I was having tea with a friend yesterday when she related this story (that I absolutely have to share). Her daughter and my son are about the same age, so she did kindergarten assessment this year in preparation for the school she will be attending. The school here (as I'm assuming is true with schools everywhere) "test" the children on many different levels looking for physical as well as mental readiness to start school. One of the logic exercises posed the following to the child: "You go into a room and it's dark in there. What do you do?" Naturally, the response they're looking for is that the child realizes that if it's dark, the lights are out and they should turn on the light switch. But, well, we're in Dhaka. So nothing is quite the same. Her daughter's response? "It's okay. The lights will come back on in a minute." And I suppose when you live life immersed in a world of power outages and generators, that's probably true.
How's that for child logic...
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Gimme an H! Gimme an A! ...
That's right, we've got hartals again. The up side is that traffic is totally great, but that's because bus services are cancelled and businesses are closed down. So while I might not really have had anyplace I wanted to go, the fact that I "can't" go anywhere just makes me a little stir crazy.
Here's the "Liz" version of the current crisis (and keep in mind that I was not in any way a political science major in college):
Bangladesh has 2 main political parties - the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Currently the AL is in power, so when the BNP is angry about something or wants to draw general attention to ... anything - they call for a hartal and there is a country-wide strike. Sometimes these are totally peaceful, other times there's rioting and people are arrested and sometimes even killed. To keep us safe, anytime a hartal is called, we are restricted from traveling outside the diplomatic enclave (which is actually fairly large, but does not include my tailor or my new favorite store). Generally, the hartals are fairly peaceful, and they operate during business hours (7:30ish to 5:30ish), so Josh has to leave early to get to school before everything starts and then has to stay at school until after they're done for the day.
Anyway, back to the current situation. Recently (maybe 2 weeks ago now), there was a bribery scandal involving the railroad where a minivan full of cash driven by railroad employees drove up to a police station and claimed all the money inside the van was from bribes paid for ... random reasons. I don't think the reason behind the bribes was nearly as important in the news story I read as the fact that it was bribe money in general. Regardless, this story was in the news for a few days. Shortly after, a key member of the BNP went missing. The BNP is claiming that the AL had him kidnapped (or otherwise disposed of) in order to get the bribery scandal out of the papers. The AL claims that the BNP is hiding the man just to get attention. And so, the BNP is calling for hartals until he is returned. We had 3 days of hartals last week, and the news report I saw yesterday called for hartals today and tomorrow at least.
The down side for us is that several of Josh's instructors were unable to drive to his school due to the hartal, so even on the days when they were not striking, he had to stay late to receive the instruction that they missed during the hartal. It was a long week for him, and long for us as well since he didn't come home until after dinnertime most nights.
On a happier note, we were visited by the Intrigue Family last week as they conducted their regional travel in Bangladesh. You might recall that we visited with them briefly during our travel to Sri Lanka just over a month ago. B and K were happy to play with their friends again, and Josh and I both appreciated the opportunity to catch up with them in person. Since we're not in our house yet (maybe later this week???), they stayed at a local hotel, but we were still able to share a few meals. It was our first opportunity to host someone traveling here, and I hope their lessons learned will be able to help out anyone else who comes to visit.
Oh, and in other news - totally unrelated - I'm happy to announce that K is using the potty! As all of our stuff is still in storage, I had kind of decided to put off potty training until we got into the new house and I had all of my training pants and other assorted items, but with the donation of a Princess Potty, we are up and running!
Here's the "Liz" version of the current crisis (and keep in mind that I was not in any way a political science major in college):
Bangladesh has 2 main political parties - the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Currently the AL is in power, so when the BNP is angry about something or wants to draw general attention to ... anything - they call for a hartal and there is a country-wide strike. Sometimes these are totally peaceful, other times there's rioting and people are arrested and sometimes even killed. To keep us safe, anytime a hartal is called, we are restricted from traveling outside the diplomatic enclave (which is actually fairly large, but does not include my tailor or my new favorite store). Generally, the hartals are fairly peaceful, and they operate during business hours (7:30ish to 5:30ish), so Josh has to leave early to get to school before everything starts and then has to stay at school until after they're done for the day.
