Every corner I turn is an adventure here in Dhaka.....
We woke early this morning to "beat the heat" and walked over to "The American Club" about 10 minutes away. You have to be a US passport holder to become a member of this club and pay a yearly fee to use their rather nice facilities that include a pool, work out room, tennis courts, playground and dining. Rick is a member and I got to go as his guest. I have learned there is an "Australian Club" so I want to try and find out if I can get into that for the week I am here:)
On our very pleasant morning walk, I learned that Dhaka people are NOT the morning kind like the other Asians I have experienced. They stay up late and wake up late. On the walk to the club we walked through a man made track and it was great to see both women and men walking/exercising on the "track".
It was nice to get to the club and work up a bit of a sweat in the gym before sitting down to a nice breakfast....of course I ordered something "American"--iced coffee and a breakfast burrito..haha! Its been a while since I've had salsa and cheese! We headed back home and I was fortunate to join Rick's weekly meditation group. Along with feeling so centered and enlightened after our kindness meditation, I met some new friends too.
After a lounge around, we headed into the main suburb center (on a rickshaw of course!) to check out some more sari shops and antique stores. I know I know...I got a new sari set yesterday but now I'm looking for one that is red and white....the New Year colors...nothing really stood out to me today but I got a few more days to try (The Bengali New Year celebration is April 14!). Maybe I should just buy a print and get something tailor made...that's about $3 to do here! We also stopped at a complex that specialized in cheap pearls and "antiques". Rick says these antiques have literally come off old shipwrecks out in the ocean....there was some pretty interesting stuff there that's for sure.
We also had to get some thing from the pharmacy....here, practically anything can be purchased over the counter...WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION!!! pretty unbelievable!
Bangladesh play Australia in the cricket today (here in Dhaka!) but tickets are apparently so hard to get by...I'll check scores online:)
A few interesting things I've noted and learnedso far on my second day in Bangladesh:
- There is a LOT of construction going on here in Dhaka...absolutely fascinating to watch the guys at work...they tear down and build absolutely everything BY HAND! imagine full 4 storey buildings being torn down by man power!!!!
- The government has outlawed plastic bags in the country....woo hoo! so there are some beautiful brown paper packaging bags given at stores and grocery stores!
- There isn't really BLUE sky in Dhaka...just a haze/grey...the captain on my plane gave me a "haze index" on arrival
- Every day in Rick's building the power goes out for an hour or two...that's because the city can't handle all the electricity being used..especially in the heat of the summer when air conditioners are being used constantly!
Hope you like the pics...!
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