Saturday 22 January 2011

Bangladesh: arrival in Dhaka

A room with a viewThe flight from Singapore touched down at 10.00pm. The journey from Shahjalal International to the hotel took almost as long through the late evening chaos on the capital's dimly lit roads. Overladen battered buses jostled with cars, motorbikes, auto-rickshaws and trishaw drivers that showed no sense of danger. Pedestrians, beggars and hawkers selling popcorn, tupperware boxes and maps(!) added to the number of obstacles to be avoided. There are no rules. The car horn is used more than the indicator. Traffic lights are ignored.

Security guards waved us into the entrance of the hotel and the staff jumped into action to salute, carry bags, open doors and fetch coconut drinks. The room had more than a hint of air freshener attempting to disguise previous smoking activity in the non-smoking room. The view from the window was not a lush garden. I didn't care - I needed sleep for an early start tomorrow.

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