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Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur & Rubaiyat Mansur are normally a modest pair. But if you ask them anything about the Sundarbans, that quickly changes.

When it comes to promoting cetacean conservation, under the banner of the Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project, you’ll quickly find they are staunch advocates of the whales and dolphins of Bangladesh. Having long worked as tour guides and researchers, their work has gone largely unnoticed, until recently, when they announced they had discovered that Bangladesh’s estuarine areas, especially around the Sundarbans, held massive populations of whales and dolphins.

Today we are proud to help them promote their new photography book on the Sundarban mangrove forest. The coffee table book is a joint production between the pair and German photographers Dr. Gertrud Neumann-Denzau and Dr. Helmut Denzau, who have been shooting inside this pristine forest for over 20 years. Entitled Living with Tides and Tigers – The Sundarbans Mangrove Forest, the book will help promote worldwide awareness of this unique nature sanctuary and home to the Royal Bengal Tiger.

A message from Elisabeth & Rubaiyat:

Dear Friends,

We are pleased to announce the launching of our new book ‘Living with Tides and Tigers – The Sundarbans Mangrove Forest’.

The stunning collection of photographs documents the wildlife, various ecological aspects and the people of this unique jungle. Interspersed with personal accounts about our experiences over the past nearly twenty years in the forest and insightful back-ground information, the attractive coffee-table book aims to increase awareness about this fragile ecosystem.

It is available from www.mowgliz.com, www.amazon.de from November 10th 2009, and will be available in Bangladesh from December 8th 2009 – making it an ideal Christmas present or Company Year-End gift!

Thank you for your interest and support,
Rubaiyat Mansur Mowgli & Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur

~courtesy Moshiur R. Khandaker, Chief Executive, SAFE~

International Coastal Cleanup 2006: Bangladesh, originally uploaded by coastalcleanup.

SAFE has undertaken Cleanup Bangladesh Campaign in close cooperation with Clean Up The World campaign & Project AWARE. As part of this campaign Cleanup for Earth day will be held on April 22, 2009. Volunteers from different organization will be participating in this year’s beach and underwater Cleanup as part of an earth day activity at Cox’s bazar, St.Martin and Kuakata. It’s a great way for volunteers of all ages to learn about how to reduce the impact of waste and make a real difference in conserving the environment.

As a member of the ‘Clean Up The World’ campaign, our national efforts will be recognized internationally. Supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Clean Up The World is a global environmental initiative that attracts an estimated 35 million participants in more than 110 countries each year. To learn more about Clean up the World visit their website or the SAFE website.

Thousands of people across the globe will be having fun and getting wet to celebrate cleanup for Earth Day. A special SAFE team consists of doctors, first aiders & rescue personnel will be formed to ensure the health, safety and medical emergency of all the participants.

The main attractions of this event are following:

• Beach rubbish collection
• Separate recyclable rubbish
• Remove harmful marine debris
• Collect rubbish survey information
• Provide volunteers with a project AWARE Certificate of Recognition and more…

Thanks in advance for your co-operation. Your support in the Earth day activity will be highly appreciated.

Safety Assistance For Emergencies (SAFE); a leading voluntary organization born in Bangladesh protecting human lives, providing emergency medical aid to victims of any disaster and helping people avoid, prepare for, and cope with emergencies. Also strives to improve basic health, safety and environment issues in Bangladesh.

If not, maybe you should find out. “White Gold”, as Swedish NGO the Swallows NGO has termed shrimp from Bangladesh, is one of the nation’s most environmentally threatening products.

This is because the shrimp farms require saline water. In a bid to increase production for the lucrative product, producers have forcibly taken land from poor villagers, according to the ‘Voices from Paikgacha’ short film produced by Gazi Mahtab Hassan and Katrin Aidnell. The film was part of a photo exhibition held earlier this year in Sweden and several other countries. A PDF containing photos from the exhibition is available by clicking here.

Increased demand for shrimp could result in great potential for land destruction, especially with respect to Sundarban, the world’s largest mangrove forest and home of the Royal Bengal Tiger. Because the land is inundated with salt as a result of shrimp farming, the surrounding landscape becomes infertile in a matter of two decades.

The decision of what to eat remains squarely with travellers. But because of this destructive practice, we recommend that travellers avoid eating prawns or shrimps in the country and by doing so, decrease demand for this environmentally harmful product.

