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.

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!

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.