Day #21 March 31: Sundarbans

Keola told us that he got bit during the night so he set up his mosquito netting as well.

There was no air conditioning except for the porthole and electric fan, but it was comfortable enough to sleep in.



I woke up that first morning and someone had left the light on in the bathroom (or should I call it the head?).

The light drew a million bugs!  Even the toilet was crawling with bugs.  It was not a pleasant way to start the morning.

These are the stairs to the upper deck.

We were fascinated by the colorful, strangely shaped insects we saw during the trip.

We were taken out on a boat early each morning to see if we could view some wildlife.

Shy chital (spotted deer) stared at us through the mist.










We climbed up an observation tower, but couldn't see much because of the fog.

It was reassuring to have the ranger with us, even though I doubted a tiger would jump out at us.


Ali said he once saw a tiger when he was with a tour group.  However, he was so startled and shocked that he couldn't issue a sound to alert everyone.  By the time he was able to say something, the tiger had vanished.

We saw more of the ever present mudskippers and fiddler crabs.  The male fiddler crab has one claw that is much larger than the other.



We then boarded our little boat again and went for a ride along one of Sundarbans' channels.

Ali kept pointing out birds to us, but we could never get a good photo.

You can see the mangrove roots here.

Ali told us that there would be a 40 minute nature walk to the Bay of Bengal at around 10:00. 

I'm thinking...

Nature walk?  40 minutes x 2?  Hot sun?  Walking through the jungle?

I took a pass and decided not to go with them.  I knew I would only hold them back.  Keola was a little disappointed that I didn't want to go.  Art did not exactly encourage me to come along.  I think he knew me better.

I ate a banana.  I took a nap.  I wrote in my journal.  I took a nap.

The captain then suggested I walk out to those benches where it was a lot cooler.  He even brought me cushions to relax on.  I wrote in my journal.  I took a nap.  I looked around me.  I took a nap.

Art, Keola, Mark, Ali, Babul and the ranger were off on their walk.

They saw some butterflies.  I saw them too... from my pillow on the bench.

They saw a lot of forest until they got to the Bay of Bengal.

One treasured moment Art says he'll never forget is when they saw a young chital deer tied to a tree by a poacher.  It appeared to be in shock.  Babul climbed up a tree to get some tender leaves for it to eat.  Ali tried to give it water after untying the rope it was bound with.  After several minutes the deer was able to trot off to freedom.  It was an exhilarating moment for them.

Keola loves beaches so visiting the Bay of Bengal must have been a happy time for him.

They were able to cool off with a swim.

Aha!  We have one almost clear shot of the kingfisher.  They (except Art) were wearing flip flops and it was not the best thing for this hike.  I'm glad I forced them to bring my solar umbrella with them.  Mark admitted that it was not an easy trek.

Babul showed us an eel he'd caught.  We had a hearty lunch after which the guys all crashed exhausted!

Art whispered to me, "It's a good thing you didn't come."

I was more than happy to go on the evening nature walk.  We saw chital deer and boars along our path.

Ali showed us some of the devastation from the 1991 cyclone that left 138,000 dead and 10 million homeless.

There were more curious, but cautious rhesus monkeys nearby.  We walked back to the boat where a fabulous meal awaited us.

They even had a barbecue right on the boat! Shrimp, crab, barbecued chicken, fried rice, yogurt were all on the delicious menu. I couldn't believe they were able to cook all this in the small area that was the makeshift kitchen.

Tomorrow, we'd be leaving to return to Dhaka.

Day #20 March 30th: Sundarbans

Art woke me up in a panic, "Oh no!  My alarm didn't go off and the desk didn't give us the wake-up call." 

We rushed around getting ready and then woke Keola up at 5:45 like he asked.

A few minutes later Art groaned, "Oh no!  I forgot to change the time on my travel clock.  It's not 5:45.  It's 4:45!"



At 6:00 our tour guide, Ali arrived and walked us to the pier which was just across the bus parking lot next to our hotel.