~courtesy Guide Tours~

50 Kilometers offshore of Dubla Island (Sundarban Reserve Forest), there is an underwater canyon where the depth increases drastically from only 10 meters to over 500meters – the Swatch-of-No-Ground. The change in depth is clearly visible on the surface, dramatically marked by a contrasting color change. The amazing fish abundance supports a large number and diversity of marine mammals, namely whales and dolphin.

Since 2004, the Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project (BCDP), a research project supported by the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is conducting cetacean research at the Swatch-of-No-Ground.

This winter, the local fishing boat “Shahin Akhter” turned research vessel welcomes you to join the BCDP team during their research activities at the Swatch-of-No-Ground and meet the Bottlenose, Spinner and Spotted dolphins as well as the local gentle giants, the Brydes’s whale.

TRIP ITINERARY
Day 1 Travel by a/c Volvo day bus or afternoon flight from Dhaka to Khulna. Drive from Khulna to Mongla (1hrs) by non-a/c reserved car/microbus. Stay overnight at the Parjatan Motel ‘Passur’, Mongla.

Day 2 Board F.B. Shaheen Akhtar at Mongla very early in the morning, between 4 and 6 am. Cruise 120 kilometers south through the Sundarban mangrove forest. Reach the Swatch-of-No-Ground around 3pm, where you will search for and observe dolphins until sunset. Overnight on board F.B. Shaheen Akhtar, drifting at the Swatch-of-No-Ground.

Day 3 Wake up at the Swatch. After some hours of more dolphin searching, the boat will cruise back to Mongla, arriving between 8 and 10 pm. Overnight stay at Motel Passur.

Day 4 Early morning drive to Khulna by non-a/c reserved car/microbus in time to catch the a/c Volvo day bus or morning flight to Dhaka. You will reach Dhaka in the late afternoon if traveling by bus, by midday if traveling by air.

Please note that this is an Adventure Trip. All arrangements are very basic, including accommodation, food and toilet. There is no shower or basin on board. The trip itinerary will be adjusted to weather circumstances if required. We kindly request you to consult with our office staff and see photographs of the arrangements before considering joining this tour.

Departure-Return Dates (4am from Mongla)
20-21 Dec 08
3-4 Jan 09
5-6 Jan 09
30-31 Jan 09
1-2 Feb 09
3-4 Feb 09

Please note: It is possible to catch the 11pm bus from Khulna (Day 2) to be back in Dhaka by the next morning. This will reduce the cost for accommodation at the Motel Passur, Mongla.

Price per person for above mentioned Itinerary in BDT*:
6-7 pax: 14,150 BDT
4-5 pax: 18,400 BDT
3 pax: 25,900 BDT

Price includes:
1. Transfer by non-A/C reserved vehicle KHL-MNGL-KHL
2. Trip to Swatch-of-No-Ground on F. B. Shaheen Akhtar according to itinerary
3. All food from breakfast on day 2 to dinner on day 3

Price does not include:
1. Travel to and from Khulna
a. A/C Volvo Bus DAC-KHL-DAC @ 1300 BDT per person
b. Air DAC-JES-DAC @ 10,500 BDT per person

2. Accommodation at Parjatan Motel ‘Passur’, Mongla
a. A/C room, twin sharing basis @ 1200 BDT/night
b. Non-A/C room, twin sharing basis @ 600 BDT/night

3. Forest Permission for foreign nationals @ 1400 BDT

Things to bring: Sun hat with wide brim and strap, sunscreen, sunglasses, long-sleeve cotton shirts for sun protection, torch/flashlight, towel, tooth brush & paste, sleeping bag, binoculars, camera & battery/charger, munchies, prescription medicine (if required).

Things to know before deciding to join this trip:
• This is an Adventure tour with very basic arrangements
• The overnight onboard the fishing trawler is in big makeshift-cabin, shared with others = very little privacy

• It is noisy when the boat is running
• There is a generator on board to charge your batteries, but no electricity during the day
• The toilet is very, very basic with an extremely narrow entrance (causes problems for large people)
• The food is tasty and hygienic, but basic- rice, dal and vegetables
• Of course we will try our best to show you as much as possible, but please remember that this is a big area and some days, due to weather or other unavoidable reasons, sightings of dolphin or whales might be scarce
• You will see very little of Sundarban as we will cruise along the large Passur river
• While the vessel has safety equipment including two-way radio on board, insurance is the responsibility of each participant

For more information:
House 142, Road 12, Block E
Banani, Dhaka – 1213 Bangladesh
Tel: 880-2-9886983,9862205

~story and photos by Mikey Leung~

Barry Ison likes to get things done.

