New Adventures, At a Different Longitude

We decided to revive this blog for our trip to Bangladesh. We have yet to find fufu or foam rubber mattresses here, but hey, the trip is young.

We arrived yesterday after a relatively uneventful trip. The only snag was 90 minutes spent in a extra security line at Heathrow Airport but watching several fights almost break out provided some entertainment. After landing in Dhaka we recieved the VIP customs treatment (an "expediter" took our passports through immigration and helped us to our transportation), thanks to the family connections (ahem), which made things easier. Or at least saved us from another line.

The car ride to the house was our introduction to Dhaka traffic. Our experiences in Ghana prepared us well for this, although being on the left side of the road made me more nervous for some reason. The large number of rickshaws and CNGs (essentially motorized rickshaws) add new layers to the chaos, but I figure if they aren't nervous, why should I be?

After a much needed shower, a pot of coffee, and quality time with the nephew, we set about getting oriented to Bangladesh culture. This started with lunch at a Deshi restaurant, with some of the best naan I've tasted. The naan here is flakier than the naan we've had in Indian restaurants at home. An order of "hot naan"-- garlic and green chiles was especially tastey. It was also the primer on eating habits to avoid while traveling. I mistakenly took from the bowl of fennel seeds that is served after a meal...forgetting that it is a communal bowl, making that not the best idea. No ill effects yet. Anne was wise enough to question the broken seal on the bottle of water that we ordered. A waiter swept in and replaced it with a new bottle....and then took the first bottle and served it to another table.

Later, Chris purchased a shalwar kameez, the baggy tunic/pants combo typically worn by women here. The nephew was a big hit with the saleswomen, who were passing him around the store to be admired.

Our first day ended with an evening getting the expat experience at the American club, and a night adjusting to jet lag with the friendly help of Ambien.

And in case it had made the news in the US at all, the flooding in Chittagong is nowhere near us. However, the rains have flooded part of the port in Dhaka, which limited our sightseeing a bit. We were considering visiting Chittagong while we were here, but that looks less likely right now.
Don't know what I'm talking about?
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/12/bangladesh.floods.ap/index.html