were told that the workers are well aware of their exposure to all these chemical substances but they can’t do much; first of all they’re happy to have a job – even though it’s badly paid. But at least they have a job. Protesting won’ help either because the police will simply step in and they don’t care if people get hurt or even shot. the workers  can leave their jobs , because another bunch of people would take over the next day, Bangladesh has an abundant mass of labourers, so as a worker you don’t have many choices: either work until you get sick or sleep on the streets.

Resume.

The smell made us sick for the rest of the day and we left the area a bit despondent … these people work so hard in such dangerous conditions and yet they still manage to smile, say hello and respond with a laugh when you take their picture. What can we say? People in Bangladesh are really tough cookies!

Workers process rawhides with toxic chemicals such as chromium, sulfur and manganese to name a few. They handle leather skins soaked with acids and dyes with their bare hands in poorly ventilated tanneries where often the only light coming in is through cracks and openings in the walls.

There are about 200 leather tanneries in the Hazaribagh district of Dhaka, the capital. Some use modest technology and machinery, but most operate as they did decades ago and release untreated toxic chemical waste near residential areas.

From the slums of Bangladesh to the fashion houses of the world – luxury leather goods from Dhaka generate sales of more than 1 billion US$ per year.

Each year 14 million raw hides are processed into leather in Bangladesh – the leather is then exported to top fashion labels in dozens of countries around the world. The country is a major supplier of leather to Europe, with Italy being the largest importer of Bangladeshi leather.

A man scrapes the inside of a cow skin to remove small parts to make it smoother. He uses a special designed sharp tool.

The Thousand Gardens, which is what Hazaribagh means in Bengali, is crammed with tanneries, big and small; one-room tin shacks where many tannery workers live.

Working at the tanneries in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Many children work 12 or even 14 hours a day at one of the leather tanneries in Dhaka, considerably more than the five-hour limit for adolescents in factory work established by Bangladeshi law.

Sadarghat port in Old Dhaka is the main port for all the launches down into the vast river delta. An important connection is Dhaka to Barisal – further more continuing to Patuakhali. There are several launches everyday to these destinations since this area is very busy with garment factories, brick factories, schools, university and a lot of agricultural trading.

The launches mostly leave from Dhaka in the evening. To get a ticket it’s necessary to first buy a ticket into the harbour area (4 Taka). Once in, best would be to find somebody who speaks a little bit of English; some of the porters do, so this will make things easier for you to find the right launch, to the right destination. Another option to ease things is when somebody (hotel receptionist, etc.) writes down the following sentence in Bangladesh syllables: “I want to travel to (city name) on the (date) with a launch! I would like a cabin please!” I had such a paper from a friend and therefore it was easy and fast to secure a ticket for my desired departure date a few days later. You have to pay a deposit and get a receipt. Remember the name of your launch carefully because basically many look very similar. Just as a side note: I travelled from Dhaka to Patuakhali with the “Sundarban 8” – a very pleasant and comfortable launch.

Costs.

A cabin costs about 900 Taka (approx. 9 €) for a 12-14 hour journey. Sometimes, if you go further down in the delta, it costs a bit more but it also depends on the size and equipment of the launch. Some have air-condition and even a TV in the cabins and the bigger ones also have showers for the guests who book a cabin.

Food.

Food is absolutely no problem on a launch. The chef in the basement prepares a nice meal every day (like chicken curry with rice), so there’s no need to bring food. Bottled water is also available but I’d still suggest to better bring water for the trip. Fruits and various snacks are sold as well just before departure or while on the boat.

Early Check-In.

It’s possible to settle into the cabin already in the morning of the day you travel. This is really great if you have to check out of your hotel or arrive by train or bus and want to continue on the same day. You can lock the cabin and visit the city without to worrying about your luggage.

Rocket Steamer.