“So what?” you might say. But Ison’s choice of where to get things done might strike you as confusing, perhaps even crazy. The notion of creating new hospitality businesses in Bangladesh, one of the world’s least-travelled, disaster-prone countries might elicit such a response. But Ison, a self-proclaimed optimist, believes that Bangladesh’s redeeming qualities make it just the right place to operate.

“What I’m doing is not totally unique,” he says. “There are many Bangladeshis and expatriates who have given years of their lives in an effort to try and change things. My motivation is probably similar to theirs: somebody has to do something to help.”

Help Bangladesh. It is a notion that for the last 30 years has defined the country’s world image as a broken country. Beset with floods, cyclones, poverty and corruption, it has now become the country with the most number of non-government organisations in the world, with some estimating that over 20,000 such groups now work to better the lives of the poor. But Ison is critical of these organisations, saying that they haven’t always achieved the results they set out to accomplish.

“I’m an optimist,” he says. “To me Bangladesh presents a lot of positives, positive potentials. It has had a very unfortunate period of bad leadership and bad role models, bad developments where a lot of money has been thrown at problems without a lot of thought, and with the seeming feelings that money will solve the problems.”

Despite these problems, Ison has stuck to his guns. In opening Ideas Manzil, he is attempting to revive traditions that today have been discarded in favour of modern development. His guesthouse is Bangladesh’s first ‘heritage’ property, a place where Bangladesh culture is celebrated in the form of intricate handicrafts, personal hospitality and old world comfort.

“When we look at the products I’ve been trying to revive, they have been a revival of old skills and previous traditions,” says Ison. “Same thing goes for a lot of the other leather products, wooden products. What we’re trying to do through Ideas Manzil is step back and look at what the country was like several years ago, or even a previous era.”

A tour of his guesthouse does indeed give guests a taste of that old world Bangladeshi charm. Ideas Manzil is located in a quiet neighbourhood of Gulshan, the main area that houses all of Dhaka’s foreign missions and international NGO offices. Ison has refitted an old house of the neighbourhood with four guest rooms, rooftop restaurant, handicrafts boutique and quiet courtyards (hopefully it will be even more quiet when nearby construction is finished).

Each of the four guestrooms (except one) has a sitting room decorated with rare antiques such as ancient terracottas and silverware, while each bedroom features an antique wardrobe and king-size four-poster bed. Modern bathrooms complement the design, while Mughal-style doors and carvings decorate the entire property. In short, the Manzil (Abaric term for ‘house’) feels like a kind of living museum, a place where guests can experience a taste of the way that Bengal’s Mughal lords used to live.

Heritage properties like Ison’s are now common in India, where old buildings are frequently restored and often converted to guesthouses in an effort to both preserve cultural heritage and create successful tourism businesses. In Bangladesh, Ison’s property is one of the first to restore and celebrate this form of hospitality in a way that is uniquely ‘Bangladeshi.’ He believes that if this business is successful, the potential of its impact will be realised when others steal—that’s right, steal—his idea.

“Bangladeshis do like to copy,” says Ison. “If I set up a ‘heritage’ establishment that reflects the traditions and culture and nature of what I feel is the true Bangladesh, then perhaps other people will copy me. And I can have an impact on a relatively large number of people.”

Perhaps Ison is on to something, as it would be good if others also stole some of his behind-the-scenes practices, as his notion of helping Bangladesh goes beyond preserving its culture in his guesthouse. He is also making a very conscious decision about who to hire for work at Ideas Manzil.

“What I’m trying to do is give training to people from lower income levels, people who come from the village, who have perhaps grade five to grade eight education,” he says.
“I give them in house training, I take them travelling around the region and show them what food and hospitality is like in those parts. With this cumulative experience, we work together try to create food, service, menus and tables that reflects the tremendous hospitality that has been the tradition of Bangladesh for a long, long time.”

On those fronts, Ison is doing a decent job at Ideas Manzil. It’s very friendly, prompt and unobtrusive at the same time. Unlike many other guesthouses, where service staff often barge into unlocked rooms without even knocking first, Ison’s staff are polite, helpful and seem empowered to think and act on their own.

The food and hospitality scores well too. Ison’s particular focus is on freshly prepared food, and to that end orders need to be placed in advanced or you can trust in the fixed menu that offered by staff. His restaurant serves home-style versions of Indian, Thai and Bangladeshi cuisine. They are home-style in the sense they aren’t totally authentic versions of the above cuisines, but they certainly are tasty and most importantly, fresh. Ison is also teaching his staff to prepare western deserts, which is a real treat and somewhat hard to find in Bangladesh.

