~story by Mikey Leung~

At the Guide Tours’ Hillside Resort, you awake to a stunning view of hills poking out from the clouds. See more photos of Bandarban here.

It’s absolutely outrageous to say this, but be prepared to be followed by the police where ever you go while visiting one of Bangladesh’s most attractive destinations, second only to the Sundarbans.

It happened to a group of us last week (all foreign tourists). Before we even knew it, we were being followed by three uniformed police officers carrying aging rifles. They were not aggressive or overbearing, in fact they were usually quite kind and curious like all Bangladeshis are, and they were simply doing their job. Nonetheless, we didn’t formally request their presence, but we got it whether we wanted it or not. It did sour our experience of Bandarban—I felt bad mostly for my group.

The bottom line:

We do not want to scare anyone with this article, as Bandarban is one of Bangladesh’s must-see destinations. We simply want intrepid travellers to be prepared for what they will encounter.

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Tags: Bandarban,Bangladesh,Chittagong Hill Tracts,Responsible Travel,security advice
Categories: Chittagong Hill Tracts, Destinations, FAQ
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~story by Mikey Leung~

After reading Kirsty’s recent post about her upcoming visit to Bangladesh, there is one thing that most flashpackers like herself don’t know about this “underdeveloped” nation.

Bangladesh has one of the best internet connectivity services I’ve experienced in the entire world. Although there are mixed reviews on that subject.

From my point of view, it is absolutely amazing that, using an EDGE-enabled mobile phone, one can have wireless broadband connectivity almost everywhere in Bangladesh (except for the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where people use antennas to get mobile signal for voice communications. Often it is not strong enough for data service). EDGE is the successor of GPRS, an older, slower technology for packet data transfer.

Here’s what you need:

• EDGE-enabled mobile phone (our suggestion is the Nokia 6110 for 6,500Tk or about $100 USD). You can check Grameen’s list of phones here, or browse your mobile phone vendor’s site for more information.
• Some way to connect the phone to the computer. If you own a Mac, Bluetooth works alright although there are sometimes modem errors (see this article for more information). Otherwise a PC can be connected with a USB cable, and if you use a Nokia mobile, use the PC Suite application to control the phone’s internet mobile connection.
• Grameen Post-paid SIM card. Head to a Grameenphone customer service center and bring a copy of your passport plus two passport pictures. Make sure they activate the EDGE service on the SIM card. The best part is the cost: Tk1,150 per month for unlimited browsing ($15 USD per month).

If you’re not the most technically inclined person, it is best to bring your computer to the Grameenphone customer service center along with your mobile phone. They should be able to help you to complete the connection and get you online.

There are other services available in Bangladesh, but only Grameen offers unlimited bandwidth service, so it gets our vote because we are data-hungry people!

Hands-On Disaster Response provides an even more comprehensive guide at this link (PDF, 48KB). Cheers for putting that together, HODR!!

Tags: Bangladesh,EDGE service,Grameen Phone,Internet,technology,wireless
Categories: FAQ
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This text originally written by Voluntary Service Overseas volunteer Heidi Eisenhauer for other volunteers. But of course it has some handy hints for those planning a long-term visits to the country.

* self powered flashlight (magnetic or pump)
* head lamp
* travelers wet/dry pants are a good idea
* men wear short sleeve shirts, pants and dress shoes to work
* foreign women may wear what they wish but a mixture of western / kameez and orna is standard
* Flip flops / open toe shoes are essential!! They are sold here but vary in quality
* hand sanitizer
* water bottle / Nalgene bottle
* Gatorade
* Good knives for cooking (if you like to cook the quality of knives in Bangladesh is questionable)
* A laptop if you have one, for watching movies - which cost about 80-100 taka ($1.10 USD)
* Good rechargeable batteries and a charger! The crappy batteries sold here don’t seem to last (most multiplugs are international)
* bring a nice squishy pillow unless you like slabs of rock..
* a backpack

FYI:
1. Almost everything is available here..
2. Some foreign things like coffee are very rare (you may want to bring a bodem).
3. Bring an unlocked phone that takes sim cards if you have one.. if not they average 3,000-20,000 taka $40-$200 here, and a regular sim costs 300 taka.
4. My beds have been 1′ mattresses on wood.. so I was happy to have my yoga mat.. would have been happier with my thermarest.. I bought a foam mattress for 3000 taka when I got settled, and thick stuffed mattresses are about 1,000 taka.
6. you may bring 23kg per bag.. and this will not be a problem for staff picking you up..

Do you have anything else you would suggest visitors bring to Bangladesh? Please give us your input..

Tags: Bangladesh,getting ready,helpful hints,packing list
Categories: FAQ
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