I've been living in Dhaka for the last few years. Ask me anything.

[F6_Turbo]

The worst scum in this country are the CNG drivers. I very rarely don't have my own transport, but the odd occasion I've had to jump on a CNG, I've felt like bashing the f out of these government approved muggers.

I would happily give a rickshaw puller double the fare than give one of these low lifes an extra taka.

Bastards the lot of them...sick of their excuses, I wish the people would get together and burn a few thousand CNGs down. Feel so sorry for the people that are the mercy of these leeches.

[Zunaid]

I do apnes too. In fact I used to do that even before I left the country. Never been mugged - but then again in the olden days, didn't have much they could get. I always express appreciation - not necessarily via dhonnobad. The driver, the buas, the guards, the waiters, elderly beggars. .... A little courtesy goes a long way.

[Naimul_Hd]

Cant say 'tumi' to unknown person even that person is younger than me !

I too never been mugged. I remember once i was followed by a person in dhanmondi area. When i realized that i stopped to the nearest pan er dokar and made a false call to my friend and pretended having a chat with a Mastan friend who lives in Hajaribag. That person was near to me and listened what i was talking. Couple of minutes later he bought a cigarette and left.

Then i realized all those Kishor Goyenda boi has a real life value too

[ammark]

Originally Posted by Zeeshan
Ammark, I presume you never had to use the "apni janen ami kaar chele" card?

No because amar baap sherokom keu na. Oishob bolle ulta ganjum'e porte pari. I currently keep the lookout for jaal taka notes that come my way so that I can pass it on to these ****tards the next time they ask for cha-pani'r/mishti'r taka and boksheesh. They have the audacity to demand it from you as if it's their right, when they stop search the car at the roadblocks.

[Kabir]

Fantastic thread Dhurr. Lots to learn from this. Although i don't have any plans of moving back to BD, i do toy around with the idea if moving there for 6 months as my work does allow remote work. I'm always scared of this though. My eldest chacha lived in Canada for years, and then moved to BD as my dadi kept asking him to. Few years later he succumbed to stab wounds by a mugger, and my dadi could never forgive herself for that until she died.

As a person who likes to observe a lot, i have so many stories to share about my last trip to BD with my wife for the first time. She had never been to BD and i havent been there in 6/7 years. We both got the initial culture shock. And i used to make the very mistakes of please and thank you, and saying apni and salaam to everyone...which used to give away my status the moment i opened my mouth. Thankfully we werent mugged even though we've been to all the places we wanted to. Funny thing is, my wife (not a bangladeshi but speaks fluent bangla) used to be treated very well as i think our people are still better in dealing with bideshis and only attack their own kind. She also got me better discounts at stores than my brother could.

Dealing with shopkeepers was a mixed feeling. Every store say they're fixed price. So i started stepping in the stores looking for the fixed price tag, while the shopkeepers would look at me all confused. After seeing the fixed price sign, i would head for the exit and get asked why i'm leaving. My reaponse is always that i dont pay the full price ever. They would normally call me in saying they were flexible.

After all these, i'm scared to even think of moving to bd. i know i will struggle with the work culture, so its a pleasure to read your posts. I know a few people myself who can help me connect with any top guys in bd, but i'm not the best in dealing with work politics.

[mufi_02]

Thread keeps getting interesting. Boss is saying bhabi is more interested to move and Kabir bhai had few pleasant experiences too. It's good to see they like Dhaka more than us. But people in Dhaka give an awkward look everytime they see a bideshi, which makes me cringe. I can't imagine how awkward they would feel being looked at like that. I have a relative who married this amazing lady (non Bengali), and she would visit Dhaka time and often. Every time we went out, people would just stop whatever they were doing and keep on staring.

On a different topic, healthcare system is another thing to consider. One of my chacha had kidney problems and he needs regular dialysis treatment. He has good insurance from his work and it covers almost all of the cost. When he visited Dhaka, he spent every week Tk. 50,000 (cash) for every dialysis. He left after few weeks. So healthcare can get really expensive in Dhaka and unfortunately the doctors and diagnostic labs also likes to take advantage of the patients.

