India into Bangladesh
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Saidpur,
Bangladesh
Friday, April 27, 2007
After a night in a small 'transit' town we headed (in trepidation) for the Bangladesh border (in the Northern part of Bangladesh). We got on the most trashed bus possible, then wait while the driver says his bus driver prayers to the bus driver god - and we bloody needed it! The bus was ridiculously overloaded by the time we finally sped out of town, after spending a good half an hour dawdling along the main road piling more and more people inside. Just when we thought they couldn't possibly fit any more people on, they'd push 6 more in! It couldn't have been any more like a sardine can, with people pressed up against the windows! A mother with 4 children in tow got on board and Tim noticed that the 2 little boys were sick - sweating and swooning. Next thing we know one of the boys vomited for a good 10 minutes down beside Tim's foot. Tim had to spend the last hour standing (well, stooping actually) as his knee seized up in the cramped conditions. He gave his seat to the woman with the sick kids, one of which ended up on my lap asleep. The bus driver stopped at a road side temple to throw some money inside as an offering, but there's no way that the gods were smiling on this journey!
Although we were told that the bus was going to the border town, we get dropped 5km from the border. We end up sitting with our packs on a trailer being towed by a push bike to the border! The border town is rustic to say the least and customs and immigration on both sides are housed in rickety bamboo shacks. We endure numerous ravings about the Australian cricket team from the Indian officials (the Cricket World Cup Final with Sri Lanka being on that very night). When we finally escape India with our exit stamps, we quickly attract an audience on the Bangladesh side. They open up the immigration office for us, dusting off a couple of chairs. As we undergo a cordial interrogation we watch bemused as a little sparrow pops in and out of its nest above the immigration desk. After the stamping, we're finally free to go. The office is locked back up in a novel way - with a pair of handcuffs through the door handles! Before he leaves the immigration official interprets for us while we bargain with a van driver for the trip to our next destination. We finally agree on a price and are on our way into Bangladesh!
We really found ourselves in the middle of nowhere! The road was very narrow and full of pot holes and once we got away from the border the only other vehicles we saw were cycle rickshaws, which seem to be the main form of transport for people and goods. The agriculture in Bangladesh is very extensive and organized and we passed by fields producing tobacco, rice, wheat, mangoes, bananas, corn, etc. Bangladesh has a population of over 150 million. Geographically it is 7 times smaller than Australia, but has 57 times the population and is the most densely populated country in the world.
So after a few hours on the bumpy roads we made it to the small backwater town of Saidpur, from where it's possible to catch an onward train. This place turned out to be quite an experience - the closest we've ever felt to being aliens on this earth! We got dropped off near the train station and walked across the tracks to the main entrance area. By the time we stepped onto the platform all activity in the surrounding area had completely ceased and everyone was staring at us with frightening intensity. We made our way into the small room with the ticket office, put our heavy packs on the ground and walked over to the little window. We attracted in all life form from outside like how powered magnets and the 'starers' stood around us in a semi circle. Our bags, leaning up against the wall, had a sub-crowd of starers to themselves! We've been stared at plenty of times before, but this really took it to a new and slightly disturbing level. I'm sure we could have started break dancing and the staring couldn't have become any more intense. We were thrilled to find the railway man spoke English and was able to issue us with a 6.15am ticket for the next morning.
Meanwhile we had to find a bed for the night and traipsed down the road in the scorching heat. Things didn't improve in the town. Men eating at streetfood stalls were frozen with shock, their rice hovering mid air. A small boy smashed his head into the back of a rickshaw as he tried to get in front of us for a good look. A cyclist ended up in a tangle as he took his eyes off the road to stare. Those who speak English here in Bangladesh like to ask the all important question as we pass - 'Which country?'. And they love Australia, though mainly for our cricketing prowess than for any other reason! Our dinner that night is a bit unfortunate (and a sign of things to come) - biscuits, noodles and jelly! The small street-food places are fly blown and make Indian cusine look positively hygienic! On top of this we're introduced to the constant barging in of hotel boys who knock on your door as they open it, asking if you want tea, bug spray etc. There's no peace!
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