The Dhakamentary: Sick Altitude: There Are hills in this country after all

On our way to Chittagong we turned off about 30Km outside of the city to visit village that Kalam, our driver, knew to have some nice temples. We drove down to the end of a one-car-width dirt road, got out, and assessed our options. There were two paths, one a concrete slope, the other stairs. The stairs led, after about four flights, to a temple at the base of a steep hill (or mountain, here), while the slope went to a small shrine at the very peak. We chose the long hike up, (not knowing how long or steep the climb would be) and were accompanied by a pack of tweenagers.

It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, and, incidentally, also a long way if you want to get a few of India, Burma and Bangladesh all at once. Over 1000 stairs (plus plenty of unindented slope) shot straight up the mountain (no switchbacks necessary when stairs guide the way). Every once in a while we would come to a brief plateau, usually occupied by a couple small shops selling water and snacks.

We were joined on the path by villagers going to the top to pay homage, as well as farmers carrying enormous bundles of cucumbers up and down the treacherous, steepandnarrow stairs. Enormous veins covered the bulging calf muscles of these men carrying 60 pounds on their back and heads.

At time our path led us across rickety stone bridges (luckily not over more than a few feet of ravine), worn and rounded stone steps and dirt paths crowded with ancient roots. A couple times we crossed over a stream running down the mountain, and the local boys bathed and drank from it. The path was generally not wider than 3-4 feet, and there were of course no guardrails. For a while we were walking just to the right of the tops of trees, a dramatic dropoff inches from the stone steps.

We began our hike at about 10:45, and by the time we reached the top we were all drenched and the sun was starting to cook the hillside. Luckily we were able to refuel with some bottled water along the way. The view from the top was definitely worth the labor, it was the most expansive view I had scene since I looked out the window of my landing plane in July. A shrine to Shiva was located on the topmost point, with pictures of the God and some incense.