What an amazing day! I don't have much time, so I will have to let the photos speak for themselves. Today, Anne, Sam, and I ventured to Sonargaon. It the old capital of Bengal and has several magnificent ruins that date back to the early Mughal empire (about 500 years old). The main road of ruins reminded us both of Petra - descending into the ruins of an ancient and glorious culture. (Of course, She has seen it in person; I've only seen it in Raiders of the Lost Ark.) The village of Sonargaon was a hectic mish mash of people, mud, rickshaws, baby cabs, cars, trucks, and animals. Amazing! Somehow, amidst all this chaos we were the spectacle.
We stopped at a "Tourist Home Picnic Stop" and picked up a "local guide". We're pretty sure he's just a guy from the village. Anne's driver, Harun, talked with the man so we were pretty sure things were OK. We were not out of the car for two minutes before we picked up an evergrowing parade of children. The ruins were very interesting, and very well preserved given that there is no real preservation here. We also made a quick stop to the local museum. We just wanted to walk the grounds; It was a long ride home and getting late. Harun tried to sneak us in the back way so that we could avoid paying the ticket fee. His heart was in the right place - but it is some feat to sneak two white women and a baby through the back fence around here! The grounds of the museum were in full bloom and quite lovely.
As you can see from the traffic scenes, it was a day that was full of visual stimulation. It was very nice to get out of Dhaka and enjoy the landscape of the surrounding area. The villages seem to be Dhaka, distilled.
I should note that I visited the embassy with Anne twice today. You will be happy to know that the bulding is so secure I had a hard time entering. The second visit was to the commissary (which is less secure). The food there is, well, not the best I've seen in Bangladesh so far.
We ended the day with a pleasant night at a friends house. I have to get up early to make a day long boat ride up the Bariganga river. Some embassy staffers will be joining me.
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3 comments:
What are those people doing in the mud?
Fishing! I am working on the captions, but it is a time consuming process with dial up Deshi internet.
Ifigured out how to view pictures. Impressived!!!
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