And finally, one last question that had to be asked: What does Ison truly think about the tourism potential of Bangladesh?

“So many countries you go to you to, you live in environments that have been totally artificially reproduced,” he says. “In Bangladesh what you see is what you get. It is totally authentic. You want poverty? It’s here. You want beauty? It’s here. I have never seen so many greens in my life as in Bangladesh. You want warmth and hospitality and friendship? It is here.”

“Bangladesh has done something for them, in terms of their experiences, particularly in terms of relating to people, Bangladeshi or expatriate from different parts of the world. You can do so many things here that are unique and new, which in other countries have already been done. That kind of challenge is attractive to people who like to get things done.”

A special message from non-profit handicrafts organisation in Gulshan:

“Greetings from Folk International. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to inform you that as per tradition, Folk International has started its CHRISTMAS SEASON from 1 Oct 2008.

Our Christmas products are already on display, including hand crafted Christmas decorations, table runners, table cloths, cushion cover, Christmas greeting gards, gifts etc. which have been made by our artisans over the last few months.

We believe that you are not only a customer but also a supporter and a partner of this non-profit organization. Only because of your continuous support, Folk International is celebrating its 10th year of handicraft activities. The 3,000 rural artisans who are now involved with Folk International highly appreciate your support in the future as well.

Folk International is located at Hse 19, Rd 108, Gulshan; tel: 988 0784; e-mail: folkbd.leo2[AT]gmail.com. open everyday: 09.30-20.00.

~story by Mikey Leung~

After visiting similar hospitality projects in Cambodia and China, I’m pleased to share what I believe is the first organisation I know of that explicityly brings disadvantaged youth into Bangladesh’s hospitality trade.

The Good Morning Guesthouse is now open in Banani, at Apt B5. Hse 5, Rd 10/A, Block H. Reservations can be made by e-mail to reservations[AT]guesthouse-dhaka.com or by telephone at +880 (2)886 0050. Click here for more information.

When I first encountered this concept in Cambodia, I found it a real inspiration to be dining in a restaurant that took Phnom Penh’s most disadvantaged youth and provided them with a roof, culinary and service training and a real opportunity to take hold of their lives. The food and drinks were excellent, the prices offered great value, and the service was genuine. It is now my personal hope that the folks at Vialisa are able to achieve similar successes in their work.

Judging by the pictures, the facilities appear to be basic but comfortable. The three-room facility has prices ranging from Tk1,200 for a single to Tk2,400 for a double, including breakfast and wireless internet. It’s certainly one of the cheaper places you can get in the Gulshan/Banani area, and you do benefit from the knowledge that your money is supporting disadvantaged youth to make a better living for themselves.

This is exactly the kind of tourism and hospitality that captures the essence of the Responsible Travel philosophy and is precisely the opportunity Bangladeshi tourism companies should exploit in developing the seedling tourism industry.

~guest post by Elisabeth Farhni Mansur~

Click image for large size preview.

We are proud to announce the first-ever ‘Shushuk Mela’, an interactive exhibition ‘introducing the Whales & Dolphins of Bangladesh’ at the Bangladesh Shishu Academy, Dhaka, from 9th to 12th October 2008. It is open to all every day from 9.30 am to 8.30 pm.

The exhibition, organized by the Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project (BCDP), aims at introducing Bangladesh’s cetacean diversity and ongoing conservation efforts. Through photographs, film shows, games and models we hope to create a sense of pride and to foster support for the conservation of these unique aquatic animals.

Sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Society, WCS, BCDP works to conserve cetacean diversity and abundance in Bangladesh with local communities and institutions.

In conjunction to this four-day event, BCDP is holding a Seminar Series on Saturday, 11th October, focusing on research and conservation efforts carried out in Bangladesh so far. A proposed ‘Protected Area Network for Cetacean Diversity’ will be presented.

You are cordially invited to visit the exhibition and participate in the Seminar Series. Your presence will be greatly appreciated.

We look forward to seeing you at the Shushuk Mela!

With the best wishes for the upcoming holidays,

Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur,
BCDP Education and Training Coordinator
Rubaiyat Mansur Mowgli,
BCDP Principal Researcher/Research Program Coordinator

Click here for the full size flyer.

Over 50 different indigenous societies live in Bangladesh, scattered around country. Among them, their female members are perhaps some of the people most excluded from the rest of society, in terms of education, health care and government resources. Mahmud, of MAP Photo Agency, has photographed these populations for the last decade. This exhibition of his work, co-hosted by ActionAid and the Bangladesh Indigenous People’s Forum brings their faces to the foreground. We encourage you to visit the exhibition and learn more about the true diversity Bangladesh holds.

