A little more Bangladesh.

[Cujo]

I never really get many pics on the Bangladesh trips and I realized why. It's not a place to go out for a walk. There is a huge undereducted, poor poulation. the place is a big bloody mess, the corrupt government is ripping the people off with huge import duties, for example 300% on a new car. There is virtually no public transport, so people need cars but the tax money sure isn't being spent on roads. many city streets aren't paved, let alone rural areas. There seems to be virtually NO money spent on infrastructure.
Having said that, 22 no bid contracts have just been awarded for the building of gas powered power stations (despite the fact there are gas shortages) and a certain sector of the community is doing very well thank you.
I have visited 2 private homes (apartments) there and they are very nice, insulated from the clusterfuck just outside their doors by a high wall around the first floor carpark (no garden) wherein reside armed guards so the entrance to the elevators is through the carpark via security doors.
The buildings are 5-8 floors high.
We took a trip to the outskirts of Dhaka to inspect some land that has been purchased for a factory which gave me a slight glimpse into another Bangladesh.
I think surreal best describes the place. (once we've covered shitheap, dump, clusterfuck etc)It's muslim so can't get booze outside top hotels and restaurants but most of them don't mind a beer (or wine or whiskey for that matter).
They like music, there are virtually no taxis and those that there are are old, tiny blue russian things that have been absolutely battered.
Desspit my best efforts I wasn't in the right place at the right time with the camera to get a pic of one of these. here are a few random pics.

I took a few waiting outside the hotel for my ride one day.

This is a Dhaka Tuk tuk. millions of them. They run on Gas. The air is surprisingly clean for such a city.










This is a typical city bus, they ALL look like they've been scraping by one another.


Tuktuk anyone


Unfortunately this lush and rich area is destined for industry.






The mowed patch is the site of the new factory. just that morning I had been reading in the paper about the problems they have growing enough food to feed themselves.


A roadside tea stall


Sheltering from the rain






This bloke


Makes the best cuppa I ever had.


Rural bus


Looks like there might be work for English teachers.

[Davis Knowlton]

Nice pix, Dug. I left there thirty years ago; it doesn't look much changed. Once you got outside of the city, I was always amazed at how green and lush everything was - when it wasn't totally under water.

[wefearourdespot]

how's the sex scene in Dhaka ?

[Bower]

Nice report, Thanks, always interested in place i've yet to visit.

[Stinky]

how's the sex scene in Dhaka ?

I've never been there but I saw a program on Bangledadesh prostitution a few weeks ago, it made for some pretty grim viewing.
Lots of enforced prostitution, lots of child prostitution, lots of kids sold by thier parents into prostitution.

Plenty of good shagging to be had too but you need to tread carefully and keep your wits about you.

[wefearourdespot]

so , how much does a street ho charge for 1 hour of yum yum ?
Anyway those TV programs are a load of bullshit , for example they said in Malindi (Kenya) whores could be had for 500 schilling , went there and was asked 1500 , besides, the place was a real dump.

[HollyGoodhead]

does this really need to be turned into a sex tourist thread? I'm sure that wasn't the op's intention, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Nice pics Dug. Are people mostly friendly there?

[Stinky]

so , how much does a street ho charge for 1 hour of yum yum ?
Anyway those TV programs are a load of bullshit , for example they said in Malindi (Kenya) whores could be had for 500 schilling , went there and was asked 1500 , besides, the place was a real dump.

The prices bandied about were about the $2 mark, that was at a sprawling city of shack brothels at a truck stop/boarder for locals, I'm sure round eyes will be ask a lot more.
There did seem to be a hell of a lot of child prostitution so a set up would be a real concern, HIV and STD's are rampant out of controll coz the locals won't use condoms and hardly anyone speaks English.
Sound good

[Cujo]

The people are generally very friendly. I have no idea about the sex industry. In such a poor country there's bound to be one but it's not on display.
There are no bars or clubs, lots of criminal gangs (kidnappings and so on). There is definitely some nasty Shit goes on there. I saw lots of guns being carried openly by people in uniform.

[Davis Knowlton]

^The folks are generally friendly, but few speak English. It is the poorest country in which I have ever lived. There is a thriving sex industry, which caters almost exclusively to locals. There are few foreigners living/working there. In the upscale housing neighborhoods (and there were only one or two when I lived there), you could see pimps delivering young girls to houses, often on the weekends. There was a house up the street from mine inhabited by Libyan "students" and they had young girls going in and out all the time, always accompanied by their pimps. The HIV rate rivals that of India. It's a pretty poor choice for sex tourists.