The temperatures were close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.   That's about 38 degrees Celsius.

It was a dryer heat in Dhaka, but it was humid on the Sundarbans.

I try not to be too prissy a traveler, but I can't say I'm very comfortable standing on a ferry boat where I could see some water below my feet.

Keola wasn't worried about standing on the boat without a life vest.  He's an excellent swimmer and used to be a life guard.  I guess he would have saved me.  That's the Captain (behind him) of the boat that would be our home for three days.

Our boat was... ummm...
full of ambiance?

The shared toilet was also the bath.  When I say bath, I mean bucket bath.

The bed was comfortable enough until I saw a huge spider near my shoulder.

Art probably never saw me move so fast as I jumped off the bed.

Crows in different countries always interest me.

Ali and the crew provided a satisfying breakfast for us.

There were some biting flies that bit Art and Keola, but left me alone.  Thank goodness!




We loved seeing the sights from our boat.  Friendly fishermen waved back at us.

Ali said we needn't worry about mosquitoes because the river is salt water.

We had long talks with our son on the boat.

One thing he said really resonated with me.

He said Americans are very wealthy.

"Not all," I corrected.

"Americans" insisted Keola, " have a wealth of choices.  We can choose what we do with our lives.  Even people who are poor have avenues they could pursue.  Most don't have that in Bangladesh." 

Keola was able to keep in contact by cellphone with his office while we were on the trip.  He is working on a project to help reduce instances of toddlers drowning in Bangladesh which is one of the leading causes of childhood fatalities.

We made a stop at the village to pick up supplies as well as the forest ranger who carried a rifle and would accompany us for our entire trip. Babul was a young apprentice who did all the odd jobs around the boat.

 We were joined on our tour by another American named, Mark.

The ranger told Art that his rifle carried blanks to scare off a tiger should we happen to come across one on our nature walks.

Ali told us that he's only seen a tiger four times in the 11 years he's been doing tour guiding.

 It was exciting to see this rhesus monkey in the wild.

We didn't see all that many wildlife, but these amphibious fish called mudskippers really intrigued me.  They use their pectoral fins to walk on the mud and they really do skip.

Those things sticking out of the ground are aerial roots similar to cypress tree roots we've seen in Southern Illinois.

Mark and Keola, both world travelers and having lived in D.C. had some shared experiences they could talk about.  Mark said he'd already visited almost 80 countries.  I was impressed!

There was a full bunch of bananas that Ali said we could snack on. 

I was amazed at the quantity and variety of Bengali food that the crew was able to provide for us during our trip.  It was very tasty and we enjoyed it a lot.

They did give us forks so we wouldn't have to use our right hands.

Ali also assured me that I didn't need to stay covered up during the boat trip.  I still kept my long pants on to be respectful of their customs.

We saw a WHOLE lot of river palms. 

Ali told us that the mangrove forest is made up of about 80% Sundari trees.  Sundarbans is named for the Sundari trees.  Sundarban means beautiful lady.

The Sundarbans is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.The Sunderbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,  most of which situated in Bangladesh and the remaining in India.  The Sundarbans National Park is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere Reserve located in the Sundarbans delta in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sundarbans South, East and West are three protected forests in Bangladesh. This region is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger.
                                                                                             -- Wikipedia

We saw lots of birds from a distance but couldn't get many clear shots.  There were gorgeously colored kingfishers and large eagles.

The sunsets were absolutely breathtaking.

I didn't think I could sleep knowing spiders could be crawling over me so Art set up the mosquito netting.

It was a good thing because despite the fact that Ali said there weren't any mosquitoes, I knew they (and the spiders) were out there.

And they were!

Day #19 March 29: Dhaka to Mongla

We woke up at 4:00 to morning prayers on loud speakers from the mosques in the city.

Keola made a wonderful breakfast for us and then we walked out to the city to go shopping.

Keola said I needed a salwar kameez (long blouse) and an orna (shawl).  He reassured me that the light cotton material should be cooler for me.

