~courtesy Moshiur R. Khandaker, Chief Executive, SAFE~

International Coastal Cleanup 2006: Bangladesh, originally uploaded by coastalcleanup.

SAFE has undertaken Cleanup Bangladesh Campaign in close cooperation with Clean Up The World campaign & Project AWARE. As part of this campaign Cleanup for Earth day will be held on April 22, 2009. Volunteers from different organization will be participating in this year’s beach and underwater Cleanup as part of an earth day activity at Cox’s bazar, St.Martin and Kuakata. It’s a great way for volunteers of all ages to learn about how to reduce the impact of waste and make a real difference in conserving the environment.

As a member of the ‘Clean Up The World’ campaign, our national efforts will be recognized internationally. Supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Clean Up The World is a global environmental initiative that attracts an estimated 35 million participants in more than 110 countries each year. To learn more about Clean up the World visit their website or the SAFE website.

Thousands of people across the globe will be having fun and getting wet to celebrate cleanup for Earth Day. A special SAFE team consists of doctors, first aiders & rescue personnel will be formed to ensure the health, safety and medical emergency of all the participants.

The main attractions of this event are following:

• Beach rubbish collection
• Separate recyclable rubbish
• Remove harmful marine debris
• Collect rubbish survey information
• Provide volunteers with a project AWARE Certificate of Recognition and more…

Thanks in advance for your co-operation. Your support in the Earth day activity will be highly appreciated.

Safety Assistance For Emergencies (SAFE); a leading voluntary organization born in Bangladesh protecting human lives, providing emergency medical aid to victims of any disaster and helping people avoid, prepare for, and cope with emergencies. Also strives to improve basic health, safety and environment issues in Bangladesh.

Tags: Add new tag,Cox's Bazaar,Responsible Travel,Tourism,volunteering
Categories: Events, Responsible Travel
No Comments »

More FAQs! We’re giving away some free tips here at Joybangla.info, especially for our most frequently asked questions. If you’d like to challenge us with your stumper of a question, e-mail it to faq@joybangla.info and if we’ve written about it, you get a free snippet of the guidebook to get you going. But you’ll need the book for all the information in one place, sorry! (aha, of course there was a catch!)

#1: Lawachara Reserve Forest, home of the Hoolock Gibbons
For exploring Lawachara, we suggest you take the services of a Nishorgo-trained eco-guide, who may not have stellar English but can certainly see more wildlife than you and indicate where to look. Especially if you want to see the gorgeous Hoolock Gibbons that inhabit the forest.

Nishorgo Eco-Guides (www.nishorgo.org) Nishorgo was a USAID-funded program that helped to develop the nature guiding skills of several locals in the Srimongol area, some of whom come from the indigenous communities around the forest. If you check the Nishorgo website you will find a list of their guides at the various Nishorgo protected sites around the country, as well as information on the protected areas and Nishorgo’s work. Each guide has suitable English, so if you want the most amount of interaction, then these young locals would be the way to go. Consider it a free Bangla lesson too. You can try Mr. Dhiraj Shing (mob: 01190 270716, Manipuri) or Mr. Benedict Daring (mob: 01723 760499, Garo), both of whom are members of Srimongol’s indigenous community. They would also be good sources of information if you wanted to know about indigenous festivals of the area or wanted to see a cultural performance of the Manipuri people.

#2: Get on your bike
For bicycles, it’s a bit difficult to source them from the eco-cottage. But if you would like bicycles, you can either look for them yourself in town or convince Razu at Classic Tours and Travels to prepare them for you in town, with his guide Sablu’s help. Bikes rent for Tk150-200 per day, depending on the quality. If you call yourself a cyclist but don’t have your own bicycle up here, do remember to give the brakes a good check before you set off — there are hills out there! Full listing follows.

Classic Tours and Travels (Dhaka: Ste 313, 2nd flr, Taher Tower, Gulshan 2, mob: 01556 360566, speak with Razu; Srimongol: Railway Station Office, mob: 01718 155492, speak with Sablu; e-mail: info@classictours-bd.com; www.classictours-bd.com) While many other tour operators offer trips to Srimongol, Classic Tours is only operator that maintains an office in Srimongol with a full-time local guide/staffer from the region. While the office itself is stuffed into the back of a tiny store, the people here do know Srimongol better than many of the other operators. Single female travellers or groups would probably benefit most from their services. They can hire bicycles, organise transport and make accommodation bookings and you will benefit from the relationship they have with the local contacts, useful when you want to see something interesting.