Venue:

Drik Gallery
House 58, Road 15A (New),
Dhanmondi Residential Area, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Tel: (880-2) 9120125, 8123412, 8112954

Dates: August 7-13, 2008
Hours: 1500-2000 every day.

RBBA, or “Responsible Business Bangladesh,” is a new initiative of Florence Calvet, a French national who has an excellent sense of duty to the people she employs and about the kind of business she wants to create.

In her own words:

What is behind the idea of RBBA and Chez Flo. It’s what I call Responsible Business or Ethic Business. It’s a way to help people from Bangladesh from inside meaning that I am helping them to develop business, generate incomes and then use this money to help more people.

Florence has started the business with a new guesthouse named Chez Flo, located in Uttara, a northern suburb of Bangladesh’s capital city Dhaka. Currently, there are two well-decorated rooms and a series of masterfully prepared deserts, cakes and drinks on offer, all created by Chez Flo’s staff under Florence’s guidance.

It’s an encouraging development to see new initiatives like Ms. Calvet’s—certainly we hope to visit the cafe the next time we’re in Uttara!

Her address:
Road 2, House 4
Uttara Sector 4
Dhaka, BANGLADESH
tel: +880 1732 284 946
http://www.chezflobangladesh.com/

~story by Mikey Leung~

Award-winning Australian tour operator Intrepid Travel is coming to Bangladesh (click here to see the new itinerary).

This is big news, considering that Intrepid is one of the world’s leading Responsible Travel (RT) operators, having won the ‘Best Overall Tour Operator’ award from the UK’s Responsible Tourism awards in 2006.

Some words from their website on the matter:

For the past 18 years we’ve maintained a commitment to responsible and sustainable travel. We work with communities by establishing local businesses, we train and use local operators and we always ensure that our travellers really interact with the locals in their host communities.

By travelling responsibly we’re working to ensure that these incredible places, fascinating cultures and wonderful people are here to greet us in years to come. We’re empowering the local communities and creating richer, real life experiences for travellers.

Having been a tour leader with Intrepid previously, I’m proud to say that Intrepid really does put its money where its mouth is—they are one of the industry leaders when it comes to Responsible Tourism, having, since their inception, used the potential of travel to benefit local communities in the process. At Joybangla,info, it is our belief that tourism can and will help Bangladesh, and if done right, local communities will be the benefactors of our work. To have Intrepid Travel coming to our corner of the world is a giant leap forward from where we stand.

Be one of the first to join us on Intrepid’s maiden journey in Bangladesh!

ITINERARY

Days 1-3 – Dhaka
Days 4-7 – Sundarban National Park
Days 8-9 – Bandarban
Days 10-11 – Srimongol
Days 12-13 – Dhaka

DATES

Three departures are planned:
1) 02 Oct 2008 – 14 Oct 2008
2) 19 Oct 2008 – 31 Oct 2008
3) 26 Oct 2008 – 07 Nov 2008

A little marketing about what Intrepid is all about:

~story by Mikey Leung~

The Dhaka Project is one of those special projects that inspires hope, creates real change and works with some of the most disadvantaged children Bangladesh has to offer.

When Emirates flight attendant Maria Conceicao visited a slum near Zia International Airport, she decided she would change the future of the children she found there. Three years after the founding of the project, there are now two schools, a preschool, a nursery, a clinic, dentist, computer lab, science lab, and over 700 disadvantaged children getting an English medium education and two square meals a day.

Of course, none of these initiatives is possible without money, awareness and the helpful hand of so many people. Maria has worked tirelessly to raise the funds necessary to support her initiatives, and has been joined by volunteers from around the world to help her raise the funds and profile of the organisation. The project’s baseline funding is currently supplied by the Emirates Airline Foundation, although there is currently a new appeal out there for more funds for anybody who cares to support such initiatives.

Work like this is inspiring—the faces of so many children for whom this school represents the only chance to change their lives leaves a mark on your soul that you cannot forget.

For more information, please browse The Dhaka Project’s website, or have a look at volunteer Richard Fleming’s introduction via Youtube:

~story by Mikey Leung~

There are some rare moments as a guidebook writer that I am given a chance to enjoy the peace and serenity offered to me by the natural beauty of Bangladesh, and I try to seek out these experiences whenever possible.

