There are lots of great places to walk – and if at any point in the walk you get tired or want to stop , there are about six or seven guys with rickshaws right there willing to cart your lazy butt home with a smile for only a few cents.
Street tea (rastar cha!)– For the uninitiated, it is strong black tea brewed in a little metal kettle on a kerosene flame atop a rickety wooden cart on the side of the street. The tea is then combined with sugar (um, kind of a whole lot of sugar) and sweetened condensed milk. It must be consumed out of dainty little demitasse cups on the street for the real deal. The result is pure Bangladesh. Oh, and even with the recent price increase, it runs from 4 to 5 taka a cup (about 7 cents in US dollars!).
The ice cream of Bangladesh is ridiculously delicious. It is creamy, perfectly satisfying after a long 90+ degree day (after day after day…)and it does not contain high fructose corn syrup. A particularly wonderful treat are the Igloo Caramel Combo and Chocolate Cheers which have pre-mixed the ice cream, nuts and caramel or ice cream, chocolate chips and syrup, respectively. Honestly though, even the plain vanilla is fabulous.
Smells – well, some of them. The best smells are when we pass by a kitchen where someone is frying up some garlic and spices. Sometimes these delicious fragrances will waft in the window on a gentle breeze, making you immediately starving for whatever they’re cooking!
Hospitality. Everyone wants you to come to their house and eat. Even better, recently when Sam was over at an elderly archivists house for lunch (because you know, she’s working in the archive, so naturally he has to take her home to his house for a meal with his entire family…) and after eating they offered to let her take a nap in the bedroom by the fan. This is hospitality on a wholly higher level!
The Hangout. The pizza is so-so and a little interesting, but they deliver it, you can also get French fries, and they always have Diet Pepsi even when every other place is out. We love them (and we think they love us too!)
Monkey sightings! We love that it is possible to spot a monkey around town. It is just often enough to keep you looking, but rare enough that it is still exciting when you see them. Last sighting: monkeys on the tennis court (no rackets though). Funnest sighting: monkey riding as a passenger on a rickshaw. Yes.
Animal encounters in general. There are cows, goats, sheep, and other creatures that live along the routes we travel. We especially love the little goats that beg for scraps at the tea stalls. Also, the street dogs here are not mean – they’re adorable.
The laid back attitude of Bangladeshis and the country in general. There is rarely a rush, and almost nothing happens before 10 am. There is just not the same feeling of stress to achieve something measurable and less of the usually arbitrary sense of urgency to get things done constantly and quickly. We like to relax, and so does Bangladesh.
Even if you are stuck in traffic, there is an army of street hawkers keeping the streets much like a carnival of consumer choices. You can usually get a fan (for ten taka!), some peanuts or cotton candy, cold or “normal” water, some cucumber or mangoes, a newspaper, a bobble head, the latest best selling book, and other things all from the window of your car or cng and all for cheap!
Taborok. He’s our best friend in Bangladesh and he takes care of us when we need it. He teaches us the ins and outs of real ‘deshi culture, he helps us speak village bangle instead of stodgy book bangla (so we sound less like jerks!), and he’s just a good guy.
Yay! Finally, a new post. I've been waiting (a little unpatiently) for an update.
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