My hotel in Dhaka city was in close proximity to Grameen Bank’s Head Office, which is located in Mirpur-2. Dhaka city is divided by sections. Mirpur section goes from on to 12, I think. Hard to count the numbers. This, however, makes finding your way easy in the city. Just tell the driver the number and he takes you there. From the hotel to the head office, it takes only 15 min on foot. The humid makes it hard to walk. The dirt, dust another thing. A faster transportation is all you need to get to the place quickly. In Bangladesh, the cheapest and most eco-friendly means of transportation is of course Rickshaw. In a country like Bangladesh, the country of informal economy, everything has to be bargained. Even the fare, 10 taka, 15 taka for a 15 min drive. One US dollar is equivalent to 70 taka. All that effort is just to earn a couple of cents!
I had never seen a rickshaw before and honestly I loved it. It is one of the most eco-friendly, man powered three-wheeled bicycle. However, the reason why rickshaws are so popular in the city is a bit different. It is very popular because it is cheap. It is popular because people save time when they travel short distance on them. Bangladesh is so ahead of the west in eco-friendly transportation. It is so ironic.
Everywhere I looked, every person I talked to, I saw amazing things in Dhaka city. From rickshaw puller waiting for a customer to the man selling fruits right under the bridge, from the man who charges cell phones to the person who cuts hair on the left sidewalk whose store is just a chair and a broken mirror and a piece of cloth to block the burning sun, I have so many questions. I want to know all the stories. I just want to listen, listen and listen. I want to understand the people, their culture, everything. Bangladesh is such as rich country. One lives and experiences many things at a time. It has literally a dazzling mystique. Once, in an exhibition, one photo title was ‘City that Never Stops’. This describes the city of Dhaka the best, Nothing else. Once you blend in the city life, everything stops and a new life starts. So, Bangladesh is such a dazzling country. It is hard to adjust to the rush and too hard to leave when the time nears.