Another very smart option is to take the “Rocket Steamer”. It’s a fleet of three or four big river paddle steamer ships. Unfortunately some of them are in bad shape and often go into repair. The biggest and flashiest is the “Ostrich” with first class cabins which have air-condition, TV and a sink. These boats used to carry high-rank personalities during the colonial area and lounging on the first class deck is an experience itself. There you will likely find fellow travellers that speak good English and for sure they will help you to write down some sentences in Bangla syllables like “Where is the bus station” or “Where is the next hotel”. For me, these written notes were very important and made my trip through the country a lot easier.

The “Rocket Steamer” cabin costs 2.200 Taka (approx. 22 €) for 2 people or if you want the cabin for yourself. This boat also docks in Sadarghat and leaves 6 times a week to Morelgonji, stopping on various locations on the way.

Rush hour in the Dhaka mean that thousands of people have to cross the busy waters of the Buriganga river. It’s said that this is one of the most dangerous waterways on Earth … and most dangerous for the ferrymen.

Overnight journey from Dhaka to Hularhat on a first-class cabin of century old Rocket Steamer is a trip you’ll tell your children about.

The deck of the Rocket Steamer already has some years on its hump, yet it still floats through the Sundarbans like when it first set sail.

With the Rocket Steamers white wooden cabins, beds in crispy white sheets and a range of western and local dishes served on fine china, the tranquil paddle steam boat voyage through spectacular rivers leaves a genteel memory in the minds of millions.

The Rocket Steamer is arriving at Hularhat port.

Traffic along the Buriganga river is most common and happening at almost any given hour of the day: big boats and small boats filled with all sorts of different goods make their way up or down the river stream, launches (this is what ferries are called in Bangladesh) come and go, cargo-ships that need a repair job are parked along the waterway…

On deck on our ferry from Dhaka to Galachipa. Very often the launches in Bangladesh are overloaded but luckily this was not the case on our travels (so far).

Several ferries in Bangladesh sink yearly due to either overloading or simply because the boats are not maintained very well.

Sadarghata harbour in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Counting the many ferries at Sadarghat port in Dhaka is almost impossible.

The port in Galachipa is small, yet busy day in day out.

Loading a ferry at Galachipa port in Bangladesh.

The Dhaka traffic situation.

It’s like a journey into the past century; at least in old Dhaka the majority of vehicles on the road are Rickshaws – 3 wheelers for 2 passengers or whatever goods to be carried. Most Rickshaw cyclers are very skinny but very athletic men, who can cycle like devils. Everyone wants to overtake the others and I can assure you, they cycle very fast! I was scared to be airborne at some corners. Well and then the Autorickschaws blend in as well. They’re looking like green and yellow insects right out of a comic movie :) Again they want to be the faster ones on the road, not wanting to give way to the few private cars that ply the roads. the private cars – often with tinted windows – think they are the “Elite” of the country, so why to give way to anything?! But there are still bigger and heavier vehicles on the roads. Buses and trucks. And these vehicles are often heavy overloaded, 60 passengers in a bus plus a few on top or hanging on the back is no exception.

As said, everybody wants to be first and the result is a constant honking, honking, honking … the bigger the vehicle the noisier the honk. Everybody is pushing against the other vehicle and there are absolutely no traffic lines. The Rickshaws or Autorickshaws are trying to sneak into the front of a big honking bus … this can really make even the most case hardened traveller a bit uncomfortable.

Crossings, roundabouts or one-way roads are there to be used in the wrong direction, traffic lights and policemen are abundant, but rather broken or hopeless. Everyone moves at his own idea or takes the shortest short-cut, no matter what’s in the way. Fact is, there are about 30 deaths on the roads per day in Dhaka … The only way to handle such situations as a tourist is simple: Lean back, watch the chaos and have faith that you will not be the one of those who ends up in these statistics.

There is definitely too much energy on the roads in Bangladesh. One should think about sponsoring a Rickshaw driver for competing in the Tour de France. Even without doping and with a good bike, I’m sure that he will have an outstanding performance.

Some impressions:

Jammed streets in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Only the strong survive on the streets in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Whether it’s day or night, the streets are always packed in Bangladesh.

There is a reason why buses look so the way they look in Bangladesh …

As a Rickshaw driver in Bangladesh, you need to be a tough fella.

There’s no way getting through here …