Our flight finally departed at around 9:40am, which was actually when it had originally been listed when we arrived at the airport. It was a fairly small but comfy plane which had begun its journey in Bangkok. No explanation was given, but looking outdoors it seemed a fair guess that fog/smog was to blame for [...]

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Just a quickie so folk know I’ve arrived safe and sound and it’s already an amazing experience. More when I get a chance but internet access is not guaranteed here.

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So, bye-bye Bangladesh… Final thoughts? Well, there’s not an awful lot to do or see from a tourist point of view – yet. It’s plain that they’re making an effort and plans do seem to be afoot to build parts of the country up to encourage tourism. Right now they even have adverts urging you [...]

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Woke up, got on bus, went to sleep, woke up nine hours later back in Dhaka.
Well, that was pretty much it! About an hour after we returned, another of Hans’ friends from the Asian Games he worked at appeared for an hour or so. It was nice to chat to her, her mum and her [...]

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Today pretty much boiled down to an 8-hour commute for a 2 1/2 hour walk on the beach. St Martin’s Island is the most southerly point in Bangladesh and where Bangladeshis go for a break. The journey is roughly two hours by road and then two hours by boat from Cox’s Bazar.
We were picked up [...]

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Well, we didn’t do much more with our full day in Cox’s Bazar, mainly as there’s not a lot to do! After popping the last deluge of posts on, we got a rickshaw to the Blue Ocean hotel. This was where we’d arranged to meet Mr Chowdhury, the chap we’d met on the bus.
Our rickshaw [...]

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It took us five attempts to find a cybercafe with a working connection and I don’t have much time (Hans is pacing restlessly!) so I’ll have to be pretty brief. Nothing really to add from yesterday though I did get to catch two FA Cup matches on the telly last night. Yay!
Just a quick troll [...]

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Our final trip within Bangladesh is to Cox’s Bazar and today pretty much just consisted of the bus ride there. We woke and packed, about to leave our room when reception called us to let us know Mahmud was downstairs. We were expecting him to meet us at the bus office, so that was a [...]

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Our very short stay in Mongla saw us wake up and head down to the dock with our guide. He owns (or at least operates) a boat, and we took a 2-hour rid into the Sundarbans, the largest littoral mangrove forest. In fairness, two hours is enough to get to the entrance to the area [...]

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A pretty relaxing day, partly as there’s not a lot to do on a boat that’s ambling down a river. We slept quite late, being woken by the waiter knocking at our door around 10:00. Then we slept for another hour. Best night’s sleep in a couple of weeks, I think.
Breakfast was omelette and toast [...]

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