Anyway, back to the current situation. Recently (maybe 2 weeks ago now), there was a bribery scandal involving the railroad where a minivan full of cash driven by railroad employees drove up to a police station and claimed all the money inside the van was from bribes paid for ... random reasons. I don't think the reason behind the bribes was nearly as important in the news story I read as the fact that it was bribe money in general. Regardless, this story was in the news for a few days. Shortly after, a key member of the BNP went missing. The BNP is claiming that the AL had him kidnapped (or otherwise disposed of) in order to get the bribery scandal out of the papers. The AL claims that the BNP is hiding the man just to get attention. And so, the BNP is calling for hartals until he is returned. We had 3 days of hartals last week, and the news report I saw yesterday called for hartals today and tomorrow at least.
The down side for us is that several of Josh's instructors were unable to drive to his school due to the hartal, so even on the days when they were not striking, he had to stay late to receive the instruction that they missed during the hartal. It was a long week for him, and long for us as well since he didn't come home until after dinnertime most nights.
On a happier note, we were visited by the Intrigue Family last week as they conducted their regional travel in Bangladesh. You might recall that we visited with them briefly during our travel to Sri Lanka just over a month ago. B and K were happy to play with their friends again, and Josh and I both appreciated the opportunity to catch up with them in person. Since we're not in our house yet (maybe later this week???), they stayed at a local hotel, but we were still able to share a few meals. It was our first opportunity to host someone traveling here, and I hope their lessons learned will be able to help out anyone else who comes to visit.
Oh, and in other news - totally unrelated - I'm happy to announce that K is using the potty! As all of our stuff is still in storage, I had kind of decided to put off potty training until we got into the new house and I had all of my training pants and other assorted items, but with the donation of a Princess Potty, we are up and running!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A House, A House. My Kingdom for a House...
First, bonus points if you recognize my "almost" quote. Second, yes, I did it. I cursed our move. Again. And today I feel much better talking about it than I did yesterday. Maybe if I hadn't already re-boxed up half of our stuff in preparation I would have felt a bit more generous about waiting another 2 weeks. But I DID box stuff up, and I really DID think we were going to move. But now, we will wait. Again. After so long, what's another 14 days?
Third thought of the day - and yes, this is random - ... You know what, we need a brief background story first. So, I think just about everyone I know owns tupperware containers. Maybe you prefer Glad brand or Reynolds. Whatever. You have them in your kitchen. And if you're like me, you use them all the time. But before tupperware, there were butter containers and other totally reusable things that people used to store small quantities of stuff. So how much do I love that here in BG (the land of re-using everything) that my ayah (without my even saying anything) naturally assumed that I would want to reuse all of the ricotta cheese containers that I go through. I came home one day to find all of my boxtop points inside a container on my microwave and my scrubbie sponge in another container next to the sink. After my next round of ricotta, I came home to find my kids eating their morning snacks in them. I love it. Have I mentioned that she also washes out and reuses my ziplock bags? Thriftiness at a whole new level, people.
Third thought of the day - and yes, this is random - ... You know what, we need a brief background story first. So, I think just about everyone I know owns tupperware containers. Maybe you prefer Glad brand or Reynolds. Whatever. You have them in your kitchen. And if you're like me, you use them all the time. But before tupperware, there were butter containers and other totally reusable things that people used to store small quantities of stuff. So how much do I love that here in BG (the land of re-using everything) that my ayah (without my even saying anything) naturally assumed that I would want to reuse all of the ricotta cheese containers that I go through. I came home one day to find all of my boxtop points inside a container on my microwave and my scrubbie sponge in another container next to the sink. After my next round of ricotta, I came home to find my kids eating their morning snacks in them. I love it. Have I mentioned that she also washes out and reuses my ziplock bags? Thriftiness at a whole new level, people.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Garrison Keillor, Where are you??
Well, it's been a quiet week in Dhaka, my hometown... I admit to being a bit of an NPR addict (my kids will one day complain as we ride in the car, "Why can't we listen to music like NORMAL people?" - but luckily at this age, they don't seem to care too much), and I admit it's strange the things you miss while you're not in the states. Radio, for instance. Yes, there are internet alternatives, but I really miss being able to listen to the radio while driving. Especially since driving always takes so long! A blog I read a while back from a family stationed in south-east Asia said that instead of dreading long car rides, you need to pack a book, bring your iPod, have games for the kids, and appreciate all of that nice "quiet" time. Once we're in our house and have our HHG - including my iPod dock - I'll be able to listen to NPR podcasts to my heart's content, but until then...
