Rats in the ceiling

Bangladesh

The trip to Bangladesh is a little more interesting for me.  It is only my second trip to Dhaka and the last time was over two years ago.  I fly via Singapore and the second leg is on Biman the national Bangladesh Airline.  It is definitely an experience.  The waiting area is filled with people returning home (and me).  Each person seems to be carrying a box with a remote controlled helicopter and several bags for carry on.  I have never seen so much carry on luggage before and doubt that it can possibly fit.  The passengers don’t seem to follow any of the instructions and before long a loud Indian gentlemen (?) is yelling at them and pushing them away.  I believe they were trying to board before their seat was called.  I begin to worry that there is no business class section as I am required to line up and board with all the others, and picture myself spending the next 4 hrs with boxes of helicopters on my lap.  However, my fears are unfounded and I am seated in a very small business class section.  But the service is lacking and the attendants don’t appear to want to serve me anything – including no alcohol which is not served on this national airline.  Later on during my visit the local CEO asks me how my flight with Biman was, with a smirk on his face.  “My God man, why did you fly with Biman!”  You were lucky to arrive when you did.  Normally the flights are delayed by hours.

I have to obtain a visa upon arrival, which usually involves long lines at the wrong counter and a delay that puts you at the back of the line at immigration.  But this time I am personally guided through the process (the local company had arranged this) and it is done with minimal delay.

My hotel room is one floor below the restaurant which is on the top floor and I have trouble getting to sleep as I hear the scurrying of little feet above my head all through the night.  I put in ear plugs to block out the sound and try not to think about a fat rat dropping on me through the ceiling tiles.  This sound disappears in the morning but then returns the next evening.  I don't know how the rats find their way up to the 10th floor in this modern hotel.

On Tuesday, I am picked up at 6:45am to drive to the plant which is 45km away and I am told that it takes about 2 hrs.  Yes two hours to travel 45 km, that’s an average of 23km/hr.  Two years ago it took about 3.5hrs.  The route is incredible. Most of the way we are on dirt roads and driving down alleyways and through most of it there are shacks and houses on either side.  The traffic is terrible and the roads very narrow.  There are a lot of rickshaws and not that many motorbikes, which is interesting as it indicates that most people can’t afford them yet. (in India and Sri Lanka, they are all over the place).  The driver manages to get me to the site in 1.5hrs so it was good that we left early before traffic picked up.

If you look at Bangladesh on google earth it is misleading because the green bits that look like land is water - green water.  It looks more like a big swamp from the air flying in.  With small patches of dry land connected by roads and water all around, it is little wonder why so many die when it is hit by flooding.  Each person should be issued with a life jacket, because it is only a matter of time before the next flood comes

The CEO shows up at the plant at noon and informs me that we have to leave by 3pm because the demonstrations will be starting soon. And if we don’t leave it will take a lot longer to get back and could be dangerous.  It seems that the high court had just passed the death sentence verdict on one of the leaders of the 1971 war for crimes against humanity.  The opposition is upset about this verdict and was going to call a general strike and get demonstrations going.  I make it back to the hotel by 5pm and it seems that we got out before the roads were closed.  The next day the hotel informs me that the general strike is on and they don’t recommend guests leave the hotel except to go to the airport, which fortunately is where I am heading. 

My driver is kind enough in the morning to wake me with a call at 5:30am to inform me he has arrived at the hotel.  I have an 8:30 flight and the hotel is 10min from the airport and I was planning to get up at 6am.  I was less than polite to him on the phone for waking me, but after meeting him and discovering that he is a complete moron, any suggestions on how to improve would be lost on him.  It is sooo hard to find good servants these days.

The airport is slightly larger than the Saskatoon airport. Dhaka is a city of 16 million people, so I’m surprised it is not that busy.  Except for the entrance for people traveling to Saudi Arabia where the line is quite long.  The devoted’s journey to Mecca must keep the Saudi’s airlines quite busy.  The line is much shorter at Biman airways and once again I see that local’s are a little inexperienced in flying and reading English.  Signs and lines are ignored as they wander around a bit in a daze.   

My flight leaves on time and my opinion of Biman air improves.