Out on the street, Keola hailed a CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) which is similar to the tuk tuks in Cambodia and Thailand.

He then had to negotiate a price for us.

The wire cage around the vehicle made it feel like we were trapped in a moving chicken coop.  There were NO safety belts!

Yes, the three of us managed to fit in the back!

We went to the Aarong store where prices are fixed.  I was so happy we wouldn't have to bargain.  Keola scoured the store to find what he felt I should buy.

I was so hot and sweaty that I chose a salwar kameez that was looser than what I should wear (according to Keola).

 Aarong is one of the leading retail chains in Bangladesh operating under BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), the largest non-profit in the world. Fighting to uphold the dignity of the marginalized, this chic brand began as a humble project. It was established in 1978, with the mission to provide income-generating and social development opportunities for poor rural women, while also protecting and promoting Bangladeshi handicrafts. All profits generated through sales are ploughed back into expanding opportunities for more low-income producers and to cross-subsidize BRAC programs for the ultra poor, health, education and livelihood development. Aarong received recognition as a Super brand in 2009, and remains the market leader in the Bangladesh fashion industry.
                                                                   --Wikipedia

I was so HOT that I removed my long sleeve shirt and used my shawl to cover my shoulders.  It wasn't perfect, but I just couldn't stand the heat any longer.

City life in Bangladesh was very different from Vietnam, Cambodia or Thailand.

In fact, it surprised us that each of the previous countries were so different from each other in culture, language and structures.

Art's friend, Morris is an electrician in Hawaii. Art had to take this photo on the Dhaka street to show him that the wires there are probably not up to code.

We left Keola's apartment at 5:15 PM and took a scary CNG ride to the airport.  Dhaka traffic is horrendous!

This was the WORST 45 minute plane ride I have ever been on.  The air conditioning was not working and I'm surprised no one passed out from the heat in the aircraft.

However, they did provide us with a huge snack which was surprising.

We flew from Dhaka to Jessore.

At Jessore a car was waiting to drive us to Mongla's Hotel Pashur.  I thought we'd already been in as scary a ride as it was possible to have.  I was wrong.

It was a harrowing three hour ride in the dark through villages and countryside where there were often no street lights and crowded with people, cars, bikes, rickshaws, trucks and every manner of conveyance.  I was amazed that we made it safely to our hotel where we grabbed a quick chicken soup before going to bed.

I was concerned that we hadn't heard from Nijhoom, our tour company or guide at the hotel.

"What if no one shows up?"  I asked Keola.

"Don't worry," he said.  "Worrying doesn't help.  It will work out.  Somehow.  In the end, it always works out."

Sure enough, we got a message that our guide would pick us up at 6:00 the following morning.  

After staying at all the fancy hotels in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, this hotel was a change of pace.

But that's OK, it worked out.

Day #18 March 28: Bangkok to Dhaka

Although we would be leaving on a later flight to Bangladesh, we went with our tour group to Suvarnabhumi International Airport.  Their flight to Hawaii (with a stop in Taipei) would leave at 8:25 AM and our flight to Dhaka would be at 10:55 AM.  The hotel provided us with a boxed breakfast to eat on the bus.

The airport is new, huge and pretty spectacular.  I thought we'd have lots of time to chat until their plane left, but we had to separate immediately when they checked in.  I wish we could have said a less rushed goodbye, but we all promised to meet again in Hawaii.

There were lots to keep us occupied before our plane left.  I saw this package of Maltesers that an English blogger friend, Tilly Bud often writes about.  I would have tried it, but it was 630 baht.  That's about $21.00.  Yikes!  For chocolate malted balls?

The two and a half hour flight to Dhaka passed by painlessly.  I couldn't believe we'd be seeing our son soon.  We hadn't seen him in two years!

Looking out the window at our first view of Dhaka, I didn't expect to see such a huge city.

We texted him as soon as we landed to let him know our progress through immigration.  His partner, Sarah had visited a couple of weeks before and was able to give us detailed information on how to apply and pay for the VISA to enter the country.

And then there he was!