And on that note, no, we still haven't moved. I know, I know. I said it would be soon. And we really thought it would be. I'm not even sure I can really adequately explain why we're not in our house yet. But we're not. And we're okay with that. As Josh pointed out yesterday, there are people who sleep every night in the unfinished building next door that is still under construction (remember the noises through my bathroom window?) so I can't really complain too much about being in a fully furnished apartment. But I also admit to still feeling unsettled.
This week has been fairly uneventful. We briefly stopped by a Bangladeshi New Years celebration at the embassy, Josh and I had a reception at Mirpur (where I got to experience my first BG-style military function), and other than that, we've just been trying our best to stay busy. The pool is open at the American Club after several months of refurbishment, so we stopped by there earlier in the week and the kids played the entire morning. This also gave me a great excuse to have some more of the yummy pad thai they serve at the club.
My washing machine broke over the weekend - and by broke, I mean it emptied all of the water inside of it through the bottom and all over my floor. At this point, I should perhaps point out - in case you were not aware - that I have a split level kitchen and my washing machine is upstairs. So when all of this water started pouring out, there was a mad dash to grab the mop before I had water pouring down my stairs. Nothing like a little excitement in the middle of the diaper load. The maintenance guys stopped by Sunday morning and said it was definitely broken and they would be back to replace it the next day. All was fine and good except the new washing machine they brought by was also making strange noises. We have been using it now without incident for most of the week, but I hold my breath every time it goes into the spin cycle. While I'd love to say we could survive without a washing machine, I have a chronic bed-wetter and another child in cloth diapers, so there's really a limit to how long I can go without washing things before the smell here gets truly overwhelming. And on that note, I have some laundry I need to get out of the dyer :) Tune in soon for (and here I go cursing it again) pictures of our new place!
 |
| All ready to go to the reception |
This week has been fairly uneventful. We briefly stopped by a Bangladeshi New Years celebration at the embassy, Josh and I had a reception at Mirpur (where I got to experience my first BG-style military function), and other than that, we've just been trying our best to stay busy. The pool is open at the American Club after several months of refurbishment, so we stopped by there earlier in the week and the kids played the entire morning. This also gave me a great excuse to have some more of the yummy pad thai they serve at the club.
My washing machine broke over the weekend - and by broke, I mean it emptied all of the water inside of it through the bottom and all over my floor. At this point, I should perhaps point out - in case you were not aware - that I have a split level kitchen and my washing machine is upstairs. So when all of this water started pouring out, there was a mad dash to grab the mop before I had water pouring down my stairs. Nothing like a little excitement in the middle of the diaper load. The maintenance guys stopped by Sunday morning and said it was definitely broken and they would be back to replace it the next day. All was fine and good except the new washing machine they brought by was also making strange noises. We have been using it now without incident for most of the week, but I hold my breath every time it goes into the spin cycle. While I'd love to say we could survive without a washing machine, I have a chronic bed-wetter and another child in cloth diapers, so there's really a limit to how long I can go without washing things before the smell here gets truly overwhelming. And on that note, I have some laundry I need to get out of the dyer :) Tune in soon for (and here I go cursing it again) pictures of our new place!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Happy Easter and Happy New Years!
So I'm a few days late on the Easter wishes, and a couple days early on the New Years wishes (Bangladeshi New Years anyway). This week has been a bit of a blur mostly because I spent over an entire day just lying in bed. No, I'm not just lazy. I mean, I am - but in this case, I was sick and spent the entire day lying there. While I thought it was ridiculous, we are still on anti-malarials from our recent trip to Sri Lanka, so I was supposed to go see the doctor. Naturally, all he told me was that there's probably nothing wrong with me. I could have told him that over the phone and skipped the visit ;) Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers that now that my fever has gone away, it will stay away.
This past weekend, I went sari shopping for the first time with my upstairs neighbor who has been here a bit longer than I have (and happens to speak Bangla as an added bonus). The next time I'm feeling unhappy, I'm totally going sari shopping. It's probably the easiest way to feel ridiculously gorgeous! Naturally I bought one and next we went to the tailor - which was another "experience" for me. I've heard there are some tailors who speak a lot of English and some who don't speak a lot of English - and you tend to pay accordingly. So for someone who "speaks your language" and understands each and every thing you're trying to tell them, you pay top dollar. For someone who speaks only basic English, you can get a much better price. Naturally, as my neighbor speaks Bangla, we went to a tailor who speaks basic English. Well, that's not even totally true. The guy in charge speaks quite a bit of English and is very easy to understand. The people who work for him have varying levels of understanding. And really, I don't have much room to complain since essentially all I can say so far are "hello" and "goodbye" in Bangla. That's something I intend to work on.
