The hangover

After a couple of days of the ‘ole VSO orientation routine, Thursday, aka the new Friday, rolled around. The Bagha club was on the agenda yet again so we all headed up to Gulshan for a few drinks and the place was mobbed. It’s a surreal environment, it’s like we’re not even in Bangladesh anymore. It’s almost like a British pub in Spain. Needless to say, the beers were flowing, as was the banter, but I needed to make an appearance at the Regency hotel for an exclusive party called Virgo. My Bengali actor/model friend met me at the Bagha and we scooted over to the Regency, arriving to absolute mayhem. The usual conservative Bangladeshi crowd were scantily clad to say the least. I was totally surprised. It was mini skirt city and I suddenly felt very under dressed in my long skirt skimming the floor. Anyway, we piled into the elevator, up to the rooftop. The music was pumpin’, the dance floor was rammed and guess what… a-l-c-o-h-o-l! Believe it or not, there was a free bar and it was cocktail-o-rama! Apparently these ‘underground’ parties happen all the time and day by day, I was beginning to realize that Bangladesh and it’s ‘Muslim’ culture might not be at all what I’d presumed. After some free cocktails and bad dancing, I met some other expats floating around- all of us shared our stories on why we’re here and what we think of the ‘Desh. Our ‘driver’ ended up dropping me home at the end of the night and I stumbled back to the induction flat at about 5am.

The next things I knew, my alarm was going off. 9am. Shit. Sightseeing tour. All bloody day. Double shit. I rolled out of bed, twisted out of my mosquito net, threw on some clothes and the next things I knew, the seven of us were bumping our way through the Dhaka traffic. Onek jam is Bengali for traffic jam. Needless to say, this is a saying that happens often here. After about an hour we arrived at the Red Fort. I definitely was not on my A-Game. My head was throbbing, it was so damn hot and my hair stank of smoke from the night before. But, once we entered the gate, it was like a mini Taj Mahal experience. Quiet, serene, lush gardens seemed to go one forever and there were about three beautiful, rustic temple-type buildings within the grounds where we could wander and explore. Our tour guide was our language class principal so the whole day seemed to be blurred with practicing our Bengali too. She gave us tidbits of historical information as we walked through the fort and it was actually nice to do something touristy in a land of no tourists. My headache seemed to fade…

The next stop was the Liberation War Museum. Definitely heavy stuff to register even though the headache was easing up. Walking from room to room, it was apparent that the troubling history of this country is still very fresh in the minds of the current population; not even forty years ago, Bangladesh was witness to gruesome genocide and political protests. Photos and documentation adorned the walls of the small museum as a testament to these times.
After the museum as we headed back to the van, our guide suggested that we take a boat trip in Old Dhaka. As we weaved through the tiny streets to get there, everything in this part of town seemed even more cluttered (if that was even possible!) and before we knew it, we arrived at the Pink Palace (a historical British hotel), right by the river. All of us mounted the wobbly wooden boat as we paddled out with our fisherman, into the open waterways. Passing boat after boat, it was fantastic to actually see and be on the water here. Bangladesh has so many rivers and I was happy to be seeing it by water versus land for a change. After we circled around a bit, the boat dropped us back at the Pink Palace where were hopped on the van again, and ended up at the main shopping mall here. All of a sudden, the fading headache returned. Shop after shop after shop quickly became overwhelming and I think we were all running out of steam to be honest. We drifted outside and took a break on the front steps, not realizing the time: 12:45pm. Every Friday from 12:45 – 1:45pm is the main prayer. From the steps of the mall, we could see that the whole street had been shut down and hundreds of men were kneeling, praying in unison, right there and then. I couldn’t believe my eyes and photos wouldn’t do it justice. It was a very surreal thing to witness. I almost felt like I was intruding but it was completely fascinating to watch.

That night after a quick rest back at the flat, we were all due to go to our VSO director’s house for a special Bangladeshi feast. A British MP has been visiting VSO Bangladesh this week and to mark her departure, there was a traditional celebration in her honour. There were about thirty people in attendance and to my surprise, my new boss was also present so it was great to meet him and find out a bit more about the organization I’ll be working for. Initially, I thought that my job was focused solely in the HIV/AIDS sector but discovered that it also bridges into the areas of governance and livelihoods. Additionally, the organization is working on a documentary in the south west area of Bangladesh right now, highlighting the problem there with flooding and general climate change. Overall, it seems that a lot of filming will happen within my placement and with that comes travel so I’m really excited to start working. Living in Dhaka has its benefits but I think the best way to see this country will be to see the whole country. The real stories happen in the villages I’m sure.