Categories: FAQ, Travel
No Comments »

We’re getting a lot of questions these days as more and more people learn about our new guidebook project. So if enough questions are asked we will take the time to blog some answers.

Q: What is the best way to get to Thailand nowadays?

A: Druk Air had the cheapest return fair when I went this February, but didn’t have the best departure times (twice a week). When I buy my air tickets I usually consult a travel agent and get them to make the phone calls to check the schedules. I was quoted a return fare of Tk24,000.

Instead I took a Biman flight at Tk27,000, which was being flown by Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines, as it seems Biman doesn’t have enough cash to keep its leased airplanes flying at the moment. Probably good news for you as you know you’ll be on a properly maintained plane! Biman also has a higher frequency of flights, and could probably use your economic support of their flights. When I left my flight was virtually empty, and after asking the attractive Turkish flight stewardesses what was going on, they said that the Bangkok route is fairly empty. So, the extra taka also means you get more space and a better schedule.

Your other choice is Thai Airways, which is more expensive, often Tk33,000 or more. If you have an onward flight to other destinations that Thai Airways flies, then maybe you’d score a better ticket, but if you’re just flying to Bangkok and your dates are flexible, Biman and Druk are your best bets.

Malaysia is the cheapest — under $200 USD special is being advertised on Malaysia Airlines until tomorrow. From here you can fly to Thai destinations on Air Asia, for a combined fare that is probably still cheaper than Druk or Biman.

Q: What’s the best place to stay in Srimongol?

Definitely the Nishorgo Eco-cottages. There are two there, and one is becoming mighty popular among Dhaka visitors so you need to book ahead.

Our recommendations:

Nishorgo Nirob Eco-Cottage (3 rooms) Radhanagar, 20 minute rickshaw ride from train station; mob: 01715 041207; Nishorgo’s flagship project of creating ‘eco-cottages’ began here at this small village just a few kilometers outside of Srimongol and a 45-minute walk from the Lawachara rainforest. The concept was to employ locals to house visiting guests and provide some fo the capital necessary to build facilities for them. At the Nirob eco-cottage, there are three rooms. One is housed in a standard concrete building but the other two are bamboo huts nestled in a lemon grove tucked away at the back of the property, with a small flowing stream behind it, perfect for dipping on hot days. Needless to say, this is a secret spot that won’t remain hidden for long. Calling ahead for booking is essential. The proprietor’s wife is an excellent cook as well. The bamboo hut costs Tk1,000 per night and includes breakfast. Facilities include hot water on request, meals, and a power supply system that can run computers, chargers and lights even when the power goes out. Mr. Shamsul is the one you want to speak with. $$$

Nishorgo Nandan Eco-Cottage (2 rooms) Uttar Baligaon, Karamat Nagar; mob: 01711 731551; The second of Nishorgo’s eco-cottages, offering similar facilities but not the beautiful bamboo hut. If Nirob is already booked this would be a great choice as well. Facilities are the same: two double-bedded rooms with attached bath and basic food served (Tk1,000). Mr. Anando is the proprietor here. $$$

We invite you to submit more questions to us on the contact page if you’ve got them and we’ll post the answers here for other travellers.

Tags: Bangkok,FAQ,Srimongol
Categories: FAQ
No Comments »

Click here for full size poster..

It’s time to escape the heat and head for the hills!

This April, join Bangladesh travel guru Mikey Leung for an unforgettable
Chittagong Hill Tracts Trek, co-organised with Bangladesh Eco-tours,
the hill tracts’ leading trek operator. The trek departs on April 14 from Chittagong and ends on April 18th, also in Chittagong.

Summary
An interesting tour focusing on the most interesting and least visited part of the country, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Here you will experience the culture and lifestyle of the hidden indigenous people living there.