Since I was having a sari made (and not having some sort of western wear produced), I felt totally comfortable dealing with someone who might or might not understand everything I was saying because essentially, this is their style of dress. They know better than I do anyway what it should look like and what they need to do. Experience number 1 with my neighbor who speaks Bangla was excellent. Trip number 2 after another field trip to New Market was a bit sketchy and while I have no idea if I will get exactly what I want, I'm sure I'll be happy with what I get. Trip number 3 (yes, I visited the tailor 3 times this week - please don't judge) was very quick and short. They have acknowledged that I speak no Bangla and we have moved on. Maybe one day I'll surprise them and actually know a few words. The downside of visiting them so often? A trip of 4 km each way took almost 2 hours each time. I can't even really describe traffic here. Oh yeah, google maps says it should take 12 minutes to get from my house to the tailor. Nice. Clearly google is not familiar with Dhaka.
Easter was interesting this year. All of our Easter stuff is in boxes in storage here in a warehouse awaiting our move to our house, so the egg dye kit, easter baskets, eggs, etc are all just sitting there (before you ask, I meant plastic eggs). The DAWC (Dhaka American Women's Club) hosted an egg hunt on Saturday which we took the kids to. It poured rain. So that was fun. We waited for a break in the storm and then headed home. Sunday is a workday here, and Josh was in class, so the kids and I went to Easter mass by ourselves and sat in a virtually empty church (probably a first for me on Easter). The priest mentioned that the vigil mass had been standing room only - a bit more what I'm used to - but it went until 1 o'clock in the morning which would have been a bit late for me. Josh stopped by the mailroom on his way home and was able to pick up boxes full of Easter stuff for the kids mailed from the states, so they still got baskets and toys, and way too much candy. In the end, all was good.
Our field trips this week with Josh's class included the previously mentioned trip to New Market - similar to a Namdaemun experience for those who have been there - as well as a tour of the Ansar Academy and BKSP. The Ansar is similar in ways to the National Guard. There are different level of participation. On the most basic level, there is the VDP - Village Defense Party - which actually has very little to do with defense. There are 32 men and 32 women per village who receive training from the government in some sort of useable skill - weaving, sewing, auto repair, electronics, etc. There is no service obligation associated with this. I think (and this was not directly stated, so I'm extrapolating) that in an emergency situation, these people would be called upon to assist. On higher levels, the participants assist with varying types of security. Anyway, it's an interesting program. Our visit to BKSP was relatively short, and K was kind of done by the time we got there, so I missed much of the brief, but it's essentially a sports training academy of sorts for those who show an affinity.
Have to leave shortly for family photos at the school, but I hope to share photos of my saris once I pick them up from the tailor.
This past weekend, I went sari shopping for the first time with my upstairs neighbor who has been here a bit longer than I have (and happens to speak Bangla as an added bonus). The next time I'm feeling unhappy, I'm totally going sari shopping. It's probably the easiest way to feel ridiculously gorgeous! Naturally I bought one and next we went to the tailor - which was another "experience" for me. I've heard there are some tailors who speak a lot of English and some who don't speak a lot of English - and you tend to pay accordingly. So for someone who "speaks your language" and understands each and every thing you're trying to tell them, you pay top dollar. For someone who speaks only basic English, you can get a much better price. Naturally, as my neighbor speaks Bangla, we went to a tailor who speaks basic English. Well, that's not even totally true. The guy in charge speaks quite a bit of English and is very easy to understand. The people who work for him have varying levels of understanding. And really, I don't have much room to complain since essentially all I can say so far are "hello" and "goodbye" in Bangla. That's something I intend to work on.
Since I was having a sari made (and not having some sort of western wear produced), I felt totally comfortable dealing with someone who might or might not understand everything I was saying because essentially, this is their style of dress. They know better than I do anyway what it should look like and what they need to do. Experience number 1 with my neighbor who speaks Bangla was excellent. Trip number 2 after another field trip to New Market was a bit sketchy and while I have no idea if I will get exactly what I want, I'm sure I'll be happy with what I get. Trip number 3 (yes, I visited the tailor 3 times this week - please don't judge) was very quick and short. They have acknowledged that I speak no Bangla and we have moved on. Maybe one day I'll surprise them and actually know a few words. The downside of visiting them so often? A trip of 4 km each way took almost 2 hours each time. I can't even really describe traffic here. Oh yeah, google maps says it should take 12 minutes to get from my house to the tailor. Nice. Clearly google is not familiar with Dhaka.
