My Book on Sundarban

My photo book on Sundarban is now available from Blurb. The book is called Sundarban - A Photographic Journey. It shows some of the things you might see on a tour of Sundarban (Bangladesh) with a commercial tour company. Please check it out and let me know any comments and questions.

UPDATE Nov 2012: An expanded form of this book is now available in Dhaka. It can be purchased at Bookworm, Aranya and the Omni bookstore in the airport.

Bagerhat

Bagerhat, a small town, is less than an hour's drive from Khulna, about two hours from Jessore. It was founded by the great sufi mystic and warrior Khan Jahan Ali. There are several old mosques in the area, the most famous being the Shait Gombuj Mosque (Mosque of Sixty Domes.) That is a misnomer - it actually has 77 domes, supported by 60 columns inside. There are several other mosques (9-dome mosque, 10-dome mosque, Shingair mosque, and Ronbijoypur mosque which has the largest dome of any mosque in Bangladesh.) The shrine of Khan Jahan Ali is also in this town. Definitely worth a visit.

I loved the inside of the Shait Gombuj which dates from 1450ish. Here are three photos.

Sundarban 2012

Here are photos from a trip to Sundarban I took last week. Sundarban in southwestern Bangladesh (and a smaller fraction in India) is the largest contiguous mangrove forest and ecosystem in the world. It is the home of the Royal Bengal Tiger as well as countless varieties of flaura and fauna.

Sundarban can only be visited by boat. Several companies offer tours there. Boats start from Khulna, and you have to get there from Dhaka by train, bus or plane (or private car of course.) I have used Guide Tours twice. They are excellent. By the time you add up everything, a trip can run you between 20000 and 40000 Taka, depending on length, luxury of boat and whether you fly.

Osprey with fish. The Osprey is a legendary fish-eater bird.

Our boat, Guide Tours' MV Aboshar.

Flock of ducks near Mongla.

Common kingfisher.

We saw two crocodiles. This was the first.

Nypa palm (golpata), used for making thatched roofs.

Gewa trees on Kotka beach. Gewa is called Blinding Mangrove because its latex can blind.

Boroi tree whose bottom is "pruned" at the height the deer can reach.

Dome-shaped spider web in a canal.

Shikre, a bird of prey.

Otters crossing the canal. They were extremely shy.

Great Egret (Boro Bok.)

Water monitor, also known as Kalo Gui Shap.

Brahminy kite (shonkho chil.)

The road less traveled.

Boardwalk at Harbaria Visitor center.

Fiddler crab.

Fresh tiger pugmark on wet mud. Off the boardwalk at Harbaria.

Great Egrets.

Goodbye beautiful Sundarban.

Dinajpur Trip

The day after Eid I went to Dinajpur and neighboring areas with friends. The driving time in Eid's rarified traffic was 7.5 hours from Dhaka.

Along the way we ran into some people rushing home - I guess they had missed Eid.



Dinajpur is a pretty town, specially in the morning...



People were having breakfast next to the "Boro Maath" (Big Field)...



...and the barbershop had opened early for business.



The town had a string of Rajas in its history and has grace. It is also famous for fragrant Chinigura rice. Even the Pouroshobha building (City Council) is over 100 years old and elegant.



But the best part of the town is the Rajbari (King's palace) dating from 1890s. It is in two parts: the temple and the actual palace.

The temple is in good shape...



...and very pretty.




The palace, on the other hand, has seen better days :-(



In the afternoon we drove to Kantajir Mondir, built between 1722-1752 and famous for terra-cotta architecture. It was absolutely gorgeous...



... with stunning arches...



...and details like this - telling stories - carved over the entire exterior!



As an added bonus, we participated in the Kantajir Mela where people from all over Bangladesh show up. This woman was local, though.



Near the Mandir was an old Masjid, called Noyabad Masjid, built around the same time. While it was not as ornate, it was dignified and reminded me of Khan Mohammed Masjid in Dhaka.




We decided to spend the night in Syedpur. At night it seemed dusty and ugly, but morning revealed a town with character and atmosphere...



...colorful shopfronts...



...and an ancient "Joinak" tree.



Syedpur is the only Urdu-speaking town in Bangladesh with a large concentration of Biharis many of whom work in the railway workshop. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed to have an air of a vanquished city about it, even though the war has been over for 38 years. But in 1971 it was the scene of much butchery. As I walked past a row of empty butcher shops, the irony was grim.



But today people are friendly, like this morning girl...