[Kabir]

Healthcare IS a big issue. A friend of a friend recently visited BD with his wife and 14 month old daughter. The daughter fell really sick, and the hospitals in BD were just puzzled by it. They came back to Toronto and admitted her to Sick Kids hospital, and the girl died in a few days because it was too late by the time they came back. I don't meant to say that she could have necessarily been saved even if the BD hospitals could diagnose her, but may be she COULD indeed have been saved if her problems were diagnosed earlier in the BD hospital.

I know someone who shall remain anonymous, who helped set up one of the leading hospitals in BD. He says that the doctors there have a really good relationship with the pharmaceutical companies and labs. For example, they can give you a lab req with a bunch of tests. Some tests they will circle, some they will check...the ones that are checked are the ones that the labs will perform. The ones that are circled are the ones the lab WON'T perform, but will charge the patient and share the profit with the physician. And don't even get me started on the pharmaceuticals business in BD. My own brother is in the industry, along with the person I'm talking about who led the leading pharmaceutical business for over a decade. The horror stories he told me about were just crazy...including usage of multiple drugs together that are NOT supposed to work together...but the fact that it has all these drugs mixed is used as a marketing message, saying this is a magic drug.

[Kabir]

Originally Posted by mufi_02
Kabir bhai had few pleasant experiences too. It's good to see they like Dhaka more than us.

I suggest you take it with a grain of salt. She had no problem in there because of the love and pamper she got from her shoshur bari, and the "not bad" experience she got from people in general. But if she lived in there for longer than 3 weeks (read: permanently) things could be very different.

[Zunaid]

Mufi - my wife did not say she is more interested in moving to Dhaka but that she could consider living there for a few years. There's a difference But, I know a few friends with born and brought up non-BD origin American wives setting up home in Dhaka.

[Faceoff]

Thinking about going to BD later this year with my little one. He will be 20 months old. But the Kabir bhai story scares me !!

[BANFAN]

I have a very interesting story of mugging...

I just traveled from UAE to bd and didn't go home, went straight to an office in Mohakhali DOHS...that was second day of a general strike so there was hardly any traffic on the road. I came out to go to Uttara at around 9/930 at night. As I didn't get any taxi there and I didn't want to wait, started with a Riksha, thought whenever I get a taxi, I will change. It was near Dhaka gate, that suddenly I found that two person bare body with lungi Kacha, with long knife was quickly approaching me from the left of the road and the Rikshawala suddenly started going towards them, I mean towards the footpath side... I understood what's happening...

I jumped out of the riksha and started running zig-zag with my brief case in hand and two koshai type buggers chasing me with two 2 ft size ram da used by butchers...finally I escaped when I came under the light near to Mohakhali roundabout...i had to run bcoz I had my pp and a good amount of money and important documents.

The guys were shouting from behind Marlam-Marlam...and many other things... But I was adamant ... When I found a brighter light I started running towards it...I heard their footsteps getting further and slower...I turned back for the first time...I saw them going back towards the roadside darkness into the jungle around that railway lines..

A car then came and stopped by me, he saw the thing... I was scared to take a lift, because he might be even related to that gang...... I refused him politely and Then I had to wait for sometime for a taxi to reach Uttar..

UFF it was a terrible experience, I felt happy that I challenged the muggers and I won... was sooo happy later on...

I have seen live mugging in scooters in a place like sonargaon more, during traffic signal. Two person sitting on either side of the guy inside the baby taxi and another watching standing a bit away...pathetic scene, but nothing to do..

Dhaka is a city of petty crimes .... Lying, cheating, stealing, mugging, bribing, begging and if you are unlucky you be stabbed... There is no security of a common person to live there. Kabul was 100 times safer than Dhaka. It's really tough to live in a place like Dhaka....