Easter was interesting this year. All of our Easter stuff is in boxes in storage here in a warehouse awaiting our move to our house, so the egg dye kit, easter baskets, eggs, etc are all just sitting there (before you ask, I meant plastic eggs). The DAWC (Dhaka American Women's Club) hosted an egg hunt on Saturday which we took the kids to. It poured rain. So that was fun. We waited for a break in the storm and then headed home. Sunday is a workday here, and Josh was in class, so the kids and I went to Easter mass by ourselves and sat in a virtually empty church (probably a first for me on Easter). The priest mentioned that the vigil mass had been standing room only - a bit more what I'm used to - but it went until 1 o'clock in the morning which would have been a bit late for me. Josh stopped by the mailroom on his way home and was able to pick up boxes full of Easter stuff for the kids mailed from the states, so they still got baskets and toys, and way too much candy. In the end, all was good.
Our field trips this week with Josh's class included the previously mentioned trip to New Market - similar to a Namdaemun experience for those who have been there - as well as a tour of the Ansar Academy and BKSP. The Ansar is similar in ways to the National Guard. There are different level of participation. On the most basic level, there is the VDP - Village Defense Party - which actually has very little to do with defense. There are 32 men and 32 women per village who receive training from the government in some sort of useable skill - weaving, sewing, auto repair, electronics, etc. There is no service obligation associated with this. I think (and this was not directly stated, so I'm extrapolating) that in an emergency situation, these people would be called upon to assist. On higher levels, the participants assist with varying types of security. Anyway, it's an interesting program. Our visit to BKSP was relatively short, and K was kind of done by the time we got there, so I missed much of the brief, but it's essentially a sports training academy of sorts for those who show an affinity.
Have to leave shortly for family photos at the school, but I hope to share photos of my saris once I pick them up from the tailor.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Let the Orienting Begin!
Josh's course orientation started this past week, so we are officially on our own - if you don't count my helper and driver who both also started this week. We are still in temporary housing, but I have seen the new house (it actually does exist) and we hope to move in before the end of the month. Mid-month would be nice, but likely that would be pushing things a bit. We're comfortable where we are, and other than really wishing K had not had a growth spurt, we had enough stuff in our suitcases to last us. It's a bit ridiculous when I realize that I packed my suitcase in December. December, people. Makes you wonder how much of that extra stuff is really "necessary".
The orientation that is going on is actually only for the foreign officers and their families - the regular course has not actually started for the Bangladeshi officers. This portion is mostly focused on allowing all of us to become familiar with what Bangladesh has to offer and showing us some of the sights. While this is not terribly convenient for us since we live in the city and the bus to take us around departs from the school in Mirpur (about 35-45 minutes away by car) I think it's a great opportunity to get out and see things that I otherwise would miss. The school is providing air conditioned transportation and food for all of us, so why not get out and see what's out there!
This past week, we participated in an evening excursion to the Bashundhara City Complex and the following day boarded another bus taking us to the National Martyr's Memorial and Nandan Park. The mall was very reminiscent to me of shopping in both S. Korea and China. Stores are grouped by "theme", so if you're looking for nail polish (as I happened to be), all of the cosmetic stores are in one area. Convenient for the shopper, but I have to imagine that this increases competition. I can't help but wish that stores in the States were organized this way. It would save so much walking around! We browsed through the sari stores (I'm going shopping for one tomorrow and hope to be able to provide some insight later), but I haven't yet decoded what makes a casual sari casual and a fancy sari fancy. We also made it up to the food court for some fast food - it all tasted good and no one was sick the day after (this is really the definition of successful eating out). We picked up some DVD's on the cheap and also browsed Bata - a shoe store - where I almost bought some cute sandals. The bus brought us back to Mirpur where one of Josh's fellow officers invited us in for coffee. Sadly, it was already pretty late for the kids and we had to decline.
