The Sun Shines in Sonargaon

We went on our last sight seeing visit of our time here today to a place about an hour and a half out of Dhaka called Sonargaon. Sonargaon was the capital of East Bengal until the Mughals took power in the 17th century when they moved their capital to Dhaka which they thought was more strategic and easier to defend. The highlight of the day was a visit to Painam Nagar. This used to be a flourishing town, I think because it was a centre of trade for textiles, the area was once famous for producing and selling muslin cloth and for a particular type of weaving called Jamdani. Anyway, I can't find out much about this place but it is fascinating! It was built between 1895 and 1905 during the reign of the British Empire in India. The town is really just one long winding street with about 50 town houses that belonged to wealthy Hindu merchants. You'll see from the photos but these houses are just the most amazing old colonial houses, each one different with loads of decorative features. This whole street of houses remains but no one lives there anymore. It's a ghost town. The Lonely Planet explains why....

"At the time of Partition, many owners fled to India, leaving their elegant homes in the care of poor tenants, who did nothing to maintain them. Most of the remaining owners pulled out during the anti-Hindu riots of 1964, which led up to the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War."

So you have this road, full of incredible examples of colonial architecture and no one is really bothered about it. A few of the houses have people who live in them but the majority are just empty. Unfortunately they were boarded up so we couldn't get in them but you could walk right around the back of some of the larger ones and feel like you were properly exploring them. It is a crime really that the government aren't preserving these buildings as they are beautiful and they would make a GREAT tourist attraction if you restored them and fitted them out as they might have been (I would like that job). You can imagine the tiled floors with big pot plants and curtains blowing in the breeze, with the lady of the house having tea on the veranda! Oh I just want to go back in time and see what it was like! On the other hand, I think it's because they are decaying that they are so beautiful. The rain created amazing colours on the walls and the fact that bits are falling off all the buildings just adds to the charm and mystery of this place. It was really like stepping back in time to a deserted old colonial town. I hope the photos do it justice, it was a privilege to see it.

What must have been a grand hall, now roofless.

One of the grander mansions that has now been turned into a folk art museum.

One of the most beautiful buildings in Panaim Nagar.

Look at the tiles still on the floor! And the amazing pillars!

Chris found some time for a game of cricket with the local boys.

After the wonder of Panaim Nagar, we popped in to see the rather less captivating Bangladeshi Taj Mahal, a small, naf, version of the real thing. Bangladeshi's were asking us all day if they could photograph us, we now feature in many family portraits!?

Chloe

P.S. More photos on FB if you are interested!

Bright Pink Lychees

We only have two weeks left in Bangladesh! I'm looking forward to coming home, being the home-bird that i am but there are some brilliant things about life out here that I'll miss and I thought I'd tell you about some of them.

I love the way you can feel the evening sun in this photo which was taken on one of our rickshaw rides to our favourite coffee shop. The ride is all the better for knowing there is a cinnamon roll at the end of it.

Rickshaw rides in the sun. We've had amazing weather while we've been here. It's normally really really hot here like, 38 degrees but for the whole time we've been here it's not got much past 31 which has been really bearable! It really is a treat to be safely wedged into a rickshaw with my lovely husband, riding down a relatively unbumpy bit of road with the sun on your face! There is just so much to see and stare at and you feel kind of safe and a bit removed from it when you are whizzing by on your rickshaw. They are really just good fun, sun or no sun actually, like a mini fairground ride where you have to hang on or fall off!

Beautiful rickshaw hood. Chris is getting quite good at taking creative shots like this!

Lychees. Now, i always thought i didn't like these. I thought they tasted perfumey and there is obviously the whole looking like an eyeball thing to put you off too, but here, where they grow in abundance for a season, they are amazing! The colour of the skin is a really beautiful pink and they just taste sweet and fresh and juicy. Mmm, will miss those.

Lychees. These are a few days old so the pink has faded a bit but still beautiful!

Retro packaging. A trip around the supermarket is a delight too! There are many unusual things about it, like they don't place baskets at the entrance where you could pick one up and start shopping. You have to start shopping and balancing things precariously in your arms before a nice assistant will come and give you a basket from the secret hidey hole that they keep them in. I have particularly enjoyed the packaging of some of the items that looks like something from the 50s! I have been tempted to buy more, but having heard bad things about food standards in many of the factories here I have resisted.

Popcorn and baking powder. So cool!

The informality. Being British I have a very strong sense of doing as i should,  for example queuing up for things, sticking to the highway code, putting my rubbish in the bin etc. But here, people just do what they like! Sometimes it's a problem and there are lots of traffic accidents which is not good due to people just doing what they want on the roads. But in another sense its cool! Rickshaw drivers just go down the tiniest space and up the wrong side of the road and people just walk out in front of cars, stuff gets sold from the corner of the street and it all seems to work! The funniest example of this informality was today at the Indian visa office. I went in to collect our passports and there was an A4 printed colour photograph of the visa officer that i had dealt with 3 weeks earlier. The note underneath it said, 'Mr. Chowdry (not his real name!) has been dismissed from this office for financial irregularities, please don't contact him for any queries regarding visas'. So, we think he was sacked for taking bribes. Anyway, when i met him he had a smart goatee beard but he obviously didn't have this when he first started work as on this picture someone had added on in black marker a goatee beard! It was clearly a drawn on beard!  Can you imagine anyone doing that in an official passport office in the UK?! We stick to the rules in the UK, but we miss out on the comedy that lies in ignoring the rules and doing what you like!!! Unfortunately you aren't allowed cameras into the visa office so I couldn't take a photo!

The last thing i love about here is the tailors. We have made many a visit to Mr Shahin to get clothes copied for a bargain price. I just love being able to pick the fabric and get things i really like copied! Its such a nice surprise to go and pick up the clothes you've ordered and see what they have come out like!

At the tailors, so much to choose from.

Anyway these are a few of my observations about things i will miss. We're going to Sonargoan tomorrow which is the former capital of the region which was deserted hundreds of years ago, there are lots of cool old palaces to see so I am looking forward to that!

Chloe