Share Your Ideas : Travelers around

Basic Language tips in Bangladesh while traveling

2009-04-15T13:34:00.000+06:00

Here are the basics:

Hello/ Asalam Walekum (Respond) Walekum Asalam
Goodbye / Khuda Hafiz
Yes / Ji
No / Na
Thank you / Dhonnobad
Where / Kothai
Do you speak English / Apni english janen?

1 / Ek
2 / Dui
3 / Tin
4 / Char
5 / Pach
6 / Chai
7 / Shat
8 / Aat
9 / Noy
10 / Dosh

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Travel around Bangladesh

2009-04-15T13:31:00.002+06:00

Buses

Amazingly, once you cross the border from India into Bangladesh, there is a marked improvement in the roads and the buses are more like the coaches you would see in the West. Very comfortable. They mainly run between Dhaka and Chittagong. There are older ordinary buses into the country areas. Bangladesh is also different to other Islamic countries. You can sit next to the opposite sex with no problems.

Local Transport

There are local buses to get you out of the cities on short jaunts. They are always packed and generally, you will need to buy a ticket before you get on the bus. There are also local taxis, they never use their meter. There are also rickshaws, they are better than the Indian ones. Last but not least, there are the cycle rickshaws. Slow but loads of fun.

Food

Bangladeshi food is as varied as Indian. A typical meal will be rice and beef. There are vegetarian options but they mainly consist of Dahl. Rice is served with every meal. Be it plain rice or Biryani.

Drinks

Chai is everywhere, but not the masala type from India. If you do need to drink alcohol, you can either go to the Embassy bars, or authorise bars in the city, there are some places for this in the markets that will sell beer and spirits. Always drink bottled water.

Money

The official currency is the Bangladeshi Taka. Changing money can be a real issue in Bangladesh. In Dhaka, there are Cashpoint machines everywhere.

Language

Bengali is the official language, but English is widely spoken.

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Bangladeshi Sights

2009-04-15T13:27:00.003+06:00

Dhaka

Dhaka, there are sites to see. The British Rule never made it, but they do have a great National Assembly and there are ruins of old palaces and a Mughal Fort. Generally, the main area to hang out in is Motijheel, whilst all the Embassies and private bars are in the Gulshan area . The old city is great to walk around. The locals are awesome.

Chittagong

The second largest city in Bangladesh. There are numerous Buddhist Monasteries amongst the Islamic Mosques. From Chittagong, see the largest ship breaking yards in the world.

Cox’s Bazaar

The worlds longest beach. Who would believe that Bangladesh can boast this. Swim there, you will be the only tourist. Above the city is a huge Buddhist Monastery. There are various Stupas as well. The Buddhists and the images are related to the Burmese.

Sylhet

Grab a bike and go cycling though tea estates. If you are lucky, you might get a tour and a taste test. There are also tribal communities, but they are very hard to contact. Visit the daily pilgrims to the Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal. Take a walk through the Lowacherra Forest. It is dense with trees and if you are lucky, you will spot the local wildlife.

Sundarban
World's largest mangrove single forest. Place of Royal Bengal Tigers. Its a must see sight.

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Gregory Miwok 18 Day Pack

2009-04-15T13:22:00.000+06:00

At first glance, the Gregory Miwok 18 Day Pack may not seem like a very impressive day pack. But you would be judging this book by its cover if you were to come to that assumption. The Gregory Miwok 18 Day Pack is a very well thought out day pack with a lot of features that you can only appreciate after having taken it out for a day on the trail or around town sight seeing. You don’t have to take this randoms bloggers word for it though. The Gregory Miwok 18 Day Pack comes highly recommended by National Geographic Adventurer.

This well engineered day pack was National Geographic Adventurer’s Gear of the Year for 2009. That alone should say a good amount about the Gregory Miwok 18 Day Pack. So, what are some of the really cool features that make the Gregory Miwok 18 Day Pack so exciting? One feature that I am quite found of is the on-the-fly compression system. The pack features an internal compression system that can be cinched up even while you are wearing the pack. So now when you have things bouncing around in your pack or you feel like stuff is sitting right, you can just pull a few cords and tighten everything up.

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Eagle Creek Thrive Travel Pack

2009-04-15T13:21:00.000+06:00

Eagle Creek Thrive Travel Pack - Built for the long haul.

