Fong > I had never experienced a Christmas 'season' until I went to Bangladesh. Since Christians, and advertisers, are a minority in Bangladesh, there is no prolonged period of jingles and Christmas advertising campaigns. However, the Christians do participate in a variety of celebrations for many days prior to Christmas. Christmas services are also rather long, compared to Western churches. I think this is because 'Christmas dinner' is NOT a Bangladeshi tradition!
Fong > Some people have computers in Bangladesh. There was an active trade in older Pentium machines when I was there. However, I had not seen for years so many manual typewriters in one place as I did in Rangpur....I learnt to type on a manual typewriter, so this scene brings back many childhood memories.
Fong > Tajhat Rajbari ('Tajhat Palace', in Rangpur). A grand old mansion, somewhat run-down and no longer used by anyone. It was used a few years ago as a district court. This picture was taken on a cold winter morning. At the time I visited, there did not seem to be any official entry to the inside of the building, but the caretaker on the day gave some companions and myself a quick no-commentary 'round the building' tour. I suppose this kind of building inspection is more meaningful if you are glancingly familiar with the layout of other mansions and palaces.
On sunnier days, the surrounding grounds are a popular picnic spot. The surrounding grounds are free for public use.
Fong > Static Clinic Monitoring

This photograph would have benefited from either a faster film speed, or a digital camera!
Fong > Rangpur station. In Bangladesh, the dry season is also the cold season and extends over December and January. Some people in Bangladesh are both landless and homeless. They can often be found at railway stations.
Fong > Foreigners, tourists and bulky SLR cameras were still a strange sight in north-west Bangladesh. People naturally line-up for any photographs.
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!
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 > 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.
I had never experienced a Christmas 'season' until I went to Bangladesh. Since Christians, and advertisers, are a minority in Bangladesh, there is no prolonged period of jingles and Christmas advertising campaigns. However, the Christians do participate in a variety of celebrations for many days prior to Christmas. Christmas services are also rather long, compared to Western churches. I think this is because 'Christmas dinner' is NOT a Bangladeshi tradition!
Fong > I had never experienced a Christmas 'season' until I went to Bangladesh. Since Christians, and advertisers, are a minority in Bangladesh, there is no prolonged period of jingles and Christmas advertising campaigns. However, the Christians do participate in a variety of celebrations for many days prior to Christmas. Christmas services are also rather long, compared to Western churches. I think this is because 'Christmas dinner' is NOT a Bangladeshi tradition!
I had never experienced a Christmas 'season' until I went to Bangladesh. Since Christians, and advertisers, are a minority in Bangladesh, there is no prolonged period of jingles and Christmas advertising campaigns. However, the Christians do participate in a variety of celebrations for many days prior to Christmas. Christmas services are also rather long, compared to Western churches. I think this is because 'Christmas dinner' is NOT a Bangladeshi tradition!
See photo in gallery

Comments

|

New comment:

Name:
To foil spammers, enter this code: copy this text in this box: Code unreadable?