Expatriate Blog Review: The best of the bideshi blogs
January 29, 2008 8:26 pmIn our humble opinion, it is Andrew Morris who is perhaps the best expatriate blogger out there. With consistently good writing, tone and heart-moving subjects, it is fortunate for us that his writing is so freely available on the internet. If you look at no other blogs from this post, please look at least at Andrew’s!
If photography is more your gig, then Russell John is somebody you should be watching out for. He’s recently helped organise an exhibition of several dozen Bangladeshi photographers to help raise funds for Cyclone Sidr victims. More on that event is available here.
Ever wondered what you can do with your own two hands in helping alleviate suffering and poverty? Check out Shawn Ahmed’s Uncultured Project, which features videos and news from poverty’s front lines. He might not qualify fully as an expatriate of foreign origin but he’s from Canada so he gets Mikey’s vote.
“This is the end, my only friend, the end.” Recollections of learnings after two years in Bangladesh by a former peace corps volunteer. Great writing.
Muggings and theft are sadly a common occurrence in Bangladesh, and foreigners should take precautions. Prevention and avoidance of dangerous situations is your best bet. Some specific recommendations we can make here:
- Don’t move around after 11pm unless absolutely necessary—make arrangements to stay with friends if need be.
- Try to take a better-looking taxi if you are moving around after 11pm, and keep your eye on the driver (if he acts suspicious or makes a phone call after you get in the cab I would be concerned). We usually try to engage drivers in conversation so that we can practise Bangla and try and ascertain the driver’s character—if the driver wants nothing to do with you then that is definitely a bit odd given the overall friendliness of most cab drivers. But as Richard’s story proves, some yellow taxis are even in on the act.
- I have also personally heard of a few incidents of bag snatching while on a rickshaw, one of which involved the victim being dragged for several meters. She was pulled off the rickshaw by the assailant, causing several scratches and road rashes but no serious injury. My best suggestion to prevent this is to, again, minimize your exposure by not travelling at night, and being aware that as you ride a rickshaw, your bags can be a potential target for car-based snatchers.
Theft by your household help is more common than I thought, according to Fam of the Hermie and Fam blog. I’ve just lost a cell phone and I’m not very pleased about it because it wasn’t even mine!
A Day in the Life of a [Bangladeshi] Brick, by engineer Robin Mead. Needs no further explanation.
The Eve of Ramadan, by Eyes Wide Open, speaks of the increasing incivility that surrounds our favourite time of year to move around Dhaka: Ramadan.
Sobering recollections of the fear and uncertainty of that time surrounding the army-backed takeover of the government, by Siobhan McPhee (sorry for the typos, Siobhan, don’t know how to type out your name correctly!)
One year in Bangladesh is a milestone for most bideshis, depending on who you are. But most look back with fond and unique memories, as does Ashley Wheaton.
Do you want to know the word for mushrooms in Bangla? Ask Lucy.
Did you know that Bangladesh averages 6.14 natural disasters per year? Even the next country with the most natural disasters, Afghanistan, averages only 1.34 disasters per year, according to fellow former VSO volunteer Tom Wipperman.
Mosquito nets are really one of those things that should top people’s first purchases when coming to Bangladesh, or even their packing lists if they need a specialised one for travel. They are easy to find while here, but that still doesn’t mean that everybody, including Krystel, uses one.
To see the entire list of expatriate bloggers that we recommend, check out our increasing bank of links at del.icio.us. If you look at the sidebar on the left now, our latest web meanderings are always posted on the sidebar under “Bookmarks of Interest.”
Finally, our humble blogs are here (Belinda) and here (Mikey).
Tags: Bangladesh,best of,bideshi,blogs,expatriates
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Forest Department’s Nishorgo Program has taken 15 leading Cox Bazaar tour operators and hotel owners to newly established eco-tourism areas at Mochoni Nature Park and Kudum Cave within the Teknaf Game Reserve, as part of an effort to expand the excursion outings from the increasingly crowded Cox Bazaar town and beach.
This local villager is one of the benefactors of Green Hill’s gravity irrigation system. His village was fully outfitted with running drinking water and is one of Green Hill’s earliest success stories. Green Hill is a Rangamati-based non-government organisation supporting the development of hill tracts people. See more photos 
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