Typical backpacking backpacks tend to work quite well for round the world type traveling. Many serious travelers use them without question and have no serious complaints. That’s probably because they have never had the opportunity to try on a backpack made especially for travel. The Eagle Creek Thrive Travel Pack is not only made specifically for travel, but made for extended travel. For those of you who are away from home for months at a time, let the Eagle Creek Thrive Travel Pack help carry and secure all your travel essentials.

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You have to know what is Language of Bangladesh while you are travelling there

2009-04-15T13:17:00.002+06:00

The language of Bangladesh is Bengali (Bangla). Bengali is an Indo-Aryan language it evolved from Sanskrit. Sanskrit being one of the oldest languages documented in the world. Bengali writing is a cursive script like other Indian scripts, originating from the Brahmi alphabet of the Asokan inscriptions. It contains 52 consonants and 12 vowels. English is also spoken in many places.

English is mostly used for foreigners and travelers come here. As Old British sub-continent, English is very sharply can be used for purpose.

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Lauachapra Looking for the Elephants : Story by Inam Ahmed

2009-03-29T09:32:00.004+06:00

Lauachapra
Looking for the Elephants

Source

Story By: Inam Ahmed
Photo By: Syed Zakir Hossain & Inam Ahmed

I called Ronald Halder to tell him about the civet caught at Ramna Park. He gave me a different piece of information. He was in Gazni to watch a herd of elephants roaming the forest. It took us a few minutes to rent a car. Luckily, Dr Reza Khan was in city. He said he would love to join us. So, in the morning we set off on the elephant trail.

As with Reza Khan, any journey is always an eventful one. Every few minutes he would cry out: "Stop! Stop!" and then rush out with his antique camera. Often, it would be a common bird like a shrike or a kingfisher. But his interest would never die. He would then go on to explaining why the shrike is called 'Kosai Pakhi' in Bangla -- because of its habit of piercing its prey, usually a geco or a small insect, into a stick and then slowly tearing it off with small bites.

But you cannot match Reza Khan's enthusiasm. And we all enjoyed his childlike excitement.

Close to Sherpur I had dozed off for a while and then suddenly woke up with a weird sensation. When we began in the morning it was a glorious day as the Brits would put it. Lots of sunshine and warmth. But now it was thick fog all around us that blocked vision like a shutter. Thick mist was blowing across like blizzard and it was chilling to the bone. We asked the local people and they said it had been like this for the last two days. How the weather differs! Dhaka has become a bland fast food, its language has no specialty, its weather , people, culture -- everything so bland and undifferentiating. It is once you go out that you feel the difference in topography and people and climate and environment.

After crossing Sherpur, we hit a narrow metal road. It went on and on for miles to make us drowsy again. We passed a rubber plantation and then came in view the resort. The big iron gate opened to let us in to the sprawling lawn of the resort in the middle of the forest. The rooms run like barracks at the end of the lawn.

We were startled by loud clucking coming from the lawn. We found three purple moorhens in a cage, their brilliant colours reflecting in the sun. The caretaker unlocked the door of the cage and the moorhens stepped out. They flapped wings for a while and fluttered on to the rooftop. From there they flew off somewhere over the forest.

"Do they come back?" I asked the caretaker.
"Oh, yes. They go to the river and in the evening come back to the cage," the man smiled.

We were hungry and cold. And the aroma of khichuri and chicken was proving too much to wait.

After lunch we wanted to take a look around and ask the locals about the elephants. On our way here we had seen large signboards instructing people what to do in case of elephant attacks. So elephants must be a menace for the locals.

The winter afternoon light glowed brilliantly on the hills and their trees. The light cascaded down the foliages, creating strange layers of light and shade. Suddenly you would feel that these are not trees but some green and dark clouds floating in the air. We trotted up a yellow dirt road that had snaked through the hills. It is a land of the Garos, the indigenous people with distinct features and culture. We could see their villages, on hilltops. We walked up to an assembly of Garo houses -- they were simple mud houses with a yard in the middle. Children played in the yard and seven puppies lay snug and warm together by an oven dug in the ground.

We talked to them about the elephants. They said the tuskers were here only a few days ago and might have wandered off to the east. They offered us their local drink Chu. This is the kind of hospitality of the Garos that had always touched me, their simplicity and warmth, their friendliness and big-heartedness.

