I got to Chittagong, Bangladesh last Saturday morning and started work at the university on Sunday (work week is Sunday - Thursday here). Work's been fine, and as there's a van that picks us up in the morning to take us from our flat to school, I haven't had much chance to do any exploring, until yesterday.
Yesterday, I finally got to walk around Chittagong and went with Ara, one of the teachers here, and we went on a mission to find an umbrella, a computer screen, and bread (bread's not easy to come by). We went to this mall which was 8 floors of the same shop repeated, and got to the top level where there were the two most upscale shops. We asked if they had umbrellas, and they didn't, but the manager of the store told us that one of his clerks would take us to another market to find an umbrella. So, Ara and I got into a CNG (little three-wheeled death-cage-cab) with this clerk, Joey, and went to this market about 10-15 min away in a neighborhood that we didn't know. Joey paid for the cab and we started wandering around to all of these little shops after seeing that the umbrella market was closed for the day.
The umbrella market is apparently a few floors of umbrella shops, conveniently all in one place for your umbrella shopping needs.
We wandered through all of these back alleys until we found a good umbrella, which Joey haggled for, most shops we went to only had one or two, and I paid 150 Taka ($2) for a decent umbrella. They had this really great umbrella there too, but it was 450 Taka ($6) and Joey wouldn't let me buy it because it was a "big price". Then, Joey took us back to the main street, put us in a CNG, PREPAID the driver for us to get back to the mall/shopping center that we started from, and sent us on our way. We tried to offer him some money for his time, but he wasn't having it. So, all in all, my first excursion into Chittagong was a success, as evidenced by my new umbrella.
These photos are all from the rooftop two floors up from our flat in Chittagong.
Speaking of roofs, we ate on our friend's rooftop when we went in Chittagong (three years ago) to finish our beat assignment about the Shrine of Hazrat Bayezead Bostami and the War Cemetery. That served as our final exam, and we had a fantastic time there! I find Bangladesh's spicy fried rice simply delectable. I can't remember what it was called, but it was cooked by our friend's aunt.
ReplyDeleteSon Lakhani
That's not bad for a final exam. Oh my, how I miss mine also, Son. :) Our beat assignment was about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and I'm glad it went well. We didn't make it to the rooftop because people are not allowed to go there due to its current state.
DeleteNeil Hirsh
I went to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Neil. That beautiful tower is one hundred feet in diameter and 179 feet in extreme height, if I'm not mistaken. What I like most about it is its fine mosaic pavements, elaborately carved columns, and numerous bas-reliefs. The roof is obviously off-limits, Neil. It's for your own good, you know. :)
DeleteBrendan Gertner