Dhaka belly in the desh

Yes, I’ve had my first encounter with Dhaka belly.  Like Delhi belly but luckily for me it only lasted a few days.  People die of diarrheoa every day – in fact Diarrhoea (88% of which in low income countries is due to poor water and sanitation^[1]) kills more children than HIV/AIDS, malaria and measles combined.  In this case it was something I ate.  Peter had gone and I thought to myself, I know, I'll treat myself to room service.  Ah.  Not such a good idea.

Oh well. 

So, life in Dhaka, what will it be like?

-       Hot.  There is not escaping it.  It will be hot (well apart from the winter when it apparently becomes chilly and we will need jumpers!).  We’re lucky.  We will have air-con and fans.  The office has air-con, the cars have air-con.  But outside, it’s hot and very sticky.

-       Busy.  People, rickshaws, cars, motorbikes, more people, buses.  Everywhere you look.  On the pavements (yes, rickshaws, cars and motorbikes also on the pavements).

-       Noisy.  Horns beeping.  Buildings being knocked down.  New ones being built.  The mosque calling everyone to prayer.

-       Hazardous for tall people – Peter almost lost his head to a ceiling fan whilst coming down some stairs.  That and the low hanging electrical cables which he has to duck.  He has now declared ‘I think I might have to look where I’m going here rather than horizon scan’…

-       Challenging – how to help the kids understand the poverty they will be faced with.  The beggars who bang on the car windows, the children running around in the middle of the road, the disabilities which make life so much more challenging.  How to help them understand how lucky they are and how much there is to be done to improve the opportunities for so many people around the world.

-       Rewarding – the people have been so friendly. So smiley. So willing to help teach us some basic Bangla and tell us about Dhaka, their lives and so on. 

-       Colourful.  Dhaka is so colourful.  The airport is so colourful – the seats are orange and red, but not the dull colours you see at Heathrow and Gatwick, vibrant colours.  The saris and salwar kameez that the women wear are so colourful and beautiful. .

-       Sporty.  It seems that for those not working (so that will be Peter to start with), life will involve tennis, swimming, golf, yoga, more tennis, squash, surfing (yes, surfing!), cycling, running, more golf…..

-       Filling.  So, the curry is good.  That goes without saying. But, for me the excitement was the cinnamon buns I found at the Nordic club.  Yes, cinnamon buns. They were massive and very cinnamonny! 

And on that note, bread that is (and baking), I am still thinking that sourdough needs to come to Dhaka.  So, that's the plan.  I'll get a new kilner jar and we'll make sourdough.  I'm already imagining what kind of bacteria there will be in there helping it to grow.....

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[1] WHO (2004) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Links to Health: Facts and Figures