We thanked them and got down to the trail. It was getting dark and we just wanted to scout around a little. Tomorrow we would go on the trail again. But for now, we were attracted by a flurry of activities along a row of trees bearing red flowers. We went nearer and were dazzled by the display of colours -- hundreds of small birds in all kinds of colours. The pale green White-eye with rings round their eyes. The purple sunbirds with dazzling red and the crimson sunbirds. The beautiful grey-headed myna. They were hardly 15 feet away and did not care. They flew in and out of the trees, twittering all the time. They were so close that we felt we could touch them.

We were watching them all the time while the sun slid down over the hills and the darkness clamped down on us with a repressing cold. The wind blew hard and we shivered.

On the way back, a half-moon escorted us all the way. The jackals had come out of their daytime dens and were baying. It was a strange setting here -- this garo land, the hills, the baying, the cold and the moon. We felt like walking in a dream.

Thanks to Writer of the story.

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Cox's Bazar Pic : 2009

2009-03-28T19:02:00.002+06:00

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Unusual Hotel in Berlin - Propeller Island City Lodge

2009-02-24T12:10:00.002+06:00

What an incredible Hotel and its getup for travellers. Just amazing.......................

The [PROPELLER ISLAND CITY LODGE] is a - truly - VERY extraordinary location. All rooms and objects were created by the German artist Lars Stroschen. Much more appropriate than “hotel” is the designation “living in a work of art”.

30 rooms with an absolutely unique and personal ambience. “Unique” is meant literally, for the entirety of all furnishings and other objects you will discover here are custom-made, individual handiwork. None can be found anywhere else on this planet - one could consider the CITY LODGE to be a MUSEUM with guest accomodations or a stay-in work of SCULPTURE.

Orange Room

Symbol Room

Castle Room

Clouds

Tempel

Flying Bed

Upside Down

4 Beams

Hol(l)y-Wood

Mirror Room

Wrapped

Therapy

Blue Room

The Table

Glas House

Gallery

Freedom

Grandma’s

Padded Cell

Gruft

Landscapes

Chicken Curry

Space-Cube

Museum

Speicher

Nudes

Medi-Terra

Two Lions

Nightlight

Electric Wallpapers

Forest

Breakfast

Reception

1st meeting of the UNWTO Tourism Resilience Committee

2009-02-20T18:24:00.001+06:00

1st meeting of the UNWTO Tourism Resilience Committee
Tourism can play a key role in stimulus programmes : Madrid, 28 January 2009

Tourism, alongside other economic sectors, is feeling the impacts of the deterioration of the global economy.
First meeting of the UNWTO Tourism Resilience Committee held in Madrid.
A unique opportunity to assess the volatile economic situation and its impact on tourism, and discuss response and policy recommendations.
Tourism may play a chief role in stimulus programmes, including infrastructure programmes, due to its immense capacity to create jobs and its recovery potential.

9 Tips on How to Travel Greener : By Julie Blakley

2009-01-08T10:42:00.001+06:00

9 Tips on How to Travel Greener

It’s a paradox of modern travel—in order to see and experience the natural wonders and beauty of the globe; you must contribute to the carbon emissions that are helping to destroy the planet. And, because many of the same people who love to travel are also environmentally conscious, traveling and seeing the world can pose a substantial moral dilemma. Travel and see the world and contribute to not only better global awareness of environmental risks, or stay at home and reduce your carbon footprint?

For those of us who love the planet, yet refuse to stay at home and not see it, there are several things you can do to minimize your impact on the environment without having to give up travel. By practicing a few of these green tips, you can pack your bags and set on your adventures with a whole lot less guilt about melting ice caps and disappearing polar bears.

1 - Offset your carbon emissions

Air travel is blamed for about 2% of the worldwide carbon dioxide emissions responsible for global warming, and with more and more people taking to the skies every year, this number is only going to increase. An easy way to cruise at 35,000 feet without feeling as bad about the jet fuel being used to power the airplane is to buy carbon offsets.

While buying these offsets won’t put any of the oil you used on that flight back into the ground or take any of the carbon dioxide out of the air (though wouldn’t that be nice), buying them will help fund renewable energy research and practice. Companies like Carbon Neutral and Terrapass allow you to counteract the damage you are doing by flying by helping to fund the taking away other forms of carbon emissions somewhere else. Although buying these offsets will do a bit of damage to your wallet, you can continue to fly the friendly skies guilt free.

