Getting into Bangladesh

Entry to Bangladesh was reasonably straightforward. The new visa on entry system was circumnavigated successfully, with only a few interruptions whilst ‘dignitaries’ jumped the line. The airport is more modern than on my last visit. I was in transit to Tibet in 1988 and the lounge then was a hotbed of cleaners whispering ’Do you have any dirty magazines?’ They were also pleading for passengers to buy duty free cigarettes on their behalf. These they swept up from the floor, by the obliging passengers feet, with their plastic brooms and dustpans.

Today, I had to fill in a customs form detailing all the air conditioning units, refrigerators and chandeliers I wanted to import.

A Brief History of Bangladesh

• From early times the area that is now Bangladesh was part of the Bengal region of India. It was ruled by the same empires that ruled central India. When the British took control of the region and created their Raj in India (1858–1947), Bangladesh was included.
• When the British partitioned India, predominantly Muslim Bangladesh was separated from majority-Hindu India. Some politicians suggested that a unified Bengali state would be the best idea, but this idea was vetoed by the Indian National Congress, led by the Mahatma Gandhi.

• So, in August 1947, the Muslim section of Bengal became a non-contiguous part of the new nation of Pakistan. It was called 'East Pakistan', and very impractically, separated from the rest of Pakistan, by a 1,000-mile stretch of India. West Pakistanis were primarily Punjabi, speaking Pashtun, as opposed to the Bengali speaking East Pakistanis.
• Unsurprisingly, the division did not work. For 24 years, East Pakistan struggled under financial and political neglect from West Pakistan. Finally, Sheikh Mujibar Rahman declared Bangladeshi independence from Pakistan. The Pakistani Army fought to stop the secession, sending bombers across India. But India sent troops to support the Bangladeshis and on January 11, 1972, Bangladesh became an independent country.

Is Bangladesh a Poor Country?

• Bangladesh is home to approximately 159,000,000 people, giving this pint sized country the eighth highest population in the world. Bangladesh groans under a population density of about 3,300 per square mile.
• Poverty is widespread, but Bangladesh has, in recent years, reduced population growth and improved health and education.
• More than half of Bangladesh’s population are farmers, but its export earnings come mainly from the garment industry.

Facts and Factoids

• The Muslim population in Bangladesh was over 146 million in 2011, approximately 90% percent of the country. The Constitution of Bangladesh declares Islam to be the state religion.
• Bangladesh has six - not four - separate seasons, grismo (summer), barsha (rainy - monsoon), sharat (autumn), hemanto (late autumn -cool), sheet (winter), and bashonto (spring - also known as king).

• Pollution is a problem here. In 2019, the Bangladeshi Supreme Court gave every single one of its rivers legal rights to life after pollution became unmanageable.
• Cricket is the most popular sport in the country.
• The Royal Bengal Tiger is Bangladesh’s national animal. It has a roar that can be heard up to three kilometres away and is now an endangered species. It’s unlikely that you will see one. There are around 300–500 tigers in Bangladesh today. The tiger is the logo of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
• In Bangladesh, the left hand is considered unclean, so always use your right hand when eating or passing food, drinks – or business cards!

The Riverine State

• Bangladesh has one of the most complex river networks in the world; the Ministry of Water Resources lists 1,294 distinct rivers crisscrossing the country.
• Bangladesh has 57 trans-boundary rivers whcih originate in neighbouring nations like India and Myanmar, meaning Bangladesh is heavily reliant on the goodwill of its neighbours.

The vast network is primarily divided into four major connected systems: the Ganges-Padma, the Brahmaputra-Jamuna, the Surma-Meghna, and the independent coastal streams of the Chittagong Region:

• The Brahmaputra River enters the northern border of Bangladesh from Tibet and India, where it merges with the Jamuna River to form a massive northward flow. The Jamuna River flows directly south until it meets and empties into the Padma River near Goalundo Ghat.
• The Ganges River crosses into western Bangladesh from India and changes its name to the Padma River. The Padma River continues flowing southeast, until it merges into the Meghna River at Chandpur.
• The Surma and Kushiyara rivers flow from Northeast India into eastern Bangladesh, where they combine to create the massive Meghna River.
• The Meghna River acts as the final combined channel for all these water systems, carrying the collective flow directly south into the Bay of Bengal.
• These mighty waterways deposit over one billion tons of rich Himalayan sediment across the plains every year, forming the fertile soil base of the largest river delta on Earth.
• The river system acts as a critical lifeline for national trade, agricultural irrigation, and local fishing industries, but it also causes huge problems with heavy monsoon flooding and rapid riverbank erosion

Is Bangladesh Safe to Visit?

There is some gang violence, pick-pocketing and passport stealing. Compared to other Asian countries there is nothing to be alarmed about. However, as I'm only too aware (read my posts) Bangladesh has a very high rate of road traffic accidents. 

Where to Visit in Bangladesh?

I visited:

• Dhaka - the second least liveable city in the world
• The remote north-east - cold in January but fascinating in its isolation from tourists
• The south and the Sundarbans - but, as you will read - find out exactly what is included in your trip before going. The UNESCO-protected Sundarbans mangrove forest is the largest in the world, covering 539 square miles. It straddles the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, on the Bay of Bengal.
• I didn't go to Cox's Bazaar (at 75 miles this is one of the longest beaches in the world) and Chittagong - it was considered to be off limits, due to civil unrest.