One of these rare moments came as I sat on the terrace outside my room at the Nazimgarh Resort. The highway traffic hummed from a distance, but my attention remain fixed on the sound of a dozen different birds chattering away in the trees, most of whom were winter migrants like my Canadian self. I had just taken a stroll around the well-tended grounds of the resort. The sun broke through the winter morning clouds, painting the nearby mango trees in a golden hue.

In short, I felt my soul replenishing.

After experiencing the utter chaos of so many Bangladeshi cities, after dodging rickshaws, sewers and killer busses, after crashing out in some of the cheapest rooms the country has to offer, I finally had a moment of peace. A glimpse of what is currently quite rare in Bangladesh: luxury of a soon-to-be international standard.

I’d been invited to Nazimgarh as their guest, to sample the service and to hear about the future vision of tourism development for the Sylheti region, specifically Jaintapur. My host is the intelligent and affable Nizam Kamran Chowdhury, a former politician and now Managing Director of the resort. As we sat in one of the dozen terraces, his visionary ideas for his region’s development flew thick and fast. It wasn’t long before he instructed his staff to pull out table-sized satellite images of the region patched together from Google Earth. Wielding a ruler, he showed me what the region will eventually become.

The former member of parliament envisions a master plan that will promote its exhilarating natural beauty to visitors. The resort is in fact situated in a river basin that catches water from neighbouring Assam and Meghalaya—known as the wettest region in the world for its record rainfall. As monsoonal water comes down from the hills into Bangladesh from India, it floods the vast areas nearby the resort (no, the resort itself would not be flooded!). Chowdhury’s ideas, if successful, will make this region the national hotspot for what I will bill “Monsoon Tourism.”

“The pre-conceived notion of tourism in Bangladesh is that it is a winter season,” says Chowdhury. “But the monsoon itself is something that people would like to see. What is less known is that we are a few miles from the wettest places in the world.”

For most visitors, it is no secret that Bangladesh floods every year, and for this it is often painted as a victim to the natural calamities that befall it. But in fact, people have lived here for millenniums, and what is less known is that the annual floods bring with them a rich deposition of silt and new topsoil, breathing agricultural life force into the land, which gives rise to the rice that fuels its people. These same people have written lyrical folk songs about the region’s beauty, in their unique dialect of Sylhoti, and have imbued the people here with a rich culture and heritage that forms a unique piece of the puzzle of the patchwork that is Bangladesh.

“We are trying to open up these beautiful mountain rivers,” says Chowdhury. “The colour of the water is emerald green. This is because the river is a sand river, and the water is filtered through the sand. It is one of the most pristine rivers in Bangladesh.”

Back on the ground, Chowdhury spoke of a multi-layered plan that would develop the infrastructure required to attract and support any manner of guest, local or foreign. The first project in this slate of ideas is the resort, which, once the other services come online (health facility, spa, beauty center), will become a most attractive and accessible destination, and hopefully remain more financially accessible than other luxury resorts I have experienced (but still far from inexpensive). During my visit in February 2008, the construction of these value-added facilities had yet to come online.

I did raise some concerns with him, knowing full well that the region is also populated with indigenous Khasia people, who should be considered partners in the region’s development. I also expressed my concern that the region should be developed sustainably, given that some of this nation’s other tourist attractions have been pillaged for the sake of tourism (Saint Martin’s Island is a particularly sad example of this). Below you will find a podcast with Chowdhury’s thoughts on those very questions.

“We’d like our guests to explore these areas,” says Chowdhury. “We would like to improve the communication to these areas and at the same time, as a development, we are trying to secure, clean and comfortable places for our guests to stay.”

“This is where the government has to play an important role in creating infrastructure so that other people can build facilities and resorts to cope with the growing demand. If the government is an active partner with the private sector in the development of infrastructure, then I think these issues could be addressed.”

Speaking of issues, there were minor indications that the newly opened resort still had a little way to go. With a Thai General Manager, one might have expected the rooms to be more warmly decorated with the more stylish elements of Thai or Bengali style. The decor was best described as spartan–additional touches of colourful furnishings or more tasteful upholstery would have helped spruce things up and modernize the “feel” of the resort’s interiors. We also had fairly low water pressure in our second floor room, and so the hot water came out in a dribble. The service was impressive, but do remember that English is not a first language in Bangladesh. However, none of these are serious ticks against a decision to stay at Nazimgarh, as its price is still well below other luxury resorts around Asia.