Did he grow?  He seemed taller.  Was he thinner?  I wondered if he was eating enough.

He took us to his apartment which he said was in a very nice area according to Dhaka standards.







We climbed to the top of his roof and I took this photo of the other side of the lake.

I thought it was hot in Cambodia, but it felt even hotter in Dhaka and I had to be covered up.  It is a Muslim country.  Keola said there shouldn't be skin showing or body shape but that it would be OK to roll up my sleeves.  The shawl I brought was not long enough to be proper so we'd have to go shopping.

Dinner was at a neighborhood Bengali restaurant.  We ate with our RIGHT hand. (No forks, spoons or chopsticks)  You are not supposed to eat with your left hand or pass anything to anyone with your left.  Your left is used for the toilet.  It is NOT easy to eat with only your right, but Keola certainly had the hang of it.

The traffic, hustle and bustle and city noise was a revelation.



There were mosquitoes everywhere.  Art and I had both started taking our Doxycycline (antibiotic) for malaria a couple of days before landing in Dhaka.  I don't think I've ever slept under a mosquito net before. 

We were in Bangladesh with Keola at last and there was so much to catch up on!

I couldn't believe we were finally together again!

Day #17 March 27th: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

This would be the last of our tour days.  Fourteen of our 28 tour friends left the hotel at 7:15.  The other half would spend it shopping, getting a Thai massage and having a more relaxed and enjoyable day near the hotel.

Bangkok is a very modern, thriving city.












Our first stop was at a salt flat.

We saw salt being extracted from ocean water.

Another stop brought us to a place where coconut and palm flowers were used to to make candy, soap, oil, etc.

Art tried his hand at making some coconut candy patties.

Ummm...

They had to be reshaped.  He'll have to leave candy making to the professionals.






Yes, I did buy some scented soap.

We boarded these speed boats to go to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.





I was rather surprised at the speed at which we were traveling through the canals.

It felt like a James Bond movie at times.

People along the river waved at us.










We passed by this boatsman.  I'm glad we didn't topple him over.

Damnoen Saduak is a district in central Thailand in the province Ratchaburi. The central town is most famous because of its floating market held every day till noon on a khlong not far from the district office. However as it has become a prime tourist attraction of the Bangkok vicinity the market has lost its authenticity.
             --Wikipedia


There was some kind of beauty pageant going on and this procession of boats were filled with beautiful women.

You could feel the energy and excitement of everyone around us.

There was a restaurant at the floating market area that had a huge sign displaying several dishes.  One of them caught my eye and I'm sorry, but I had to laugh.  Noodles & Congealed Pork Blood!  Actually, it's not the blood part that caught my attention because I remember my Filipino neighbor making something with pork blood.  It's the "congealed" wording that made me raise my eyebrows.

I'm happy to say that the restaurant we did go to for lunch was a lot more sensitive to our western palates.

We went to the Vanda Restaurant.

Ms. Lucky advised us not to fill our plates with everything from the buffet, but to select one thing and savor it before moving on to something else.

We tried the pad Thai and added cilantro, lime juice and other condiments to really experience it.  It was the BEST pad Thai we've ever had.  YUM!

The pho was so wonderful that no matter how full she was, one of our tour members went back to get another bowl.  I would have joined her, but the dessert bar called to me.

After lunch, we saw the elephant act which was OK...

There was a Thai boxing, wedding and dance show next which gave us a nice flavor of Thailand's culture.

This was our last evening together and we were feeling sad about parting after spending so much time together.





The hot pot dinner at M & K Restaurant was excellent.  You got to order whatever ingredient you wanted to add to your shared hot pot.  We put a whole bunch of stuff in ours and it was absolutely scrumptious!!!

We had some of our best food that day.

We loved seeing Ronald McDonald wishing us Sawadeekrup with his hands together in Thai fashion.

Was he wishing our tour a Thai goodbye or an American welcome home?

Art and I would not be going home yet.  We would now embark on the most important part of our trip.  We were going to visit our son and I could hardly wait!