Bangladesh 2002 - Fong's Photos

I travelled to Bangladesh (Dinajpur district) for three months during 2001--2002. I spent most of my time at the LAMB hospital, learning about the local culture and also sharing medical experiences with the local workers.

All photographs were taken with a Sigma SA300-N and scanned. Most photographs have not been post-processed, although some probably should be!

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Fong > Dhaka Medical College corridor. The best known hospital in Bangladesh. (I spent almost all by time at the LAMB hospital, which is a long way from Dhaka). This corridor is outside the high-level care obstetric ward. The rate of pre-eclampsia and obstetric complications is quite high in Bangladesh. It comes as a shock to a Western-trained doctor such as myself. On the other hand, many babies in Bangladesh are born at home.

Fong > Dinajpur Baptist Mission. One of the old out-stations of William Carey.

Fong > Fieldwork. The average Bangladeshi rice farm is larger than the average Chinese rice farm. However, the average Bangladeshi family is also a lot larger than the average Chinese family.

Fong > Women working on handcrafts. Bangladesh also has a flourishing rag-trade, providing T-shirts to the whole world.

Fong > Hindu weddings are colourful and quite interesting to some-one like me who has only been exposed to Western wedding traditions. For a start, the wedding ceremonies go on for days (in Bangladesh, anyway). The bride is also obliged to fast for much of the day, to demonstrate how love-sick she is! Her head bridesmaid is obliged to give her moral support and encouragement during this difficult time.

Fong > LAMB church, Christmas season. Hand-held shot from a Sigma film SLR. I really like this shot. Of course, I had to take a few photographs to get one reasonably steady shot! (Taking several photos to get one 'steady shot' was unusual for me in the days when I used film!)

Fong > The LAMB hospital and residences are surrounded by a wall. It is a quite a green oasis inside. Then again, much of Bangladesh is a lush green zone thanks to the copious floods and available ground-water.

Fong > The rickshaws are all bicycle-driven. A ten-minute ride costs a foreigner about fifteen taka (or less, if you are prepared to haggle in Bangla). A hundred taka is approximately 100 British pence.

Fong > I stayed in a guesthouse. Furnishings were spare, and lighting intermittent. Other than the mosquitoes, I was quite comfortable. Bring plenty of repellant, and find some insect spray fast!

Dhaka Medical College corridor. The best known hospital in Bangladesh. (I spent almost all by time at the LAMB hospital, which is a long way from Dhaka). This corridor is outside the high-level care obstetric ward. The rate of pre-eclampsia and obstetric complications is quite high in Bangladesh. It comes as a shock to a Western-trained doctor such as myself. On the other hand, many babies in Bangladesh are born at home.