[Udonite]

I love the picture of the motorcycle on the pedel samlor.

A classic.

[Cujo]

^ A cheap way to run a motorcycle I suppose.
And it's called a rickshaw
Whoever heard of a 'pedal samior?

[Udonite]

OK Nit picker

[Cujo]

There did seem to be a hell of a lot of child prostitution so a set up would be a real concern,

How could there being lots of child prostitution be a cause for concern over a setup??
Unless one was going to be in a position with children that could lead to a setup I can't see it being a concern.
As it was I saw no signs of any kind of sex scene at all.

[Chronicle Man]

Thank You for the pictures and the thoughts on the place. It's make me really appreciate not living there. I have heard many horror stories. Some have been rather hard to believe but the people telling me the tales have sworn they tell the horrible truth. Again, Thanks!

[Stinky]

There did seem to be a hell of a lot of child prostitution so a set up would be a real concern,

How could there being lots of child prostitution be a cause for concern over a setup??
Unless one was going to be in a position with children that could lead to a setup I can't see it being a concern.

Third world country, girl looks over age but isn't, bent copper farms her out to an unsuspecting foreinger, sound familiar?

[Bobcock]

Dug

Would you describe it as safe to walk around with an obviously expensive camera.

I've never felt threatened anywhere, certainly not in India, I'd imagine it to be the same?

[ShilohJim]

Udonite said;
"I love the picture of the motorcycle on the pedal samlor."
Dug, disagreed but I'm with you on samlors. That is what they were called by Thais in the 60's.
Rickshaws are pulled by hand, Samlors are exactly what you saw. We used to get drunk and race other Americans in samlors from bar to bar in Udorn Thani.

Dug, most any country with a majority Muslim population looks an awful lot like what you witnessed. The ruling/power class will keep the general population in poverty to control them. Seventh century thinking and the citizens are too ignorant to understand.

Good thread anyway,

Shiloh Jim

[rick75]

Dug, seems like an interesting place, about how many times have you been?
How did you feel personal safety wise?

[PattyFlipper]

Udonite said;

Dug, most any country with a majority Muslim population looks an awful lot like what you witnessed.

Er .... excuse me? Ever been to Bahrain, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia?

The ruling/power class will keep the general population in poverty to control them.

Not so very dissimilar to Thailand, then.

[Mr Brown]

Is it me or do some of the faces in those photos do not look happy.

I was going to go there last year but things changed; thanks for sharing the photos - hope you've got some more to share

[DJ Pat]

Jonah! said he worked in Bangladesh recently and went twice. Can't imagine any TEFL industry there.

[Cujo]

In reply to a few of the questions and comments,
I say rickshaw because thats what THEY call it and I never heard of a pedal samlor.
Yes, i felt safe but then the only time I went for a walkabout was in the district where my hotel was in the embassy district. Right next to the American club and around the corner from the saudi embassy.
There were heavily armed people everywhere.
Having said that I did travel around the city a lot to offices and a couple of times to shopping centres (such as they are) and I never felt threatened or there was any danger whatsoever.
The people really are very nice considering their lives are quite a struggle.
Take my associates their for example. Trying to to better for themselves, provide for their families and employ people (and by proxy provide for their employees families) and yet to get gas for the car, the government has decided for no good reason that anyone can determine, that gas staions will be open from 9am to 3 pm only. There are many cars and not so many gas stations. so generally speaking one has to allow 2 hours to get gas for the car (assuming their are no power cuts in the meantime). You can imagine how productive that is, not to mention the effect it has on the moral of the people in general.
On the bright side I did manage to find weetbix, (2 boxes of which I lugged back to China via singapore)
As for someone asking for more pics, there are some in this thread from my first trip.
https://teakdoor.com/vietnam-nepal-an...angladesh.html (Trip Report Bangladesh.)
Thanks for the interest in the thread and the comments.

[wefearourdespot]

Is it me or do some of the faces in those photos do not look happy.

would you be happy to be both dirty poor and oppressed by a barbaric religion ?

[DJ Pat]

I was going to go there last year

Why? They opening a British pub there?