Bangladesh
I decided to take a trip to Bangladesh, to the country's famous swamp forests. The country has pretty warm weather, but it's not that bad. I was kind of worried about visiting the country, as there are some customs that I'm afraid of offending. But after searching them up, I've decided to come anyways.
After arriving at Osmani International Airport in Syhlet, I drove into the city for dinner. The city of Syhlet was pretty dusty and dirty, with once colorful billboards battered by the Bangladesh sun. Here, the streets aren't as wide, and there are very few cars. People bike or use vehicles called Rickshaws.
I drove to a restaurant called Cafe La Vista, and there I ate biryani and chingri malai curry. Biryani is rice cooked with rice, meat, potatoes, and spices. Chingri malai curry is a curry made with prawns and coconut juice, flavored with spices. All of the foods were wonderful, but a bit spicy. After dinner, I went to my hotel.
The next day, I drove to the Ratargul Swamp Forest. It's a sundarban, a mangrove area formed from the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers. I met up with my tour guide and group there. We then got onto a flat gondola-like boat. I noticed that the waters of the swamp were orange, like the color of Mars. The waters also looked like they had been sitting still for a very long time, and had accumulated a layer of dust on top.
As we drove further into the swamp, the waters changed into the light brown I expected swamp water to look like. The trees of the swamp looked like normal trees. I really wanted to step off the boat and start walking on the areas with trees, but I wasn't allowed to. The trees in the swamp made great path dividers. They would grow in places and act like forks in the road. It felt like being in the Foggy Bottom Swamp in Avatar, because the trees seemed to be helping in a way.
After the tour was finished, I drove back to the hotel. I started thinking about how living in a swamp would actually be like. But then I realized that to answer that question would mean that I would have to visit every type of swamp, and I didn't have time for that.
Bangladesh has very nice swamps, but not the best cities. I would like to visit again, but only for the swamps and food.
After arriving at Osmani International Airport in Syhlet, I drove into the city for dinner. The city of Syhlet was pretty dusty and dirty, with once colorful billboards battered by the Bangladesh sun. Here, the streets aren't as wide, and there are very few cars. People bike or use vehicles called Rickshaws.
I drove to a restaurant called Cafe La Vista, and there I ate biryani and chingri malai curry. Biryani is rice cooked with rice, meat, potatoes, and spices. Chingri malai curry is a curry made with prawns and coconut juice, flavored with spices. All of the foods were wonderful, but a bit spicy. After dinner, I went to my hotel.
The next day, I drove to the Ratargul Swamp Forest. It's a sundarban, a mangrove area formed from the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers. I met up with my tour guide and group there. We then got onto a flat gondola-like boat. I noticed that the waters of the swamp were orange, like the color of Mars. The waters also looked like they had been sitting still for a very long time, and had accumulated a layer of dust on top.
As we drove further into the swamp, the waters changed into the light brown I expected swamp water to look like. The trees of the swamp looked like normal trees. I really wanted to step off the boat and start walking on the areas with trees, but I wasn't allowed to. The trees in the swamp made great path dividers. They would grow in places and act like forks in the road. It felt like being in the Foggy Bottom Swamp in Avatar, because the trees seemed to be helping in a way.
After the tour was finished, I drove back to the hotel. I started thinking about how living in a swamp would actually be like. But then I realized that to answer that question would mean that I would have to visit every type of swamp, and I didn't have time for that.
Bangladesh has very nice swamps, but not the best cities. I would like to visit again, but only for the swamps and food.