Lalakhal: Inland blue waters

Later in the day, Chowdhury invited us to tour Lalakhal, one of the first places he is targeting for tourism development. Earlier, the satellite images revealed a snaking, small river, surrounded by brown, dry landscape, which during the winter season would be more beach-like than flooded. During the monsoon, however, it was not hard to imagine the torrents of water sweeping down from the hills, filling up the region with its life-disrupting force and flooding the entire area with water.

Earlier, he described how the place is mythologized in Sylhoti folk songs, but remains undiscovered and unknown by most people, even Bangladeshis. In part this was due to the location’s inaccessibility, which, given the certainty in the way Chowdhury spoke, will change in the coming years with the assistance of his guiding hand. For now, the spot remained accessible only by boat.

As we approached the border, the Khasia hills of India began to appear from the winter haze, looming over Bangladesh’s flatness with a sentinel’s stillness. For the internationally-enabled traveller, the hills looked enticing, full of forests and tiny villages waiting to be explored. But on the Bangladeshi side, the beauty took on a different form—the area would become an inland sea when the monsoon was in full swing.

At the resort’s boat launch, we clambered into specially-equipped vessels that use Thai-style longtail engines to keep them moving in shallow water. In 30 minutes, we were whisked to Lalakhal via the Sharee River. The journey was picturesque: locals were seen doing their daily rituals of washing and bathing; boatloads of sand-miners chugged past us in wooden boats—a stark contrast to our brightly painted tourist boat. Most impressive however, was the colour and quality of the water. Because of mineral deposition, all the rivers of the area are a striking turquoise hue, surreal in the sense that such water normally belongs in the Gulf of Thailand, not here in Sylhet.

It was winter season, and so Lalakhal was not filled with water at this time. Instead, there was a sandy pitch over 300 meters long. Just off the river bank, Chowdhury had a small campground set up in a betel nut grove. The tall, narrow trees offered some delicate shade, and instantly I could imagine bringing a group of friends up with nothing but a frisbee, firewood and a guitar to pass a peaceful night by the river.

I have agreed to visit the area again when it floods, not only to experience this extraordinary geographical phenomenon, but to see the beauty of monsoon played out across the Bangladeshi landscape.

People who come to Bangladesh are in fact quite hardy, but we do need more places to recharge our batteries, and rest our nerves, for the cities of Bangladesh are chaotic places that flow only to the rhythm of anarchy. Chowdhury’s Nazimgarh Resort is one such place, which takes the Bangladesh travel experience far off the beaten path, by offering its antidotal charms to intrepid Bangladeshi adventurers.

And that’s what made it all the much harder to leave for Dhaka once again.

—
The writer was hosted as a guest of Nazimgarh Resort.

The resort can be contacted at (0821) 2870338. In Dhaka at (02) 885-3290 or by e-mail: reservation [at] nazimgarh [dot] com.

Otherwise, feel free to tour the resort’s nicest room via Youtube:

Feedback? We welcome your comments.

Some recent controversy has arisen over the work of the Sundarbans Tiger Project, a conservation project based in the Bangladesh side of the Sundarbans.

The issue mainly stems over whether the project is doing good by learning the habits of the majestic animal, or contributing to its demise. Its opponents argue that the drug used in the tranquilizing damages the tiger’s central nervous system. Hossain writes:

Sundarban is a unique place and also the only great ecosystem in the world where Bengal tigers live in saline water system. Life of a wild tiger is extremely challenging and very much depends on the physical and psychological integrity of the animal. For zoo or captive tigers physical wellbeing is enough for her survival. But for a wild animal her physical and psychological performance together only can ensure her survival. There has not been any pharmacological research to find how the above chemicals will affect specially the Sundarban tiger that drinks salt water and eat the intestine of the kill full of mangrove vegetation. Before this research is done and proven safe, there should be no other application of those drugs on healthy tigers in the wild.

However, researchers on the project argue that there is no evidence that the drug causes said damage, and that radio-collaring is an absolutely necessary tool in discovering the habits of the tiger, so that managers can make proper decisions as to its conservation. Adam Barlow writes:

The media has great potential to help in raising awareness about tiger conservation and to garner public support for this precious animal. Conversely, it also has the power to damage tiger conservation by negative and subjective reporting that confuses issues and seemingly deliberately tries to hamper people’s heartfelt and well-thought out efforts to protect the tiger. Surely the job of the newspaper is to provide objective reports on stories so that the Bangladeshi people can use the balanced information to make informed views on a subject.

You can read more from the following links:

• Collaring for Conservation, Adam Barlow’s retort (word document, 300KB).
• Click here for the link to the full article, “Immature science in immature hands?”
• Click here for the link to the original story.

