Civic Inn Dhaka

First ever visit to Bangladesh, friendly people, lots of people everywhere, heavy traffic, lots of traffic noise, poverty, begging, Sheraton Dhaka is leaving SPG, better choice would have been Sonargong Pan Pacific, even better but much more ...

Hello All, Hope this finds you well. Tonight we (Dan, Greg, Dave) had hoped to be on our way to Hong Kong, but instead we find ourselves in the nicest hotel in Kathmandu, settling in for another night here in Nepal. It seems as though bad weather in the regoin is forcing Dragonair (our carrier) to reduce the headcount on its flight; while were were eating supper, they called and essentially booted us off of the flight... so instead we've been put in a 5-star ...

BRAC's Microfinance Program On 28th January we visited Kaliahair Branch of BRAC in Gazipur district. The visit was focussed on its microfinance program. However, we also visited BRAC Centre for Development & Management (BCDM), BRAC Dairy & Food Project, BRAC Hospital & BRAC Printers. We visited BRAC HQ on 29th January and had a detailed understanding on its Microfinance program. We also spent some time with the HRD Department. I ...

... accounts staff Simple and least hierarchical structure Easy and close communication (among officials as well as between officials and clients) Strong monitoring and supervision from all level staff Simple and transparent accounting and record keeping Effective fund management Diversified loan products Simple and quick loan processing No collateral for loans No group guarantee (or joint liability) for loans No ...

... declared itself self reliant MFI in year 2001. This model helps to make a branch self reliant within 12 months and the MFI within shortest p**iod of time. The model has been also adopted by many MFIs of various countries to get the best result v**y quickly. ASA has given Technical Assistance to many MFIs in countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Tajikistan, Jordan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, P**u, Indonesia, Yemen, India (MFIs such ...

... I was told to sit (on the only chair) and brought out a cup of cha (local highly sugared tea). Two men who spoke minimal English started pulling out packaged salwar kameezes all in eighties highlighter colors, which was not what I had in mind. This store was full of hundreds of bolts of fabrics and I didn't want to settle on just any design for my very first salwar Kameez. I would try to stand up and browse the selection but was repeatedly told to sit down. Thus began the ...

... more bemused when after getting his food, he decided he also needed a bath (in the river of course)! We eventually made it back and wandered around Old Dhaka more, and visited the (bright) Pink Palace and then headed to the diplomatic area of Gulshan to finalise our Sunderbans trip. The street kids were quite persistent around this area although the rest of Dhaka seemed to not have the same level of open poverty and slum areas as Kolkata or other areas ...

... there before friday we could go to a party held by some people at the danish embassy. Anyway I managed to sweettalk the Kolkata high commision to give me the visa the same day, and next morning at 5:30 I took a bus to Dhaka- the capital of Bangladesh. Arriving there 12 hours later Jessica picked me up, and took me to her place where I met her 2 flatmates Nina and Lasse and Ninas boyfriend Mark. Nina ...

... land so we would have to stay in the main city for 3 days before we can go to Sylhet or even leave the hotel. What a bummer! Never the less we were just happy to go there, but decided on getting travel insurance just in case the trip got cancelled or interrupted. Finding a travel insurance provider for a trip to Bangladesh was tougher than I thought, but I found these companies useful: www.e-sure.com www.travelinsuranceweb ...

... at the house, who welcomed us with flowers and sweets. I grabbed my cousin and went for a tour of the village, continuously being interrupted by the locals who all somehow knew who I am, scary. He took me around our house land which was massive; normal for a village house it had 2 lakes one in the front and one in the back. I walked through drenches where in the olden days boats were used to travel, he showed me all of our ...