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by BANFAN
.....

I jumped out of the riksha and started running zig-zag with my brief case in hand and two koshai type buggers chasing me with two 2 ft size ram da used by butchers...finally I escaped when I came under the light near to Mohakhali roundabout...i had to run bcoz I had my pp and a good amount of money and important documents.

The guys were shouting from behind Marlam-Marlam...and many other things... But I was adamant ... When I found a brighter light I started running towards it...I heard their footsteps getting further and slower...I turned back for the first time...I saw them going back towards the roadside darkness into the jungle around that railway lines..
......
UFF it was a terrible experience, I felt happy that I challenged the muggers and I won... was sooo happy later on...

[AsifTheManRahman]

Originally Posted by BANFAN
Kabul was 100 times safer than Dhaka.

That's a very interesting statement. Can you expand on that?

[Zeeshan]

I could answer for BF with a snide remark but I don't want to exacerbate with the following assumption: at least boys with earrings in cars and girls in skirts with biris are not careening around Kabul's ruins and remains of blasts...

[BANFAN]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
That's a very interesting statement. Can you expand on that?

There is no petty crimes in Kabul. Culturally they don't steal things, you can leave everything open and there will be no stealing.i left my front door open several times even left home leaving keys hanging in the door, none even touched the key. I have walked around Kabul night upto two, but never even it came to my mind that I may be mugged etc...there was no history like that ever. Social crimes like stealing, robbery, mugging etc are close to zero/zero in entire Afg.

Well the only risk was of Taliban explosions or attacks... But there were some known formulas to avoid Taliban acts:

1. Don't move open with a white skin...meet them indoors always.
2. Avoid European embassy areas.
3. Avoid being near to US/NATO military camp areas.

Taliban never attacked on innocent civilians. If someone is at the wrong place at the wrong time, that was his bad luck. So when you go to those areas, be prepared for anything. That's a very small area of the city.

But as far as people's life is concerned, believe me they don't have to live with the fear of thieves and muggers...in kabul most of the marriage programs extend upto night 2/3 in the marriage halls or hotels... In your travel plans, you never consider the possibility of muggers or thieves to decide your timings... So life is pretty secured in that respect..

Kabul to entire north of Afg even doesnt have a strongpresence of Taliban... And Taliban has some principles, they attack precisely the western interests and their collaborators, in their terms. So the fear of Taliban isn't a day to day affair for a common Afghan at all.

For last 3/4 years all major cities have 24 h electricity without any load shading. So life wasn't all that bad like Dhaka.

Food wise you have all kind of restaurants there, Turkish, Lebanese, Indian, Pakistani, Afghan and fast food are available in the form of AFC etc... Lots of place for traveling in weekends for family picnics. Lots of authorized restaurants to serve drinks to foreigners, but the local elites are never refused...

So it's quiet pleasant by SA standard cities. In short thats an unstructured elaboration...yes, there is hardly any Afg boy who doesn't have a gf...you may not believe...but some has 2/3 or more at a time...

[F6_Turbo]

Originally Posted by BANFAN

For last 3/4 years all major cities have 24 h electricity without any load shading. So life wasn't all that bad like Dhaka.

Afghanistan has a power demand of ONLY 600MW, they reckon in 2020 they will need 3000MW - so lets not compare the power situations, there is no comparison to be made. Before Bangladesh started booming we barely had loadshedding in the late 80s, early 90s.

[Dhurr]

What's a good thread without pictures?

I am gonna share some pictures of my experiences in the last couple of years. I took some of them with my phone, so apologies in advances for the blurry pictures. Some were taken with my camera, some by my friends/family etc. So, here goes nothing...


Here are some pictures taken from the gallery during the 2011 World Cup Quarter Finals in Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.

[Dhurr]

View from the BCB lounge during the test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh in the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Mirpur.