The following morning, we were on the road with the kids at 7:30 heading back to Mirpur for a full day of sight-seeing. The weather was warm, but I'm pretty sure we were the only ones sweating. There was a very nice presentation followed by an opportunity to walk around the memorial and take photos. I'm pretty sure the entire thing was closed off just for our group as there were other people present, but no one else was allowed near the memorial the whole time we were there. After taking a few photos of the entire group for the school, we re-boarded our buses and had what I assumed was an early lunch - a tasty spicy burger of some sort (please don't make me try to decide if it was chicken or beef...), an apple, and a pastry - while we drove to Nandan Park.
We all went to the waterpark portion of Nandan first. Josh assured me the water was very refreshing, but as I'm not a big fan of swimming fully clothed (which probably would have been acceptable) I decided to refrain. I think several of the officers are here without their families, and they are all very friendly with our children. It really makes me appreciate that we were able to come here together. The park had several different playgrounds located in different areas, so we wandered through the park and let the kids explore. It was certainly nothing compared to a theme park state-side, but it was a great opportunity to spend time with Josh's classmates and their families. We had a wonderful lunch of Tandoori chicken at the park and got a bit more time to explore the park before it was time to board the buses and head back to Mirpur. All around, a good experience for us. The kids both slept all of the way back to where the car was parked. Once we got home, it was showers for all (we were pretty dirty), dinner, and early bed.
We had our first big thunderstorm today and it has cooled temperatures off significantly, but I have to assume that it will be just as hot after the rain has passed. I'll just be thankful that it rained today instead of yesterday as I'm sure the tours would have gone on as scheduled and we would have all just gotten wet.
The orientation that is going on is actually only for the foreign officers and their families - the regular course has not actually started for the Bangladeshi officers. This portion is mostly focused on allowing all of us to become familiar with what Bangladesh has to offer and showing us some of the sights. While this is not terribly convenient for us since we live in the city and the bus to take us around departs from the school in Mirpur (about 35-45 minutes away by car) I think it's a great opportunity to get out and see things that I otherwise would miss. The school is providing air conditioned transportation and food for all of us, so why not get out and see what's out there!
This past week, we participated in an evening excursion to the Bashundhara City Complex and the following day boarded another bus taking us to the National Martyr's Memorial and Nandan Park. The mall was very reminiscent to me of shopping in both S. Korea and China. Stores are grouped by "theme", so if you're looking for nail polish (as I happened to be), all of the cosmetic stores are in one area. Convenient for the shopper, but I have to imagine that this increases competition. I can't help but wish that stores in the States were organized this way. It would save so much walking around! We browsed through the sari stores (I'm going shopping for one tomorrow and hope to be able to provide some insight later), but I haven't yet decoded what makes a casual sari casual and a fancy sari fancy. We also made it up to the food court for some fast food - it all tasted good and no one was sick the day after (this is really the definition of successful eating out). We picked up some DVD's on the cheap and also browsed Bata - a shoe store - where I almost bought some cute sandals. The bus brought us back to Mirpur where one of Josh's fellow officers invited us in for coffee. Sadly, it was already pretty late for the kids and we had to decline.
We all went to the waterpark portion of Nandan first. Josh assured me the water was very refreshing, but as I'm not a big fan of swimming fully clothed (which probably would have been acceptable) I decided to refrain. I think several of the officers are here without their families, and they are all very friendly with our children. It really makes me appreciate that we were able to come here together. The park had several different playgrounds located in different areas, so we wandered through the park and let the kids explore. It was certainly nothing compared to a theme park state-side, but it was a great opportunity to spend time with Josh's classmates and their families. We had a wonderful lunch of Tandoori chicken at the park and got a bit more time to explore the park before it was time to board the buses and head back to Mirpur. All around, a good experience for us. The kids both slept all of the way back to where the car was parked. Once we got home, it was showers for all (we were pretty dirty), dinner, and early bed.
We had our first big thunderstorm today and it has cooled temperatures off significantly, but I have to assume that it will be just as hot after the rain has passed. I'll just be thankful that it rained today instead of yesterday as I'm sure the tours would have gone on as scheduled and we would have all just gotten wet.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Bentota, Hanbantota, and Unawatuna (Oh My!)
