Joybangla.info is the center of operations for “Bangladesh: The Bradt Travel Guide,” scheduled to be published in mid 2009. Lovingly referred to as the “Armpit of India,” Bangladesh’s monsoonal rains and incessant floods will provide some extraordinary adventure along the research path. We welcome you to follow our progress (or lack thereof) at this blog.

The project is the brainchild of travel journalists Mikey Leung and Belinda Meggitt. Here, we will publicize the best Bengali travel experiences we can find and share them with others—whether in person (want to come on a trip with us?), online (via the site) or via contributions (send us your tips on travel in Bangladesh!). We will also use all the technology we can muster to facilitate communication among travellers, visitors and bideshi residents of this much-loved and much-loathed nation.

Mission

Bangladesh’s reputation is not well done in the world eye. The aim of Joybangla.info is to create positive change—via travel—inside this incredible nation and amongst its extraordinary people.

• We will promote Bangladesh’s environmental beauty and highlight her most interesting human interest stories.
• We will attempt to adhere to the highest standards of ethical and Responsible Travel available in the world today.
• We will endeavour to show other travellers how they can do something positive and enjoyable with their visit to Bangladesh.
• We will stay objective—constructively critical coverage is always guaranteed.

Vision

Like many other organisations, we envision a poverty-free Bangladesh. Our mechanism and vehicle for this vision is tourism.

By actively promoting the best experiences Bangladesh has to offer, while giving constructive feedback to those we work with, we hope to show travellers the potential of living in this extraordinary country, while bringing economic opportunities to those who need it the most.

Goals

• Improve the Bangladesh travel experience by centralising accurate travel intelligence.
• Enable a group of authoritative experts on Bangladeshi travel to communicate and share knowledge.
• Using Flickr, demonstrate the incredible photographic opportunities of Bangladesh.
• Demonstrate the power of ICT solutions for achieving marketing objectives.

Why the name “Joy Bangla?”

“Joy” is the Bangla word for victory. So, the name “Joy Bangla” means, in a sense, “Go Bangla!” We are aware that it has political affiliations, but most foreigners do not know this. Ask any Bengali what it means and you’ll get an interesting story in reply.