Day 4: Moving to Airport

Weather Update: Sunny. High 27°C

Elevation Above Sea Level: 1.5 Metres

Moving to Airport

I decided to leave a day early to be closer to the airport, avoiding the bottleneck chaos that often grips the city's streets. The hotel had its quirks—upon arrival, I noticed the windows weeping with condensation. I used the bath mat to mop the windowsill and glass. With the heat pump off during the day, my room turned into a moisture haven. The next morning, I set it to 26 degrees all day, but everything remained damp. Bumping it up to 30 made no difference, and even the clothes I took off the night before were damp in the morning.

Encounter with a Local

After breakfast, I headed out to catch the bus to Mohammadpur Bus Stand. On the way, a young man approached me, and we struck up a conversation. He kindly accompanied me to the bus stand, showing me which bus to take and when to get off. He took my phone number and email address and hopes to contact me when I return for a month in November.

Journey to the Airport

The bus, a double-decker red vehicle adorned with dings and dents, took me towards Tejgaon railway station for the train to the airport. Dhaka/Bangladesh's transport system is known for its unreliability. Still, the station master reassured me that the train, which had just left, would return at 2 pm—a 2-hour wait. The people at the station were incredibly welcoming and supportive, making me feel at home. When the train arrived, they helped me board. Despite my mixed feelings about Dhaka, moments like these, when strangers help the helpless, remind me of the kindness that exists in the world.

Life around the Railway

Life in the community is always expressed through culture. We often tend to think of culture as art, literature, music, fashion, and cuisine. But culture is embodied in all aspects of the way of life of a community, including work, child rearing, language, and social interactions. The culture of families living along the train tracks in Bangladesh may open your eyes to the life that some people have today.

Population

Bangladesh is one of the most densely inhabited countries in the world. As in most South Asian megacities, thousands in Dhaka live on the edge of the railroad tracks as people continuously pour in from villages. The need for sustainable income often leads people to leave their homes in hopes of a better life in the city. Where do you plant your family in a city already bulging with a population that outweighs the available infrastructure? For many, a few pieces of tin and tarp precariously assembled along the railway tracks provide a place to call home. Incessant noise and danger are permanent features in residents’ lives as their homes rock to the movement of trains going by while children are held nearby.

Home along the Railroad Tracks

There is a constant stream of trains passing through Dhaka, a city in Bangladesh. People live along the side of the rail tracks because there is nowhere else to go. When a train goes by, there is always a sense of danger that leads people to get off the tracks to safer areas, and when the train has passed, things go back to normal for these people.

Rickshaws huddle outside the railway station waiting for customers disembarking from the trains. You'll find men huddling around various areas of the station, plying their trade.

Comparison with New Zealand

Bangladesh has an area of 147,630 km² with 169 million people, while New Zealand has an area of 267,710 km² with a population of under 5.5 million people. Imagine the environmental prospect of having that many people in New Zealand, and it makes you think how lucky we are to call New Zealand home. Think about this: the North Island is close to 114,000 km². Imagine putting another 165 million people on it.

Journeys Bangladesh

Bangalir baro mashe tero parbon (Bengali: বাঙালির বারো মাসে তেরো পার্বণ), which roughly translates to "Bengalis have thirteen festivals in twelve months (a year)." Bangladesh is a country of colourful celebrations. The people celebrate their faith, life, liberty, nature, elation, and achievements throughout the year through a wide variety of fairs and festivals, organized with enthusiasm and intricate details. Some Bengali fairs and festivals have a recorded history of over 2000 years. Festivals in Bangladesh fall into four major categories: religious festivals, national events, cultural festivals, and tribal festivals. Although a few festivals are primarily meant for particular sections of the population, all the festivals have now attained universal reach throughout the country.

Festivals and Train Crowds

I added a photo that shows what a train looks like during certain festivals throughout the year. I captured an image of a train with lots of people on the roof, and by the time I took the photo, it had almost passed. During these times, people sitting outside the train tend not to pay, but every year, people are killed falling off trains. Despite the dangers, the system continues to accept this dangerous practice. Every train is packed to the rafters because it is money, and if you leave them at the station, they will only try to get on the next train.

Train Experience

The train I was on had face-to-face contact in every carriage with no room to move, plus the outsiders.

Hotel Near the Airport

My hotel is just a 20-minute stroll from the airport, making for a convenient morning walk.

Dinner Experience

I had dinner at the hotel restaurant, and they had one of my favorite Indian meals on the menu—Rogan Josh. The paratha was delightful, and there was plenty of rice, but the Rogan Josh was a letdown. It lacked the rich tomato sauce it's famed for. Time for sleep.