Does this girl ever work?
Trip Start
Jan 05, 2011
1
6
11
Trip End
Jul 01, 2011
Khulna City, Khulna, Bangladesh
Monday, February 14, 2011
My new friend Micheal had decided to take a very impromptu trip to Sundarban. The trip happened to fall on days that I didn't have to teach and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a travel partner. I had been wanting to go there at some point, and its just not too easy travelling alone as a woman here (even when you have short hair and combat boots).
So on Feb 6th we took a $4 overnight train from Dhaka to Khulna, where we arrived early morning. We spent the day here with a colleague of mine and his parents at their home (he happened to be home visiting for a few days). We were treated so kindly here, given massive hot meals, our own bedrooms to rest, and lots of great stories about Bangladesh’s history.
In the evening we made our way to the dock in Khulna, where our guide for the Sundarbans tour met us, and we got on the boat. Pronounced "shundarbon", this name means “beautiful forest”, and we were not disappointed. If you look on the map, the Sundarbans is an area in the south of Bangladesh on the Bay of Bengal. Part of the forest is also in India. It is a mangrove forest, held together by the entangled roots of the mangrove trees, filled with rivers that are fed from the Himalayan glaciers (errr… I think). It is home of the famous Bengal Tiger, which is the largest population of wild tigers in the world. Sorry to say that we didn’t see one. Although we did see some fresh tiger tracks so they weren’t too far away! Actualy, the tigers eat a reported 150 or so people per year so really, its probably good we didn’t see one. We saw some spotted deer and lots of beautiful birds, and a couple snakes.
So the boat we were on was organized by Guide Tours (an amazing company that I’d highly recommend). There was myself, Micheal, a dutch guy Michiel, and 23 Bengalis! We really lucked out with that crew, they were so warm and welcoming. Everyone spoke English very well. They were some very elite people boasting credentials like retired Central Bank Governor, Foreign Ambassadors, University Professors, etc. In fact, one of them got his PhD in Economics at McMaster University! Small world! And a few of them have family members living in Mississauga, which apparently has a huge Bengali population.
We spent 3 nights on the boat, and went out for day trips in a little motorboat. We did a few nature walks (senior citizen style), and went swimming in the Bay of Bengal one day.
This was by far the most relaxing activity I have done since being here. I couldn’t hear construction or car horns or people asking me “Sister! Your country? Your phone number?”. Oh and there were no mosquitoes!! (Did I mention the mosquitoes here are really hungry?)
Now its back to work and no more holidays for a while.
A few special mentions:
Happy birthday to Krystle!! (have a delicious one, Valentine)
Happy birthday to Grandma and Grandpa MacLeod!! (Holy cow, another birthday!?)
And of course… thinking of Skoka…
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY EVERYONE!!
Lots of love to everyone back home.
xox
Comments
Looks like you are settling in nicely! Glad to hear you found some Beer! I am keeping up with your Mom at the gym...but just barely. Be safe and keep smiling.