This text originally written by Voluntary Service Overseas volunteer Heidi Eisenhauer for other volunteers. But of course it has some handy hints for those planning a long-term visits to the country.

* self powered flashlight (magnetic or pump)
* head lamp
* travelers wet/dry pants are a good idea
* men wear short sleeve shirts, pants and dress shoes to work
* foreign women may wear what they wish but a mixture of western / kameez and orna is standard
* Flip flops / open toe shoes are essential!! They are sold here but vary in quality
* hand sanitizer
* water bottle / Nalgene bottle
* Gatorade
* Good knives for cooking (if you like to cook the quality of knives in Bangladesh is questionable)
* A laptop if you have one, for watching movies – which cost about 80-100 taka ($1.10 USD)
* Good rechargeable batteries and a charger! The crappy batteries sold here don’t seem to last (most multiplugs are international)
* bring a nice squishy pillow unless you like slabs of rock..
* a backpack

FYI:
1. Almost everything is available here..
2. Some foreign things like coffee are very rare (you may want to bring a bodem).
3. Bring an unlocked phone that takes sim cards if you have one.. if not they average 3,000-20,000 taka $40-$200 here, and a regular sim costs 300 taka.
4. My beds have been 1′ mattresses on wood.. so I was happy to have my yoga mat.. would have been happier with my thermarest.. I bought a foam mattress for 3000 taka when I got settled, and thick stuffed mattresses are about 1,000 taka.
6. you may bring 23kg per bag.. and this will not be a problem for staff picking you up..

Do you have anything else you would suggest visitors bring to Bangladesh? Please give us your input..