Swiss Park Dhaka City

... detachment from the surroundings was palpable, uncomfortable; it made the scene below us seem unreal.  Like watching a movie.  It was just like the thought of actually falling to the ground-imaginable and potentially quite a real thing, but impossible to really wrap your mind around.  And similarly, the thought that a mere pane of glass separated our immediate environment from that outside world lent a sense of emotional vertigo to match the physical one ...

... Srinivas also joined us). He took us to nearby market and purchased fruits for us. The highlight of the meeting (especially for me) was that he invited us to a marriage (of daughter of his friend and a Rotarian). I felt so happy and I readily accepted his invitation. It is really amazing to experience social functions of different culture. I have attended many marriages of my Muslim friends/colleagues. I guess, this is going to be a nice experience ...

At the end of my two month trip - which was for the most part a constant high for me - I visited pre-school classes which are a part of Grameen Shikka (Education). This was an expiring end to my trip - a nostaligic time for me. After watching the kids and their teachers go through the lessons ...

... Hospital, who was a career civil servant, including his long tenure as Secretary of Health of Bangladesh Government and as the Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Dr. Md. Lutfar Rahman was hired in July as Project Director of Ahsania Mission Cancer & General Hospital Project. Dr. Rahman's extensive career experience includes hospital management expertise. He was the former Executive Director, Bangladesh Institute ...

... t prepared to do the shopping for the meal, and wanted our cook, Lovely, to do most of the cooking. Suddenly Hands On assumed the role of the hosts and the DOD men became the guests. The DOD did have a cook who they generously offered would help with the meal preparation. He strutted into our, the Hands On kitchen, telling Lovely, the Hands On cook, that he was cook and that she was assistant. This didn't fly very well. Stefanie, the project's second in command, quickly ...

... as would turn out, mine as well). I was then pointed to the VIP passport control to have my transit visa checked, and the ground attendant thumbed through my passport, and I watched, contemplating the developments of the past 24 hours, a little cockroach trundled between us, and I decided that this was probably the last time I would set foot in Bangladesh (and that's even if they'd accept my next visa request). My plane was delayed four hours... On arrival at ...

... grandfather's and mothers, saw a mosque built by the first Mirzas when they arrived from Iran and a school thats more than a hundred years old also built by my family. I'm so glad I took this trip even if only to have my grandfather explain my family history to me because my parents generation have all moved abroad and there is nobody left in Mirzapur except old relics and family history stretching back hundreds and hundreds of years- I know I will be come back ...

at the checkout count** of the hotel, i discov**ed that i was one day short of a week's stay that would have earned me a 20% discount. it would have been cheap** to stay anoth** day. what to do, what to do. i came up with a plan. just go ahead and check me out tomorrow and charge me for anoth** day, that way i can get the discount. in the old bangladesh, that was the most corrupt nation on earth save *****ia, this would have been a routine ...

... them, they gathered us into 3 people carriers and off we went to the closest hotel. It was called "Aero link" and located right next to the airport. Good news my uncle said we wouldn't have to stay here for 3 days, at nightfall we could avoid the strikes and riots and make a run for our town, excellent. So we had to kill 6 hours, I was getting very impatient as I wanted to go to my dad's house and see the rest of the ...

... A new, cheaper and more central hotel to be found.  Travel plans to Sri Lanka to be investigated.  We sweated from one office to another (climate: 30 degrees, humid & muggy) but successfully completed all our tasks.  Everyone we spoke to was unfailingly polite and helpful, if a little puzzled by Mrs R's appearance.  Generally, when we paused for a breather, a gaggle of locals would collect around us, stare and giggle.  But it was all ...