Frustration, frustration, frustration

Yes, this is what I felt like last night. Get the point?

I think the Bangladeshi government should post this sign at the airport as you are exiting customs into the chaos of Dhaka:

I spent the last 30 minutes looking for a good photo to represent what I went through last night. There are a lot of really funny pictures on the web when you type in "frustration". I thought visuals would be a good way to start my story.

My transportation fiasco last night reminded me of why I will not miss Dhaka when I leave. Trying to get to New Market last night to get some flea market shopping done, it took us 1.5 hours in an open air CNG (those little golf cart like things I mentioned before), to get there, and it was pouring out, so my beautiful white pants got soaking wet. Granted, I know the same 12km ride on highway from LAX to UCLA takes the same amount of time, but at least generally you are in a nice comfortable, air conditioned car. That makes the traffic a little more bearable. But the open air CNG made the mix of car fumes, trash, and rain, or the more unbearable last night.

Then, when we were leaving New Market we first, got harassed by a group of beggar kids who were rudely aggressive and touching me and slapping me on the arm to get my attention. I generally always give money to beggar kids, like 2 or 5 taka, but I really don't like it when they touch me. Being stressed out from not finding an open CNG for about 20 minutes in bumper to bumper traffic, I was not in any mood for kids to be hounding me for money. We kept on walking to different corners of the intersection to try to a) lose the kids and b) find a CNG. Sweaty and annoyed, Abra and I were getting VERY frustrated.

This nicely dressed man with very good English decided to take us under his wings because he saw us walking from corner to corner and still not having any luck. Anyways, long story short, he spent the next hour with us trying to find a CNG, then we took a rickshaw (three people in a rickshaw doesn't make for a comfortable ride) where my left leg was sticking out, dangerously exposed to getting scraped by an oncoming vehicle, for 30 minutes, and then finally, after the people we were supposed to meet for dinner had already finished their meal, we arrived at our location.

Then, after we finished, it took us another hour waiting in a hotel lobby for a taxi that the hotel called for us to show up even though they kept on saying "20 minutes, no problem, 20 minutes". I have come to realize that nothing in Dhaka takes 20 minutes.

My happiness from eating my great meal at dhaba wore off about 30 minutes into the wait. I was so happy when I finally got home (I can't believe I am actually calling the Grand Prince Hotel my home) last night, but even happier that I finally knocked some sense into myself and am moving to the Pacific Inn Hotel in the more convenient (to eatable places), cleaner, a little bit less crazy ex-pat area in Banani next week.

Sorry for the ranting. On another note, I love my white linen pants, but they were a stupid choice to bring to Dhaka. Everytime I get them cleaned, the next day I wear them, they have dirt splatter marks all over the back side and I need to get them cleaned again. sigh, so frustrating!

Happy news: My friend Ben is coming to visit from Hong Kong, and I'm really excited about it. It will be good to spend time with an old friend though I think he's crazy to want to actually come to Dhaka for no apparent reason. No one actually comes to Dhaka unless you HAVE to. It will be good to spend my last week in Bangladesh with a familiar face. We will head to Srimongol so he can see the utter beauty of the countryside that is completely opposite of the ugliness that you live and experience in Dhaka city.

Bangladesh as a country has a lot to offer in terms of topography, flora, and fauna. It's beauty is not unlike many of the more famous areas of the world that I have been to, such as Costa Rica and Thailand. And I have found [most of its] people have been extremely welcoming,warm hearted, sincere, and eager to help. So while it seems like all I do is complain about how much I dislike Dhaka, I do love the rest of Bangladesh. I definitely think the country is an untapped tourist destination- but only for the thick skinned adventure loving outdoorsie type who are at peace with any and all kinds of bugs and reptiles, and who don't mind being dirty and sweaty all day long.