... and the streetside barber who spoke reasonable English.



On our way back, we stopped at Mahasthan Gar near Bogra. It is an ancient city (over 2000 years old) still being excavated. However, we did not have enough time to explore this amazing place. If you visit, plan on spending most of the day exploring.




Practical Details: Lunch at the Aristocrat (20 minutes west of Jamuna Bridge) was superb, including Hilsa steak, prawns and several bhortas. We stayed at Parjatan Motel in Dinajpur (Tk 1600/night/double) and Hotel Arafat in Syedpur (Tk. 650/night/double). Snacks at the New Hotel in Dinajpur near the station included a heavenly Mughlai Paratha but watery tea (the kitchen in the back is open for all to see.) Bogra has some nice hotels including Naz Garden and Siesta. We ate chicken sandwiches at the Naz and were pleasantly surprised by the well-kept grounds and the mini-lake with boats. Many thanks to my travelling companions Mickey, Ranjit and particularly Milu for driving us in his comfortable SUV.

Emirates and Other Airfares

Couple of days ago I checked the Emirates pricing (on their website) for a DAC->LHR RT ticket in September. Ouch at USD1300+. But here is the interesting part. If you travel on the exact same days Kolkata->LHR, the price is an amazing Rs. 35000+. Almost half!

On the plus side, looks like the Dhaka->SE Asia route airfares are showing signs of thawing. Singapore airlines had a large ad in the Daily Star today advertising RT on DAC->SIN for all-inclusive USD 368 (down from 500+ they were charging before.) Also, Air Asia is offering low fares to KL, and I believe Malaysia Airlines has been forced to lower their DAC->KL fares because of this.

Also, there is a fare war afoot in the Dhaka->Kolkata route, with fares as low as Tk 5700 (USD80) round-trip on Jet and Kingfisher. I think one of the Bd airlines also got in on this fare war. But you have to book far ahead.

I hear that with Kolkata fares this low, you can do a RT to Bangkok for Tk 18000 or thereabouts if you route through Kolkata. This is almost half of what Thai charges for their DAC->BKK direct fare.

But maybe there is a proverbial sucker born here every minute, and the Emirates people have figured out who it is?

Birisiri Trip

Last weekend I visited Birisiri with some friends. It is about 170 km north of Dhaka, in Netrakona district. We left on Friday morning and returned Saturday night. The drive is approximately 4.5-5 hours each way, if there are no nasty jams. The last 30kms (1.5 hours) are difficult - a broken road full of potholes. Birisiri is a remote and tranquil place near the Shomeshwari river.

Just like other places, kids go to school in Birisiri...



...then there is the morning commute!



You can run into traffic in Birisiri...



... and there are the inevitable traffic jams.


In winter, Shomeshwari can be crossed easily...



...but you have to hold on to your belongings.




Shomeshwari provides livelihood for a lot of people, eg, boatmen...



...and coal-diggers...



...but for others it is a place for fun...




...or basking in the sun...



While some are playful...



...others are just plain shy.



This area has history. There were several rebellions by the Hajong people against unjust taxes, first against the British then against the Pakistanis. Some were led by Mr. Moni Singh, a revered socialist leader, who hailed from here. He was actually the son of the richest landowner of the area. Here is a monument to the Hajong rebellions.




Today, a different kind of change: solar panel on a store.




Nearby are some clay mines among hillocks. The water turns blue due to minerals.



Another view of this blue water.



Practical details:

We stayed and ate at the YWCA. They were friendly and efficient. Rooms came with attached bath (commodes), cold water only, and they supplied mosquito nets. Room with two beds cost Tk 600 and four meals came to about Tk 260 per person. We rented an engine boat on the river at Tk550/4 hours, plus lunch money for the boatmen. When we wanted to hire rickshaws to travel 2kms to the hills, three of them wanted Tk 500! So we walked. Next time I will bring my bicycle - it is a great place for cycling.

GPS Coordinates:

Shyamgonj (turnoff where the broken road starts): 24-50-42.2N/90-34-27.9E
YWCA: 25-06-14.6N/90-40-30.5E
Kumarkhali (failed rickshaw negotiations):25-09-20.2N/90-39-44.1E
Hillocks: 25-09-31.1N/90-38-34.3E

Acknowledgements: Many thanks to my travelling companions: Milu, Mickey, Ranjit and Badol. Thanks to Milu for providing transportation. Special thanks to Amita Sangma, Milton and the staff at YWCA, and to Mikey Leung.