The thing that Bangladesh has that a lot of more visited countries have lost is the attitude of the local people towards foreigners. Because so few people come here, you really are an oddity. Anyone who has travelled in Asia knows what it's like to be stared and pointed at, but Bangladesh takes that to a whole new level. If you're walking around you'll get looked at, but if you stop moving, within about thirty seconds you'll be surrounded by silent, staring Bangladeshis. They don't point, often they don't talk, they just STARE with an unblinking intensity that can be a bit unnerving. At some point, someone will pluck up the courage to practice some English and will ask where you come from. This is followed by "why are you in Bangladesh?" and a real and genuine delight, mixed with mild disbelief, that you've come for a holiday. Of course, you have to say that Bangladesh is very beautiful, which it is in a quietly pastoral way, and that Bengali food is delicious and Begali people are lovely, both of which are true.
Apart from Dhaka I've been to two places in Bangladesh, firstly up to Srimongal in the north-east. Srimongal is where all Bangladesh's tea is grown and it's very pretty. You can rent bikes, really heavy single-geared things, and cycle through some of the tea gardens which is a very enjoyable way to spend a morning. There's also a small national park which is famous for its hoolock gibbons. The gibbons are quite rare but doing well in this particular park where they have 19 families. I had a guide show me around the park which you don't have to, but it increases your chances of seeing a gibbon as the guides have a better idea than you of where to look. Also, you kind of want to support projects that are trying to protect what's left of the forests, and if people see that they can earn money by conserving the forests rather than cutting them down, that's got to be a good thing! The gibbons make an eerie hooting noise, and I was lucky enough to see a family of them - mum, dad and the baby - which was really lovely.
Last week I went to the Sundarbans National Park which is the largest mangrove forest in the world and one of the "must-see" attractions of Bangladesh. They are home to a large and ferocious population of Bengal tigers; about one person every three days is killed by a tiger in the Sundarbans, which is the highest rate of anywhere in the whole world! The Sundarbans is also home to a very large bee, and some unfortunate people's job is to collect honey from this bee's hive. This is not a job I would like. The bee keepers are often attacked by tigers while they are distracted by the enormous bees in front of them, something to think about when you're feeling sorry for yourself on a Monday morning!
Obviously, every tourist who goes to the Sundarbans professes a wish to see a tiger, or a crocodile at least. Equally obvious is that 27 people trampling about and making a lot of noise are highly unlikely to see either. We did see lots of birds, and some deer, and some wild pigs and some small snakes, but the tigers kept themselves well hidden. It's very relaxing sitting on a boat in the sunshine, being fed nice food every few hours and watching the forest slip by and I have to say that I didn't really want to come back to Dhaka on Thursday.
Today was my last day in Bangladesh and tomorrow I'm flying to Hong Kong which was not planned at all, but I decided not to go to Thailand after all the floods earlier in the autumn. I'm pretty excited about going to Hong Kong as I've never been there before and I reckon it'll be a cool place to be for a couple of weeks!
