The Bangladesh CountrysideJohn Cockburn — Peterborough, ON The Lonely Planet travel guide says "the world has (much) to learn about the trend setting, breathtaking and hard-working country that is Bangladesh." I agree. Trend setting like banning almost all plastic bags, banning gasoline and diesel vehicles from major cities, and creating new national parks. One trend not under their control is global warming. The country is really one large delta. As polar ice caps melt and oceans rise, land erosion and human relocations will create massive problems. Bangladesh will suffer more than almost any nation.
On the third day we went south-east into the countryside, a three-hour drive. The highway was smooth and wide and our 6 am departure meant little traffic. Wide rivers gave way to fields of water, some were fish ponds, some rice paddies, some grew fish first and then rice in the dry season. As we moved to higher ground vegetables were seen and some livestock. On another excursion we saw wide rivers, wide flooded valleys and then higher land with bananas, coconut, jute, logging, and livestock. Later we took a three day excursion to the north and west Again we saw wide rivers, wide flooded valleys and then higher land with bananas, coconut, jute, logging and some livestock. We saw farmers in their fields at sun-up and sun-down The highway was mostly smooth but very crowded – towns and villages were obviously very poor. Transportation seemed to be either big buses or rickshaws, all vying with hordes of trucks for space. Our bus driver seemed to me to be playing a constant game of chicken as he swerved from side to side to pass or meet the assorted size and speed of all road users, with inches to spare.
The pulse of a nation is reflected in its media. Front page headlines our last day included – "Government plans special privileges for disabled citizens: P.M."; German investors to set up energy efficient (light) bulb plant"; the country's target is to "bring down the Total Fertility Rate to 2.2%"; Bangladesh is seeking $10 billion of external aid to help adapt to climate change." Bangladesh truly is "trend setting, breathtaking and hard working". Thank you SCAW for this amazing opportunity to help their children. |