I'm going to try to finish up with our "adventuring" today because really, the majority of the second half of our trip was relaxing on the beach - and how much can you truly write about that?? We spent a few hours driving from Kandy to Bentota and honestly, it might have been the high point of the trip for me. It was a bit reminiscent of the opening scenes of Romancing the Stone (minus sliding down the hillside in a freak rainstorm). The views were incredible - banana trees, coconut trees, daring mountain drop-offs feet away (or meters since we love the metric system here), tea bushes, evergreens... You name it, we probably saw it that day. And it was all beautiful. Can't say enough good things about that drive. We stopped for lunch and happened to find a place that served both tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches, but B officially deemed the tomato soup "yucky" and that was that. We had many opportunities to discuss with our kids on this trip that it's "fun" to try new things and see how different people do things in different parts of the world. He wasn't really buying it that day, and he definitely wasn't finishing his soup.
We rounded off our travels that day with a trip on an actual highway. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but there is only one in Sri Lanka, so it was nice to drive on it. After days of winding ridiculousness and potholes at every turn, it was so pleasant to drive in a straight line on smooth roads. We quickly arrived at Bentota Beach and were promptly upgraded to a room on the top floor since our room was not yet ready. Good news? Great views of the ocean. Bad news? Having to walk up and down 6 flights of stairs with kids every time we wanted to go to said ocean. Oh yeah, and 2/3 of the hotel was currently undergoing renovation. It was kind of like one of those expedia or hotels.com commercials where you're suddenly surprised to find that the pool is being renovated in the middle of the summer. Luckily, their pool was not being renovated, and the noises weren't terrible during naptime in our section of the hotel. While staying in our "splurge" hotel, we had a bit of a heart to heart about the finances of IRT. A lot of our planned expenses were covered because this is official travel, but it's those unplanned expenses that really bite you. All of the admission and entrance fees add up, and meal costs had been higher than expected as well. In general, our cheapest option at every hotel has been room service. Totally weird. Who would have thought that ordering a full meal to the room that easily fed all 4 of us (beer included) would be cheaper than one of us eating a meal (drinks not included) at the restaurant on site. Such was the case today at our restaurant. I just don't get it. It's unfortunate, but with all of the expenses, it's tough to really feel like this is a great place to visit. Add to that the fact that our driver is purposefully taking longer routes than necessary (which we didn't know at the time) to squeeze just a bit more money out. Oh well. Time to take a deep breath, look out into the ocean, and relax.
We spent the whole next day either on the beach or out in town getting a feel for local culture. We hired a trishaw to take us to a local mask factory where they make dancing masks (masks that they wear while doing traditional dances, not masks that dance) and had a meal out on the town. It was super-relaxing and totally what we needed to recharge ourselves for the second half of our travels.
We spent most of the next day in the van driving from Bentota to Hanbantota. For two towns with almost the same name, you'd really hope they'd be a bit closer together. Oh well. We had one break for lunch (and another slightly shorter break to pee on the roadside - which is apparently just as acceptable in Sri Lanka as it is in the States in case anyone was wondering). Our trip to Hanbantota was only for one night, and there honestly wasn't a whole lot to see, but it's arguably a pretty important area for Sri Lanka right now as they are in the process of building a new port there. The city itself is tiny (little more than a few square blocks of buildings and shops), but there is quite a bit of money pouring in (mostly from foreign investors) to try to get this port going. There's also a large international convention center under construction (also courtesy of foreign investors). Hanbantota is on the southern edge of Sri Lanka and about 5 miles offshore is the world's busiest shipping lane. Adding a port at that location could be a huge money-maker for the country (depending on who you ask). Others will say that key members of government are using their power to pour money into the hands of friends and family in their hometown. The reality? Probably something in between. Time will tell. But this isn't supposed to be a political commentary. I'm focused on having fun!!
The hotel we stayed at was, again, on the beach, but the water got very deep very quickly (as is probably appropriate for an area that has large ocean-going vessels) and the currents were treacherous for swimmers, so we decided to enjoy the pools instead. Josh went down to scope things out because we had 2 pools to choose from. He came back with some ridiculous story about a family of 15-20 monkeys (larger than K) who got into a territorial dispute with him at the pool that resulted in broken patio furniture. By the time we suited up and returned (with the camera), naturally there were NO monkeys to be seen. In his defense though, there was a bit of an odor of urine in the area, so I am willing to be convinced that this was actually "their" territory. Both kids ended the evening by requesting to watch cricket on TV (normally a sure bet anywhere in South Asia), but sadly all we had was football (soccer).