2 - Pack Light

Save the hassel and the environment

There are plenty of reasons to pack light besides trying to help the environment. Not only will it make getting from point A to point B a lot less of a hassle (not to mention avoiding those pesky checked bag fees airlines are now charging), but packing lighter means less weight on the plane, which in turn means a more fuel efficient aircraft. This way of traveling greener is not only simple, but also free. While offsetting your carbon emissions from the flight will set you back several dollars, bringing a few less pairs of shoes on your next vacation won’t cost you a dime.

Not sure how to pack light and still feel like you have everything you need on your next trip? Check out Rick Steve’s packing light suggestions before you zip up that suitcase for your next trip.

3 - Travel Slow

While there is a glamorous mystic involved in jet-setting the globe and bouncing from country to country on a plane, there is an entire travel movement based on the idea of traveling slower—and it has little to do with helping out the environment. In fact, Rolf Potts, travel writer and author of the popular book Vagabonding on the art of long term, advocates this type of travel as a way of having more meaningful and unique travel experiences. The bonus? Slowing down is a great way not only to enrich your travel experiences, but also help out all of those polar bears. By taking fewer, longer trips, you reduce your carbon footprint from all those flights and traveling overland (by bus, train or on foot) can dramatically reduce your environmental impact whilst traveling (and you’ll probably have a better time anyways).

4 - Reuse linens and towels more than once in hotels

Many hotels have programs where you can chose to use your towels more than once and sleep in your sheets more than one night. By alerting the hotel that you’d like to do this, you not only saving the maid from a lot of work, but you are also saving a lot of energy that would have been used in washing and drying those sheets and towels. This is a great (and free!) way of helping out the environment without much effort or shelling out any cash. Plus, who only uses a towel once and sleeps on sheets one night anyways?

5 - Take the Train

Taking the train reduces carbon emissions

While this next suggestion on the list certainly isn’t a practical solution in all cases (I mean, who has time or desire to spend 5 days on a train from New York to Los Angeles?), opting to take the train rather than flying or driving can be a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Especially in places like the northeastern United States, Europe and even parts of the west coast in the U.S. well connected train systems make for convenient and fast travel—meaning taking the train is not only the environmentally friendly mode of transit, but also a fast and easy way of getting from point A to point B. Because trains can carry so many people and use much less energy person, rather than driving alone in your car (and guzzling a whole bunch of gas) or burning through tons of jet fuel on a plane opt for taking to the rails the next time you travel.

6 - Rent a hybrid or compact car (or no car at all)

Compact cars = less gas

While you can buy carbon offsets for your flight that got you to your destination, renting a big vehicle to get you around once you get there will undo any of that good as soon as you get on the road. Car rental companies are sticking increasingly large numbers of hybrid cars, which can be a good option if you need to do a lot of driving and don’t want to guzzle gas. If you don’t want to shell out the dough on renting a hybrid, renting a compact car will not only save you money, but is also more environmentally friendly. Since you’ve already packed light to help the environment, fitting your luggage into the compact car shouldn’t be a problem, right? If you are going to place with good public transportation, you can also book a hotel close into town and opt out of renting a car altogether (an even cheaper option).

7 - Sail, don’t cruise

Let the wind power your cruise

Environmentalists have a huge beef with cruise ships. These massive floating cities just seem to keep getting bigger and bigger and according to environmental group Bluewater Network, cruise ships dump an average of 5-7 gallons of sewage per person per day into the ocean. Plus, those big ships use a whole lot of fuel and energy to power them through the water. That means that while you are enjoying the beautiful scenery, wildlife and glaciers on that Alaskan cruise, you are also contributing to polluting and destroying it. A great way to still get out on the high seas without hurting the environment is to use wind to power your vessel and sail instead of cruising. There are many tour and adventure companies which offer sailing excursions everywhere from the Mediterranean to Iceland to the Caribbean. Not only will you be helping out the environment by sailing, you’ll also avoid the hoards of tourists descending on towns when cruise ships dock and you’ll probably have a much more unique, rewarding and fulfilling experience.

8 - Buy Local Products

While this suggestion is as easily applicable in your everyday life at home, it is also a great green travel tip. Buying locally made and produced products is not only a great way to experience a place and/or culture; it also is great for the environment. Buying local means food and other products spend a lot less time on trucks, ships and planes, meaning less energy is used to get them to you. Plus, the best way to experience the specialties of an area is to buy things made nearby—whether that be exotic fruits in Asia or locally made cheese in France.

