~story by Mikey Leung~

Dhaka is a safe place, when you know how to play by its rules.

Nonetheless, there have been a incidences of muggings and robberies, and bag snatching among the expatriate community, particularly in the Gulshan and Mohammadpur areas.

I hate to sound patronizing, but single females, moving around at night (usually but not always after 10pm), seem to be the biggest target. I have heard of far too many incidences now where a single expatriate female was riding a rickshaw, only to fall victim to drive-by bag snatchings. Some of these women have been pulled off the rickshaw entirely and dragged for several meters. I have noticed that several of these occurrences have occurred at night, on quiet or busy roads, but there is one common thread between them all: a single female is often the target victim.

After a few months of keeping tabs of the incidents, I would like to make a few security recommendations here. Once again, I do believe Dhaka is a safe place when you know how to play by its rules. Of course, these suggestions apply to both women and men, but women are more often the target victims, according to what I’ve heard and kept track of.

Here are my suggestions:

• Solo females should NOT travel around at night, by rickshaw, after 9-10pm. If they must travel, it is best to go in groups.
• Be vigilant while travelling/walking and keep aware of your surroundings. An alert-looking person, whose head is up and is watching the environment around them, presents less of a target than someone who is lost in their own world.
• Bags should be kept off the shoulder, so that if a bag snatching does occur, there is no risk of being dragged, which has actually caused the more serious injury in these incidences.
• A common myth is that poverty spawns these crimes, but in reality that bag snatching crimes are often committed by people with vehicles, which people in poverty cannot afford. It is theorized that it is actually young men, some of whom may be addicted to drugs, commit these crimes and have the means (i.e. a vehicle) to do so.
• If travelling out of the city at night, it is best not to accept food or drinks from strangers at train stations or bus stands, unless you see the drink being made or the food being prepared. In a recent theft, we heard of a drugging that knocked a single female unconscious. It would be a mistake to proclaim that all hospitality offered by strangers is malicious, especially in Bangladesh. But, by being aware of where a drink or food comes from, you can protect yourself.

The Canadian Travel Report for Bangladesh provides some decent advice on the same issue:

Pickpocketing, purse snatching, and mugging are common, especially in areas frequented by tourists and when travelling by rickshaw or baby taxi (motorized pedicabs). Unaccompanied women face the highest risk. Physical and verbal harassment of women can be a problem.

Do not walk alone after dark. Victims of crime should contact the High Commission of Canada in Dhaka for assistance before filing a police report. Women should not go to police stations alone.

Do you have any security suggestions to share? Please post your comments.

~story by Mikey Leung~

At the Guide Tours’ Hillside Resort, you awake to a stunning view of hills poking out from the clouds. See more photos of Bandarban here.

It’s absolutely outrageous to say this, but be prepared to be followed by the police where ever you go while visiting one of Bangladesh’s most attractive destinations, second only to the Sundarbans.

It happened to a group of us last week (all foreign tourists). Before we even knew it, we were being followed by three uniformed police officers carrying aging rifles. They were not aggressive or overbearing, in fact they were usually quite kind and curious like all Bangladeshis are, and they were simply doing their job. Nonetheless, we didn’t formally request their presence, but we got it whether we wanted it or not. It did sour our experience of Bandarban—I felt bad mostly for my group.

The bottom line:

We do not want to scare anyone with this article, as Bandarban is one of Bangladesh’s must-see destinations. We simply want intrepid travellers to be prepared for what they will encounter.

What the casual visitor is not initially aware of is that Bandarban is deemed an “insecure area” by the Bangladeshi government. Insurgent rebel groups are said to be operating in the remote parts of the jungle, despite the fact there was a peace treaty signed 10 years ago. Click here to read more details about the treaty.

Meanwhile there was a kidnapping last year a remote area of the CHT, and that is supposedly why tourists must now suffer with what seems like insane security precautions while visiting this highly scenic and adventurous destination.

And that is why we’d like to provide you with some suggestions when dealing with the security forces.

DO:
* Be aware of your influence on the situation, both positive and negative. You attract more attention and profile when you stay at Guide Tours’ Hillside Resort than if you stay in town. Because of an armed robbery in 2004, extra police have been stationed around the resort, permanently. Although it is safe now, the added presence means that when you want to walk around the resort to the neighbouring villages you must be accompanied by police, depending on the conspicuousness of your group (i.e. all caucasian people, or based on gender). Sometimes the accompanying police are plain-clothed, other times they are uniformed.

DO:
* Try and request a plain-clothed officer when visiting local villages, in order to minimize your impact. When visiting Hatibandha, nearby the resort, only one officer came with us. Be aware that sometimes officers are plain-clothed, for that matter! (The important one with the power is usually carrying the two-way radio.

DO:
* Practise patience and tolerance with security forces as the guys on the ground are just trying to do their jobs. If/when you must have armed, uniformed officers with you, please be patient and be prepared to subsidize their transport on your tour arrangements.

DO:
* Guide Tours’ Hillside Resort staff can usually work out your arrangements for you. If armed police must accompany you to a local village (usually handled on a case-by-case basis), ask that they wait a ways back as you must visit the village chief’s home before hospitality will be extended to you by the villagers.

DO:
* Work within the constraints specified by police. This is for your benefit and for the other travellers who follow in your footsteps. By hindering security forces from doing their jobs, you could potentially ruin access for future travellers, and decrease the opportunities for increased exposure to the situation that hill people face.

DO:
* Help us create enough support for the idea of a locally-based “tourist police,” who are specially assigned to work with tourists and the local security forces, so that our visitors can have the best experience possible in Bandarban. Charge a nominal fee under some kind of organized structure.

And here’s a video of a fantastic view: