Jan
12th, 2010 - Can I be frank? Dhaka is not the nicest city I’ve ever
visited. Not really the place for a pied-a-terre. To be
perfectly honest the words ‘hell’ and hole’ come to mind when
summing up my experience so far. Too harsh? Perhaps, but I feel I
should highlight the ‘walk a mile in a man’s shoes’ adage.
Pack 13 million people into a fairly small area and see what
happens. Too many people. Too many vehicles. Too much refuse in the
street. Sprinkle a layer of dust over everything, apply chaos theory,
and you have the makings of a charming Asian city. At least it’s
flat. Still, getting from one area of the city to the next is a
nightmarish mix of vertigo and asphyxiation, at least from the
viewpoint of a CNG (autorickshaw). My advice: Find an area with
everything you need within walking distance and settle. Want to blend
in? Forget it, at least if you are a 6’4’’ white guy with a
long head.
Folks
(as in men, women, and children) are constantly hacking and spitting
with such intensity that I sometimes mistake the sound for that of a
jetliner during takeoff. Not a real surprise considering all
the crap floating in the air. It is unavoidable. Trust me I know.
But they do not screw around. It happens everywhere (streets,
restaurants, public places, etc) and is often so pronounced that you
think folks are attempting to be funny. The other a day a gentleman,
while staring me directly in the eye as I passed, scrounged up a
monster in his mouth, swished it around a bit, and then pelted the
ground to his side. Up until he let loose he never broke eye contact.
I honestly believed he was about to spit on me. I am fairly easy
going but that would have most likely provoked a negative response
from me. It may have taken physical form. Luckily, for both of
us, expectorating is such a normal part of everyone’s life here it
is often done unconsciously. In this instance it was merely combined
with the usual ‘foreigner gawking’ that is such a part of my
everyday experience.
If
you want to escape the crowds good luck. That goes for pretty much
the whole country. Imagine if half the population of America moved to
Iowa or if all the folks in France and Germany decided to head for
the United Kingdom. And when you consider that B’desh is basically
just one giant floodplain with endless networks of rivers and streams
you realize real estate is tight. If not for the people being so
friendly I think I would have giddy-upped on outta here right after
the Sundarbans.
