When i heard about it my curiosity evolved quickly inside me and during my Indian trip i tried to gather some informations about this “mysterious” Nation. The weird thing is that in 6 months nobody could tell me much about it, but this increased even much more my curiosity. So, why not? Let’s go to Bangladesh. What can i say? what that German man told me a few months before was 100% true.
Bangladesh is a small Country next to India, it’s about 3 times smaller than Italy but its population count more than 150.000 million of people (3 times Italy!!). Only this is enough to make you imagine what can be the life here. Indeed a shit load of people everywhere. The streets are totally crazy, you can’t almost walk in certain areas. Really impressive but you need patience for the extreme traffic jam, that can cost you hours of waiting time.

This is also a very poor Country, and the dirt and trash you can see everywhere is absolutely madness. There are places that smell so bad that takes some time before get used. The streets are probably the worst i have ever seen in my life, and maybe is also one of the reasons why not so many tourists come here. In 20 days spent in Bangladesh, i think I’ve seen just 5 foreigners wonder around.. And this aspect for me is quite attractive. I came here during the rainy season, maybe it’s also why not so tourist around. Who can blame that? During my time spend in Bangladesh had been pouring buckets of rain almost every day. Crazy! Everywhere was muddy, streets completely destroyed with cars stuck in the mud. I couldn’t even see many places because of this. Famous spots like St. Martin Island and Cox Bazar (The longest beach of the world).

Many places covered in mud, true, but rain means also a rich vegetation: beautiful landscapes totally green, a real pleasure for my eyes! I didn’t know it, but Bangladesh has so many beautiful places to see, that probably one month isn’t enough. For sure a must see is Sreemangal, famous area for the tea plantations that makes the landscapes absolutely stunning. There are places like Rangamati and Bandarban that are famous for their beauty but you need a permission that you must get in Dhaka at the district commissioner (remember this, otherwise you will end up like me, not allowed to go further than Chittagong). Also the north area of Bangladesh is interesting and i heard also about the west side has quite a few places that worth a visit. Another interesting thing to do, is to visit and see the biggest Delta of the world, with all its canals and the life that pass by over there. As you can see Bangladesh has so much to offer, but next time i would chose a dry season, because the green landscapes are beautiful, but sometimes you can’t even go out for the heavy rain.

Something that you need to know about Bangladesh is that this is for the 95% a Muslim Country. OMG! Muslim! so dangerous! SHUT UP PLEASE! How many times did i hear about how Muslim people are dangerous… “Are you not scared to go there?” This is a silly common question. I would really invite you to come here and see with your own eyes. What you will see is a very interesting Country, very proud of its culture and faith. Every where you go, you can really feel the energy and the power of their faith. For me this is what makes beautiful a Country: the attachment to its traditions and cultures.

But what is that makes Bangladesh so special? Before, in my personal ranking of hospitality, Taiwan was definitely leading all the Countries that I’ve visited during my travel. Now i need to say that Bangladesh hospitality is the most crazy nice i've ever found around the world. Paradoxically are the “dangerous” Muslim that have the most beautiful hospitality. In a couple of days in Dhaka i had already a dozen of friends. Friends that had constantly helped me out all the way during my trip… giving me important informations, hosting me in their houses, treating me all the time, and whatever.. Where the hell can you find such a super warm welcome?? It’s really true, less you have, more you give.. The people here is so much nice that sometimes is even too much.. we are not so used to so much caring. This is a huge family, a family that share everything together. Do not expect to have very much privacy here, but it’s fine, the people care so much of you that you can open yourself more and give up a bit of private time for a while. Sometimes was funny be surrounded by 30 people starring at me, or be followed by dozens of kids while walking around for taking photos.

A small issue can be the language here, but somehow there is always someone that can speak English even just a tiny bit. Do not worry too much about that, maybe takes more time, but you will find always a way to communicate, sooner or later.
Is it cheap? It is bloody cheap too! In local restaurant you can have a meal for 50 taka (about 70cents of euro), and you can sleep for 200-300 take very easily, sometimes with wifi too. Also the transportations are very cheap, considering the bad conditions of it, is fair. Local buses are not easy to catch sometimes, because there are not English signs, and can be pretty crowded, but are very cheap. If you move to different cities i strongly recommend you to chose the train. Cheap as well and you are able to avoid the crazy traffic of the cities. Trust me: you wanna avoid that as much as possible.. Madness.

This was my trip in Bangladesh, a deep experience and a great memory. Besides its short length this trip gave me a lot, and I’m looking forward to come back here in the next future. You all should consider visiting this beautiful Country and enjoy the company of this amazing people.

Love ya
Luca