An Explosion of the Senses

That's the best way I can describe my thoughts every time I walk out the door in Bangladesh. Every sense is experiencing something new at exactly the same time. This picture captures only the sights of Dhaka and certainly does not do the full experience justice. There is a constant busyness. People are always bustling about and on the move. Today I took a walk out to Asad Gate which is about a 10 minute walk from where I'm staying. Even though I had been out that way a few days ago with Phil, everything seemed different and new today, almost unrecognizable.

I have had a fair bit of free time and I have spent a lot of it reading and studying Bangla. I finished A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It was a very good book and I would recommend it to anyone. It is set in India mostly during the '70s during a time when the country was in a lot of turmoil. It is very sad but well written.

I do enjoy getting out and walking around Mohammadpur. Yesterday I decided to take a walk to the market. On my way there I was stopped by a man who greeted me like an old friend. He then proceeded to ask me if I could help him obtain a visa to Australia so he could visit his brother. I told him I was from Canada and had no experience in this matter. I did tell him he should talk to the Australian embassy. He asked me to write some talking points for him as to what he should say when he got there. I told him to explain why he wants to visit Australia and to give his brother's address. He said he does not know it and sounded to me from his explanation that his brother was an illegal immigrant. I highly doubt he will be granted a visa, but I was happy to help him.

Bangladesh is a very interesting place and I like it already.

Ben

P.S. I took this picture while exploring Gulshan 2 (a region of Dhaka) with Phil. This was in a grocery store and I thought it was kind of funny.

How many brands of "Corn Flakes" can you see?