Chitta GONE (get it? The actual city name is “ChittaGONG” but i'm not there anymore. yes, I have put in my application to the national enquirer)

So I’m back ‘home’ in Dhaka. Good ‘ol Dhaka. Where the food is always coming and the traffic noise constant.

Here are some closing thoughts on Chittagong.

So staying in Chittagong was my first real experience here living ‘alone’. In Dhaka, I stay with the family, in Rajshahi, I basically had an uncle living 20 feet away from me who’d do everything for me. So how did I survive in a third world country on my own? Simple! By booking a good hotel, getting room service, and paying more than the normal charge for transportation!

The hotel was pretty good. It was made less than five years ago and featured internet in the lobby, a great restaurant, good maintenance/cleaning, and a decent location. The tv situation was subpar as some channels came clear and some didn’t. There was no pattern to this and the channels that were clear could change depending on the day. So sometimes I’d watch national geographic or bbc, somedays mtv india and espn but never all in the same day. The restaurant featured great Chinese/Thai soups, spring rolls, and ravi kabob type food in the kadai and kabob dishes which I’d get with the best naan I’ve had in Bangladesh. This was more than sufficient.

(while typing this, aunty brought me my evening snack which was another variation of Maggie – this time with cauliflower, carrots, aloo, and 2 mini jaali kababs on top – kinda like a combo b/w a shaami and chapli, crispy on the outside, soft in middle. Seeing that ramen was once loved by fifi and currently by anu bhai, I think you guys have a new standard for how to make that 10 cent ramen)

My main issue with the place, and being on my own in general here, is something all people who look different in a foreign country must face (esp south asia) – getting taken advantage of. I know, I know. Big deal. It’s a difference of 50 cents in a transaction. But it’s the principle of it that gets me. Whenever I’d take an auto or rickshaw, I’d be quoted a higher than normal price. The one time I went shopping for pirated music/movies, the price was raised for me and I knew it as I saw someone else just quoted a cheaper price. Even some of the hotel staff, which really got to me. One guy claimed he had broken sandals and he needed money, but then the next day he had sandals that were of a different color and well intact. The inconsistent and random charges I’d get for using the internet, etc. However, this is something I will have to expect and account for, especially if I’m going to be wearing my Dansko clogs around Bangladesh. (it’s the one thing people stare at most when I’m walking by. Not my dashing good looks, not my dapper style, but more, what the hell are these monstrosities on his feet).

I was able to make a friend, with one of the hotel staff actually, who took me around to a couple of places. He happened to have roots in India and could therefore talk in pretty good hindi which I could understand 80% of the time. He was one of those guys that you’d say, “shakal se sharif lagtha hai”, and though my guards were up, I took up his offer to go sight seeing. He took me to Foy’s lake, which is basically like a state fair crossed with Jordan Lake with standard rides, boats, zoo, trails, etc. It was relaxing, peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing though by no means breathtaking. We climbed up a hill and got a decent view of the city, which was clouded with a haze (not sure if it’s fog or more pollution). He told me about his family, friends, and desire to go abroad. We went to the zoo which was really a site to see. Every animal essentially had the same style of accommodation – concrete and/or sandy grass with a big chain link fence around it. Not too much to frolic and be animals I guess. The “please don’t feed the animals” was ignored by most so that was interesting to see. The only staff I saw was one guy who fed the lions and one Bengal tiger. For being a bare bones zoo though, they had a good range of animals – peacocks, pythons, a tiger, lions, different breeds of monkeys, birds, and other local animals so someone like me can get a good idea of what is the local fauna here. Yes, fauna.

Chittagong is most famous for being a port city where most goods of Bangladesh come through – cars, tv’s from china, you name it. So one afternoon, Imtiaz took me down to the Bay of Bengal where I was able to see and appreciate the huge number of both commercial boats from around the world and local fishing boats. We went to a beach area which is a popular place to hang out and enjoy yourself. Shops, horses/atvs for rent, picnics, boat riding, and of course, couples trying to meet outside of the public’s eye. The beach didn’t have much sand on it and was pretty much a muddy bank. It was still beautiful to see with the ocean there and the sun setting into it. We basically walked around, talked, and sat on the humongous boulders placed by the government for visitors. Not too many people go to the beach to actually swim but there were a few kids and women in full shalwar kameez enjoying themselves. It was a really nice scene – with the sun setting, people enjoying themselves, the air force doing practice runs overhead, and a cool breeze.