Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dhaka certainly ranks as one of the most interesting, fascinating and thought provoking cities I have ever visited. Upon first sight, it is almost horrifying. The poverty and visual deterioration of the city, coupled with the chaos and hecticness is an immensely stressful sight. The city is filled with gypsies and beggars, many of them with horrible deformaties, that will openly chase you on foot and tap your car window to ask for money. Dhaka is an amazing example of what horrible pollution can do to people, and the affect it has on the population. Many of the people are missing limbs and have distinguished growths coming from their bodies. It is not uncommon to see people and children, laying unconscious on the side of the street, possibly no longer living.

Street Beggars

Dhaka is a city of over 12 million people and growing rapidly, as is much of Southern asia and India. Dhaka is witnessing rapid growth and the city faces a number of challenges, including widespread poverty, hunger and corruption. It is a predominantly muslim state and deals with a lack of opportunities for women and much discrimination. Sari's are the only womens clothes available in stores, almost no western dress is obtainable. Dhaka is a hot, wet, tropical climate and was smack in the middle of a huge storm when I arrived with the addition of flooding right outside my hotel.

Old Town, Dhaka

Cycle and Auto Rickshaws dominate the overly crowded streets. It is stated that Dhaka has 400,000 rickshaws running daily, by far the most of any city in the world. Some of these are small, green automatic ones, but the majority is brightly colored cycle rickshaws that have no problem darting out in front of moving automobiles. Spending the day out in traffic in a taxi, or wandering around the markets of Old town Dhaka are activities that could never get boring. Every 10 seconds, you can see something that you have never seen before in your life.

Rickshaws, City Street

During the week I was surveying Dhaka, New Zealand was in town to play Bangladesh in an International test Cricket match. The first 3 of 5 days were rained out, but the 4th day was on and the city was abuzz in Cricket talk. The Bangladeshi's aren't well known for their skills but definitely for their passion of the sport. I mentioned to one of my business contacts that I wanted to try and head down to Mirpur Stadium and see if I could get a ticket to the match. I was lucky enough that he set me up with his friend, a Sports Journalist for Banglavision TV, and he got me a VIP seat in the press box. It was an awesome experience and I met a ton of locals that were all super friendly and loved to chat about politics, economy and the differences between USA and Bangladesh (of which there are a few). I was even invited on a Saturday fishing trip down one of their river deltas with a bunch of local guys. Unfortunately, I will have left for India, an invitation I am deeply saddened to have turned down.

Dhaka Stadium, Press Box

After my first day in Dhaka, I was almost mortified of the activity in the city and ready to head to my next location. By day 5, I've found Dhaka has really grown on me. Although it is a place

I would never want to live, it is still the most 'different' place I have ever experienced in my travels and a city I could never possibly forget.

Back in the Philippines...

My new trip sends me back to Asia and for the first time in my survey career, I've repeated a location, Manila, Philippines. I actually enjoyed my first go-around in Manila, in part to some family friends living in the city and a couple of extraordinary hotels, both contributing to my entertainment while on survey.

Manila city scene

The Philippines is a gorgeous country, consisting of over 7,000 islands and many of the world's most beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, after 2 visits I still haven't been able to experience any of this. Due to the geographic lay of the land, it involves time, flights, boats and most of all, money to get out of the major city and into the more touristy areas of the Philippines.

All I can comment on is downtown Makati City, Manila, which most Filipinos tell me is a shame. Manila is a huge city with one of the highest population densities in the world. The majority of it is huge sprawling urban ghettos, including some of the most impoverished areas I have ever seen on Earth. However, the business center and downtown (Makati) is quite the opposite. Lots of 5-star hotels and endless stretches of mall make the city center very upscale. The survey is Manila is rather easy, thanks in part to the gigantic miles of attached malls. The filipino economy must be thriving because I have never seen so much commerce and shopping readily available in one city.

Filipino Dunkin' Donuts

Although the official language of the Philippines is Tagalog (which sounds a little like spanish) almost everyone speaks English. Manila has taken heat and some attacks from the mostly Muslim south of Philippines, it is a place basically free to practice whatever religion you so choose. Due to that, there are a lot of Roman-Catholic churches built around the city. Intramuros is the the closest thing to an interesting sight in the city.

Intramuros, Manila

I met up with some friends the night after I arrived and went to dinner and some drinks. Afterwards we went to a live music bar and I saw a band called Spongecola, which was basically interprative death metal.

All in all, it was a great show. Unfortunately, both times I've been to Manila, it's been the beginning of an Asia trip and I am usually fighting off jet lag the whole time, this one has been a bit easier.

Anyway, not much to report on Manila, maybe because it's a repeat but here's a few more photos to hopefully make up for this short posting. The rest of my trip includes:

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Bangalore, India

Chennai, India

Singapore

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

...and an overnight in Brisbane, Australia, so definitely check back for some more updates.

Jeepneys, common modes of transportation

Modern Art Museum

Cock fight in Roligon