[Dhurr]

By the way, those kids weren't supposed to be there, but since it was a test match and there weren't too many spectators, the security guards at the stadium let a bunch of people in.

[Dhurr]

Now, some pictures of Dhaka:


Near Agargaon (this was for the World Cup, I think?)

Streets of Dhaka

Baloon vendor selling his wares on the sidewalk

Fuchka

[Shock]

Originally Posted by Dhurr
What's a good thread without pictures?

I am gonna share some pictures of my experiences in the last couple of years. I took some of them with my phone, so apologies in advances for the blurry pictures. Some were taken with my camera, some by my friends/family etc. So, here goes nothing...


Here are some pictures taken from the gallery during the 2011 World Cup Quarter Finals in Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.

bhai gorome keu dab er panee khachee amon akta chobi chapan, plz

[BANFAN]

Originally Posted by F6_Turbo
Afghanistan has a power demand of ONLY 600MW, they reckon in 2020 they will need 3000MW - so lets not compare the power situations, there is no comparison to be made. Before Bangladesh started booming we barely had loadshedding in the late 80s, early 90s.

You are right, it wasn't a comparison of that nature, it was the present situation as far as social security and life in Kabul. It's not a comparison between development. A country with only 25 million population and almost zero manufacturing base will definitely have lower requirements. But it was a comparison on the security aspect and life in general, due to conventional perceptions of it in Afghanistan.

[Dhurr]

Originally Posted by Shock
bhai gorome keu dab er panee khachee amon akta chobi chapan, plz

Shock bhai, daab er chobi nai, tai kathal gaach er chobi dilam. Apatoto manage koren.

The next time I see someone sipping a green coconut, I will take a picture for you.

[Dhurr]

Originally Posted by roman
Speaking of banking, I've had an opportunity to speak to a HR guy of a well known bank in Dhaka few months ago.. I have 7+ years of banking experience in investment Accounting and Taxation.I was offered a position of SPO because I have zero working experience in Bangladesh..Aar Salaryr kotha shune khub lojja paisi..wish I had some powerful mama chacha.

Er laigga mejaj ta kharap hoi. GrameenPhone, Airtel, Banglalink er work experience (with ZERO direct banking experience, in Bangladesh or abroad) and public university theke banking er shathe completely unrelated degree niye o manushjon directly bank gula te AVP level a dhuktese. Faizlami pura!

[Dhurr]

Originally Posted by lamisa
not true AT ALL! i call all of those "mamas" apne and say thank u and please to them whenever needed. i say thank u to the rickshawala after i get off and they reply with a smile.

Lamisa, when you were in Bangladesh, you were a guest, and as a guest, you can do whatever you'd like to, and it's ok. I am no longer a guest in Bangladesh. I live here now, and the rules are somewhat different for me. I was going from Notun Bazaar (US Consulate) to Panthapath (Bashundhara City) recently, and when I asked the CNG wallahs nicely if they wanted to go ("Bhaiya, Bashundhara City jaben?"), they all asked for fares in excess of 300 Taka. One guy even asked for 400 Taka. I changed my tone after that guy ["Oi, Bashundhara City jabi?"], and no other CNG wallah asked for more than 200 Taka. I ended up going for 160.

On top of the "guest" factor, there is also that tiny little factor of you being a woman. I've never heard of a woman getting morich or molom being rubbed on her eyes during a mugging. Maybe it has happened, but I've never heard of it. So, not only are you gonna get better treatment from muggers, but also from everyday folks that are most likely not gonna be as nice to men as they are gonna be to you. If I am nice, that is seen as a sign of weakness in Bangali culture. If I am just a little less polite, automatically I am viewed as a person who deserves respect, because who else would go around calling people tumi and tui, right?

Any adult male who works in Dhaka will confirm this. Now, if someone lives with their parents and work in their parents' business and takes their parents' car to work and back, then that person could be as nice as he/she wanted to be, and it wouldn't be a big deal, but that person's parents didn't get where they are by being very gentle and polite.