Wandering CrankWandering Crank

Biking the World one crank at a time

Continuing the tour de Bangladesh

by Nathan Molyneaux on category , ,

Back to the early starts, it’s colder in the morning and nicer for cycling.  It should’ve taken me just over 2 hours to get to Arla’s site. However, there are whole patches of roads and areas we are not allowed to cycle and are not marked on any map.  Three hours later I eventually arrived and had to follow the main road, known to be dangerous.

It was nice to be around my old company and see how far the Bangladesh team had come from when we took over the site.  Arla had brought in European food standards along with health and safety standards and made the site one of the safest in the country.

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Dhaka – A bustling city with a calm edge to it

by Nathan Molyneaux on category ,

I was dropped off on the edge of Old Dhaka, still some 10km from the Gulshan part of Dhaka where I was meeting a friend from my time in Arla.  Laurent also offered for me to stay in his apartment whilst in Dhaka.  This was a blessing; accommodation in Bangladesh can be very mixed with what you might get.  Plus it is always nice to be hosted; Laurent and his son Marcus were a great host.  A few days of comfort can go a long way on a cycle trip and is always highly appreciated.

I was warned traffic in Dhaka was terrible and worse than in India, which is saying something.  But I found even Old Dhaka, which is by far the worst, was comparable to that of Varanasi.  However, in Gulshan where I was staying, it was benign and even calm.  They at least obeyed the rules of the road.  But this is a rich area and is where the majority of expats live.  Plus, they have a nice cafe for my latte addiction.  But nowhere for my samosa addiction, I’m on 3 to 4 a day.

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Bangladesh – an unexplored paradise

by Nathan Molyneaux on category , ,

I had missed the call to prayer since leaving central Asia, where it isn’t common, but can be found in patches.  It tends to help you recognise the time of day without the need for a clock but at 5.30 am it is still a rude awakening!  I was aiming to visit 5 mosques/shrines in the area all linked to the Shaitgumbad mosque also known as the 77 domed mosque, a UNESCO heritage site, designed by Khan Jahan Ali.  The mosque was built around the 13/14th century and is an unimposing red brick design.

The first of these mosques was the Bibi Begni mosque and I arrived about half an hour after the second prayer had finished and found a small gathering just leaving the mosque.  I grabbed my camera and had a quick walk around, it was a simple structure of four mini-minarets barely taller than the building itself.  After my walk, I was invited for tea by the small gathering but first had to take pictures of the children, who demanded it!

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Trains, buses and entering country number 23

by Nathan Molyneaux on category , , ,

Ideally, I wanted to spend Christmas and New Year in one place and to give me enough time in Bangladesh I need to cut out the journey between Varanasi and Kolkata.  I had booked a ticket with the help of Vibhuti.  However, the ticket was not confirmed.  Something we do not have an issue with within Europe.  You buy a ticket and you have a space on the train.  I also had the issue of booking the bike on the train—something which cannot be done until a few hours before.  Combined with the fact I might not have a confirmed ticket until then either, I had started to worry!

I then found out about the requirement to ‘pack’ the bike.  This means you cover the seat and handlebar with some fabric!  Personally, this is not packing a bike!  They also wanted to place my bike on a train leaving before I left, which I did not want to do until I had a confirmed ticket.  My bike might end up in Kolkata with me in Varanasi!  After going through all the paperwork and discussion my ticket did not get confirmed.

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Varanasi – the Hindu holy city that goes to war

by Nathan Molyneaux on category ,

Many of the larger cities in India are showing signs of tourism.  Little coffee shops, foreigners always need their latte, and people offering tour packages.  However, Varanasi has managed to buck that trend.  The leadership of the city have found a way of keeping the traditional side of the city whilst allowing for tourism to take place.  Tourism from foreigners is small in comparison to the number of pilgrims who come for a festival of their god(s).

I use gods in its plural form because Hindus have over 33,000 gods in their religion.  That number can be challenged but at the end of the day, I don’t think anyone knows.  They also have a goddess of smallpox, a disease the world managed to eradicate and with good reason.  I should mention, that Shitala, is also worshipped to deliver children from other infectious diseases.  But she is commonly associated with smallpox.

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