When I first visited Bangladesh about three years ago, I was completely and utterly overwhelmed by the enormity of it all - the poverty, the dirt, and the indescribable smell. And I wondered when I flew in this morning, whether I'd have the same reaction as I did then?
...My reaction was still the same! It rendered me speechless - completely unable to take it all in.
The crowds of people outside the main airport terminal begging; the women and children in particular begging, literally on the edges of the pavements; the women sweeping the outside lane of a four-lane highway; women washing clothes in the dirty river and hanging the washing on make shift lines; make-shift shelters on the pavements (where people live). There's the overcrowded battered buses (not sure how they don't topple over!); the little three-wheeled, battered tuk-tuk's; the rickshaws some of which are ridden by boys who don't look big enough for their feet to touch the pedals, let alone old enough to be working - all driving bumper-to-bumper (or what's left of their bumper's!) and vying for an ever decreasing piece of the road. I have absolutely no idea how there seem to be relatively few accidents.
The odd thing is that despite this the colours are vivid and vibrant - the bright reds, greens, oranges, yellows and blues of the women's clothing are a stark contrast to the overwhelming poverty.
I'm writing this blog, listening to the hustle and bustle of life outside - its not just the people chattering in Bangla, the cars and the continual beeping of car horns - but its also the unusual bird sounds - quite different from the seagulls of Folkestone!!
-Carolyn