ACTIVITIES & HIGHLIGHTS
You’ll stay at quaint eco-cottages, enjoy a river cruise, the CHT’s New Year festival (Sangrai for Marma people), treks, handicraft shopping (or perhaps learning), bird watching, sightseeing & photography and most of all — absorbing the pristine atmosphere. Highlights include indigenous cultures, village-based education projects, tribal crafts, music, Buddhist Khyang and more.

Show me more… »

Tags: Bandarban,Chittagong Hill Tracts,Travel,Trekking
Categories: Chittagong Hill Tracts, Events, Travel, Trips
No Comments »

We’ve got a cover! (click here for the full size image) After a lengthy and quite competitive selection process, the front page for “Bangladesh: The Bradt Travel Guide” has finally been chosen. Like many other aspects of the book, the images were chosen in close consultation with us, the authors.. but unfortunately our images didn’t make the cover this time.

I’m glad to announce though that the picture is from a very famous Bangladeshi photographer named Shehzad Noorani. According to a profile posted on the Internet:

As a freelance documentary photographer and a consultant for national and international aid organizations, Noorani, since starting in photography in 1987, focuses on the existence of people living at the lowest rung of the social, political and economic ladder in South Asia. He has produced numerous publications and multimedia presentations. In 1999 he won the Mother Jones International Award for Daughters of Darkness, a project on women working in the sex trade in South Asia.

Like many other documentary photographers in Bangladesh, most have made their careers covering the most heart-wrenching stories this country has to offer. Today I’m glad to use this photo of Noorani’s to promote a new, positive view of Bangladesh.

In other news..
We’ve also begun the chase for advertisers inside the guide, so if you’re receiving this e-mail and would like to be positioned in a totally new guidebook for Bangladesh, contact author Mikey Leung by e-mail at joybangla.info [AT] gmail.com, or if you’re in Bangladesh, you can reach him at 01714 361 173.

The advertising submission deadilne is April 24.

Also, the advance book information is now out, in case you’re as eager as we are to see this book move off the shelves and into the hands of all those eager Bangladesh travellers. You can click here to view the JPG or click here to download the PDF (1.5MB).

You can also download the Advertising Info here (Word Doc, 352KB).

Tags: Bangladesh: The Bradt Travel Guide,Book Release,News
Categories: Book Release, Website News
1 Comment »

~story by Mikey Leung~

Have you got a book/movie recommendation for Bangladesh? Have a look at this list and let us know if you have something to add. The following is by no means an exhaustive list, just some of our favourites we’ve seen over the years from Bangladesh.

FICTION

• Shame by Taslima Nasreen. Published 1997 by Penguin Books. As a fictional account with a factual underpinning, this novel depicts the history surrounding the destruction of Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh through the eyes of a Hindu family in Bangladesh. The event had repercussions around South Asia, including the targeting of Hindus inside Bangladesh. The book garnered Nasreen a religious fatwah declaring she should be murdered and she very nearly was on several occasions during speaking engagements. She currently lives in exile in Paris.

Show me more… »

Categories: Cultural Interest
3 Comments »

Click here to see the flyer in full size.

• Do you want to improve your digital photography?
• Just bought a new DSLR and need to learn more about how to use it?
• Do you want the opportunity to travel and shoot Bangladesh’s rivers on a luxurious historic sailboat?
• Would you like to see your photos published internationally?

If so, this is a journey you can’t afford to miss.

Contic Tours and Joybangla.Info are proud to present an exclusive photography opportunity. On Feb. 6th and 7th (Fri & Sat), join travel journalist Mikey Leung as he conducts a unique photography workshop – from the boat. Experience the ambience of untouched countryside as you cruise in luxury along the land of a thousand pictures.

This luxurious journey and training includes all meals, soft drinks*, transfers, two intensive photography tutorials customised to group needs, plus a written critique of your resulting images. Please contact us for more details. (* - byob)

Mikey Leung has over 10 years experience in news and travel photography. He is currently writing a new guidebook to Bangladesh for UK-based Bradt Travel Guides.

Contact us for more details:

Contic Tours:
3/F Hse 23, Rd 121, Gulshan 1; tel: 881 4823, 881 4824, email: info@contic.com

Mikey Leung:
joybangla.info [AT] gmail.com; 01714 361 173

Categories: Uncategorized
No Comments »