It is our opinion that collaring is necessary and needed for the proper management of the Sundarbans and its wildlife, especially for the Royal Bengal Tiger, who is the chosen mascot of Bangladesh. Without solid research to back up forest management policies, the tigers stand at great risk to human interference. Given the lack of proper management that the forest department has had in episodes previous, we feel that appropriate, international standard scientific research will help conserve one of the last remaining wild places Bangladesh has.

Here’s a video showing the process of capturing the tiger:

Have feedback? Please let us know by commenting.

While the beach at Cox’s Bazaar becomes more and more crowded with people this tourist season, very few know visitors know that there is a refugee camp not far from Bangladesh’s much-heralded beach paradise.

And the people at this camp need help. World Food Programme Volunteer Lindy Hogan writes:

As most of you know, I work with Burmese refugees who are living in
two camps near the Bangladesh-Burma border (approx 27,000 refugees). Recently a library has been established in each camp but the problem is that they hardly have any books in them!

So I’m writing to request for book donations. Any type of material would be useful – kids books, novels, educational materials, textbooks, magazines etc – so long as it is culturally appropriate.

English or Bengali, new or second hand is fine.

Thought I’d get this out as I know a few of you are coming down this way in the next couple of months – so you can leave books with me then.

Thanks for your help on this everyone.

Cheers,
Lindy

VIDA Volunteer
World Food Programme
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

To contact Lindy, please write to her by e-mail letting her know of your visit: lindymay [AT] gmail.com.

(Jan 20 – DHAKA) What do you do when a devastating cyclone strikes the area that you’re about to visit?

If your name is Michael Mangano, you raise funds from your friends and family and bring money for the relief goods with your own two hands. That’s exactly what the Boston graduate student did in early January.

Mangano used online merchant Paypal to successfully raise $1,005 USD (or approx 68,000 Bangladeshi Taka) for victims of Cyclone Sidr, especially in the hard hit Sundarbans region of Bangladesh.

Watch the video:

“It’s a kind of ‘do-it-yourself’ relief work,” says Mangano. “My whole trip feels much more worthwhile because of it.”

Mangano’s original purpose was to visit Bangladesh as a tourist and to meet fellow traveller and Information Technology Specialist Mikey Leung. Upon news of the cyclone, Michael decided to raise funds from his family and friends before his visit.

With Leung’s voluntary technology support, the duo produced a Youtube.com video from the field showing the relief goods being handed over, while a series of audio podcasts tracks their progress. The purpose of the volunteer work was to prove to donors that their funds were being used and to demonstrate the idea of “Relief Tourism” to a wider audience.

“The idea of relief tourism fascinates me,” says Leung. “If travellers only knew which organizations are trustworthy, they could help support Bangladesh’s development initiatives while experiencing them first hand.”

After bank fees, a total of 65,000 Bangladeshi Taka was donated to various branches of Rupantar, a Bangladeshi non-government organisation that is supported by several international donor agencies, including USAID, ActionAID and CIDA.

“This is responsible travel in action,” says Leung. “By taking away all gaps between philanthropists and benefactors, we cut out all the bureaucracy and experience the plight of cyclone survivors first hand. It proves to be an educational and positive experience for both local and visitor.”

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Funds involved:
-65,000 BDT raised after Paypal and bank transfer fees
-40,000 BDT ($580 USD) was used to purchase 17 fishing boats and milk for the village of Dhangmari
-20,000 BDT was ($290 USD) donated to an orphanage supporting child victims of the cyclone
-5,000 BDT ($75 USD) was used to purchase musical instruments in support of Rupantar’s cultural change initiatives

Background:
- Michael Mangano covered his own travel expenses personally—none of the donated funds were used for this purpose.
- Mikey Leung is currently researching a new Bradt travel guidebook to Bangladesh in which he plans to encourage travellers to visit Bangladesh in a bid to reduce poverty
- Rupantar is a well-known and respected organization supporting the development of Bangladesh’s south-western region. A branch of the organization supports eco-tourism in the Sundarbans.

Contacts:
DHAKA, BANGLADESH
Mikey Leung, Freelance Journalist and IT Specialist
+880 1714 361 173 // www.joybangla.info // joybangla.info [AT] gmail.com

KHULNA, BANGLADESH
Nazmul Azam (David)
+880 1711 829 414 // ret [AT] khulna.bangla.net

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, USA
Michael Mangano, Boston University
+1 617 721 4749 // mjmangano [AT] hotmail.com