The following day, we re-traced our steps and returned to a city we had driven through the day before and checked in to our final hotel in Unawatuna. This was a typical beach tourist town, so while it was a bit short on Sri Lankan charm, it was still a great place to stay for a family vacation. The pizza and baguette sandwiches were ridiculously good and we received a complimentary fruit basket upon checking in (complete with a quarter of a pineapple, a huge hunk of papaya, apples, and oranges). We spent some time at the pool and some time on the beach, did some shopping, went to a turtle hatchery, and pretty much just had a great time. When we left Unawatuna, I think we were all ready for our vacation to draw to a close. But we had 2 more key stops to make.
First, we hit up Dutch fort at Galle to walk the ramparts (in extreme heat I might add). We ended our day however with the Intrigue Family (our counterparts in Colombo) where they graciously allowed us to stay in their humble little house (read MANSION). It was ridiculously fun and relaxing to spend time with other people who are "living the life" if you will. We gained some great insights on life in Colombo from an American perspective and hopefully were able to pass on some pearls of wisdom on our life so far in Dhaka. Miracle of all miracles, the kids all got along!
We parted ways with our van driver (who did in fact manage to rip us off) and hired a cab to come pick us up at 4:00 in the morning so we could catch our flight home. So, as with all of life, you take the good with the bad. We had some extremely rewarding experiences on this trip, and we learned a lot that we hope to put to good use when planning future excursions.
We arrived back in Dhaka and I was strangely happy to be back. Sure the traffic is ridiculous. Sure it's not the cleanest place in the world. But it's home. And it's always good to be home.
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| View from the hotel in Bentota |
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| Eating food the "local" way - no utensils required |
We spent most of the next day in the van driving from Bentota to Hanbantota. For two towns with almost the same name, you'd really hope they'd be a bit closer together. Oh well. We had one break for lunch (and another slightly shorter break to pee on the roadside - which is apparently just as acceptable in Sri Lanka as it is in the States in case anyone was wondering). Our trip to Hanbantota was only for one night, and there honestly wasn't a whole lot to see, but it's arguably a pretty important area for Sri Lanka right now as they are in the process of building a new port there. The city itself is tiny (little more than a few square blocks of buildings and shops), but there is quite a bit of money pouring in (mostly from foreign investors) to try to get this port going. There's also a large international convention center under construction (also courtesy of foreign investors). Hanbantota is on the southern edge of Sri Lanka and about 5 miles offshore is the world's busiest shipping lane. Adding a port at that location could be a huge money-maker for the country (depending on who you ask). Others will say that key members of government are using their power to pour money into the hands of friends and family in their hometown. The reality? Probably something in between. Time will tell. But this isn't supposed to be a political commentary. I'm focused on having fun!!
The hotel we stayed at was, again, on the beach, but the water got very deep very quickly (as is probably appropriate for an area that has large ocean-going vessels) and the currents were treacherous for swimmers, so we decided to enjoy the pools instead. Josh went down to scope things out because we had 2 pools to choose from. He came back with some ridiculous story about a family of 15-20 monkeys (larger than K) who got into a territorial dispute with him at the pool that resulted in broken patio furniture. By the time we suited up and returned (with the camera), naturally there were NO monkeys to be seen. In his defense though, there was a bit of an odor of urine in the area, so I am willing to be convinced that this was actually "their" territory. Both kids ended the evening by requesting to watch cricket on TV (normally a sure bet anywhere in South Asia), but sadly all we had was football (soccer).
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| Josh and kids at Unawatuna |
First, we hit up Dutch fort at Galle to walk the ramparts (in extreme heat I might add). We ended our day however with the Intrigue Family (our counterparts in Colombo) where they graciously allowed us to stay in their humble little house (read MANSION). It was ridiculously fun and relaxing to spend time with other people who are "living the life" if you will. We gained some great insights on life in Colombo from an American perspective and hopefully were able to pass on some pearls of wisdom on our life so far in Dhaka. Miracle of all miracles, the kids all got along!
We parted ways with our van driver (who did in fact manage to rip us off) and hired a cab to come pick us up at 4:00 in the morning so we could catch our flight home. So, as with all of life, you take the good with the bad. We had some extremely rewarding experiences on this trip, and we learned a lot that we hope to put to good use when planning future excursions.
We arrived back in Dhaka and I was strangely happy to be back. Sure the traffic is ridiculous. Sure it's not the cleanest place in the world. But it's home. And it's always good to be home.
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