Dhaka Travel Guide

A very important must when visiting Dhaka is to take time to visit one of the many cloth markets. Best way to travell is by righa bike. Or, if you are out of the city then renting a moterbike to have a look at the country side is fab. I would try to keep 'crossing a street' to the minimum, and I would definatly not attempt to drive inside the city on my own, just hire a quilified driver. The traffic in Dhaka is the most complex system ever to have been invented and it is only for people with a MA degree in Bangladeshi driving. And prepere for very loud traffic noise 24/7. There is beauteful landscape once your out of the city. The city itself is very dirty though. But the people are very friendly, I would bring lots of small gifts so you can give people somthing back once they start to shower you with gifts. A wonderful adventure is to go on a boat ride that will take you down one of Bangladeshis many rivers to the country side and visit one of the small villeges. Just remember to bring your mosquito net. And if you go to the beach straigh away from bikinies. They don´t go down well with the locals. So all in all a fantastic place for adventures people.

This may seem pretty funny, at first, but seriously, make sure you bring your own toilet paper. There are very few "American" styled toilets in Bangladesh, that I have found. And, no toilet paper what so ever. I managed to aquire a stomach virus from an entree of curried goat, and found out the hard way about the serious lack of "TP" there.

The traffic is terrible, but the locals know how to get about. Use the rickshas whenever possbile - and remember to use your right hand when paying! The left hand is used for wiping the sh*t off your *ss , and is considered "unclean" .

Bangladesh is the shiz, and it's all happening in this crazy capital dead centre in the middle of the country. If you love exploring your dark alleyways forget the Hutongs of Beijing or the Medina of Marrakech or the Roji of Edo (old Tokyo) - Dhaka is where it's at. Every moment is a new discovery, a new friend, a fresh invitation to visit someones home and drink tea. Ask where the toilet is and you'll be taken through dirty back streets, up stairs and down a hallway with no lights to be presented with the cleanest toilet you can imagine.  With only seedy bars, which are amusing in their own right, the local pastime generally follows the following pattern. Greet, chat, eat, have tea, take rest and repeat. If you're lucky enough to be in Bangladesh during the holy month of Ramadan be sure to bring a large stomach - fasting during the day just means you eat more when the sun goes down.  Dhaka and Bangladesh is not for everyone, but with an open mind and a sense of adventure it is a fantastic place to be. Everyone wants to help, easy smiles follow you everywhere and local transport, once you figure it out, will take you anywhere in the country within the same day.  Love every minute.

Bring any old clothes or pencils/exercise books to donate to orphanages as the people are so poor - it's tragic. Try to visit the "Dhaka project", a charity set up by an amazing girl that works for Emirates.

Don't get ANYTHING pierced in Dhaka...

If you're looking for shopping, take the time to explore this congested city. Single, double, and triple stringed pearls can found at bargain prices (less than $40 for a triple) in pink, black, white colors. The city also has many clothing factories - hopefully not sweat shops - but one can get name brand clothing (Calvin Kline, The North Face, etc.) dirt cheap due to alteration issues with various pieces. Hand tailored suits are fairly cheap to make and there are many home decor shops. Last, if you want to bring home some rickshaw art, it's painted here.

Possibly the most unattractive capital city I've ever been in. Awful traffic and pollution, rats in the streets and boy does it get messy when it rains. Don't let it put you of coming to Bangladesh though, head east to the hill tracts and down to coxs bazar. The countryside is gorgeous.

-dont drink the water there be careful of malaria

Thought Dhaka has its share of history, charm and sights, its mostly a spraw of dirty congested streets... Bangladesh is a poor and disaster-prone country and dominated by NGOs the way most other countries are by corporates or governments... you get a feel of this in Dhaka ... stay in one of the expat/ tourist guesthouses ...they are a better bet than hotels in Dhaka ...