day 4: chittagong

we got up early and enjoyed the morning from the train window. some of the other coupes, we noticed, had a dozen people each. in comparison, we were travelling in luxury. we reached chittagong by 8, about an hour late.


ajitesh busy photographing from the train. ramAboudi ajayda gesturing


amit ajayda ajitesh ramAboudi engine chittagong. ajitesh chaTTagram station ps

we explored the two hotels within the station but didn't like either. then we met mr. bishwajit dhar, who works for the police, and he suggested we go to lAldighi. then he said, "why not i come with you and show you one place." by now we were getting used to the generosity of people here. he brought us to the simple hotel tunajjin, which is inexpensive since it is located on the 3d floor of a hawker's market. over the next two days, mr. dhar helped us in many ways...


ajitesh hotel tunajjin. travellin by tom tom

we then took a tomtom - an electric vehicle - to the patenga beach. these are chinese made vehicles, and while they do not pollute the roads, their environment-friendly image is a little doubtful owing to high pollution due to high turnover of the lead-acid batteries every 18 months or so. in other parts of the country, similar vehicles are called by other names such as easy-bike.

at the beach we went on an exhilarating speedboat ride with which we explored the wreck of a cargo ship.

ramAboudi on the gangway. ajitesh and our boat captain, roni

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on the speedboat: ramAboudi ajitesh amit ajayda. the wreck of the cargo ship "Ocean Pearl"


chaTpaTi (pApRi chAT) on the beach. ajitesh on beach buggy


amit enjoying knAkRA. ajitesh. in the evening, at mr. bahar's elegant new flat


biswajit dhar, ajitesh, ajayda and ramAboudi. amit at laldighi


buddha deity at proposed bauddha mandir at sitakund. at the gate to the chandrapAhAR sitakund temple complex.

interestingly, a buddha image above bears this important legend:


rAm sita laksmaN at sitAkunD. at chittagong we ran into avid bicyclist hAsAn.

day 5: Cox's Bazar

morning on the cox's bazar beach ...


walking down the cox's bazar beach. cheerful couple on the beach....


bouncing on the waves: ajayda ajitesh am; early morning fog in cox's bazar


coxsbazar beach: ajitesh. sand burial (high school group from comilla)

 

and then to the buddhist monastery (khyang). in september, a violent mob burned down five ancient buddhist temples in the nearby hamlet of Ramu, following which a police contingent has been posted to guard this important temple.


in front of a pagoda containing ashes of a senior monk. amit ajayda ramAboudi ajitesh; the main khyang hall; our guide, mizan, was a muslim


buddha image from thailand. ajitesh amit ramAboudi ajayda


risque advertisements in bangladesh (vaseline ad); sign on a truck: allah is all powerful

* day 1: getting to bangladesh
* day 2-3: DhAkA
* day 6: faridpur / bhATdi