9 - Stay at a Green Hotel

Kimpton hotels are green and hip

One of the biggest parts of any travel experience is where you stay, so it makes sense that picking an eco-friendly hotel is a great way to travel greener. Some hotels like the Kimpton chain have dedicated themselves to eco-friendly practices—using energy efficient devices and compact fluorescent bulbs, extensively recycling and using recycled products, using eco-friendly cleaning supplies, reducing waste and more. While “green washing” has been a recent marketing ploy to attract business and travelers should be skeptical of hotels that claim to be environmentally friendly, there are a growing number of hotels out there (like Kimpton) that are truly dedicated to eco-friendly practices and making sure you have as low of an environmental impact as possible during your stay. Because being eco-friendly can come with a steeper price tag, make sure to do you research and find out what ways the hotel seeks to protect the environment.

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Please vote for Cox's Bazar : Cox's Bazar (Bengali: কক্স বাজার Kôksho Bajar or Kôks Bazar) is a town, a fishing port and district headquarter in Bangladesh. It is known for its wide sandy beach which is claimed to be the world's longest natural sandy sea beach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cox%27s_Bazar

Please Vote for Sundarban : The Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন Shundorbôn) is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundarbans

Share Your Valuable Views, memories and thinking on Your Culture, Educations, Professions etc.

Adventures of a Vegetarian

2009-01-08T10:15:00.002+06:00

Details : Adventures of a Vegetarian

A nice blog to get info from a Vegetarian. With a lot of efforts, its just awesome in details. Some that blogs are as ;

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There are several good veg friendly restaurants in Orange County CA. For those of you that don’t know the OC is about 30 miles south of Los Angeles and is known for its beaches and malls.

Rutabegorz (Tustin and Orange Locations)- Mainly veg home cooked food with huge portions. Try the squash that got stuffed, mexican casserole, black bean tostada, chili, and their soups and salads.

Anarbagh Indian Restaurant (Tarzana)- My fav north indian food in LA with many vegetarain options

Annapurna (Culver City)- Purely Vegetarian South Indian cusine. I highly reccomend the Pav Bhaji and Channa Batura.

Madelines Bistro (Tarzana)- Veg and Vegan upscale bistro with beautifully prepared food.

Border Grill (Santa Monica)-Good vegetarian options at this modern Mexican inspired restaurant. I reccomend the Chile Relleno and Mushroom Mullitas mains.

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Au Lac (Fountain Valley)-Veg chinese and vietnames food. Here you can try “veggie” fish, shrimp, squid, beef, chicken, etc. It is amazing how realistic everything is.

Thai Spice (Tustin Marketplace)-Many veg options but I reccomend the spicy garlic tofu.

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Please vote for Cox's Bazar : Cox's Bazar (Bengali: কক্স বাজার Kôksho Bajar or Kôks Bazar) is a town, a fishing port and district headquarter in Bangladesh. It is known for its wide sandy beach which is claimed to be the world's longest natural sandy sea beach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cox%27s_Bazar

Please Vote for Sundarban : The Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন Shundorbôn) is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundarbans

Share Your Valuable Views, memories and thinking on Your Culture, Educations, Professions etc.

Denniblog : A Bootsnall Travel Blog

2009-01-08T10:13:00.000+06:00

Details : Denniblog : A Bootsnall Travel Blog

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Please vote for Cox's Bazar : Cox's Bazar (Bengali: কক্স বাজার Kôksho Bajar or Kôks Bazar) is a town, a fishing port and district headquarter in Bangladesh. It is known for its wide sandy beach which is claimed to be the world's longest natural sandy sea beach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cox%27s_Bazar

Please Vote for Sundarban : The Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন Shundorbôn) is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundarbans

Share Your Valuable Views, memories and thinking on Your Culture, Educations, Professions etc.

Follow me around the world

2009-01-08T10:11:00.000+06:00

Details : Follow me around the world

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Please vote for Cox's Bazar : Cox's Bazar (Bengali: কক্স বাজার Kôksho Bajar or Kôks Bazar) is a town, a fishing port and district headquarter in Bangladesh. It is known for its wide sandy beach which is claimed to be the world's longest natural sandy sea beach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cox%27s_Bazar

Please Vote for Sundarban : The Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন Shundorbôn) is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundarbans

Share Your Valuable Views, memories and thinking on Your Culture, Educations, Professions etc.