Some more pictures from Old Dhaka

Last weekend three friends and I joined a walking tour of Old Dhaka, specifically focusing on the architecture. This, honestly, wasn't the most interesting subject to me, but any chance to cruise around the old part of the city with a guide is one that should be taken, especially with only two weeks left in town!

There is not too much to report, I'll just write a bit under each picture, but one interesting thing was that I met a fellow Penn alum on the walk. Beth graduated two years before me and just began a two month internship at BRAC bank (I believe this is a part of her masters). She had arrived only a couple days earlier, and was a complete "newbie" as she repeatedly noted. Here I had someone who was from a similar background with at least some similar experiences, she was even from the west coast, and it felt good to realize just how much I had learned about Bangladesh, and how comfortable I was in this alien land. I understood what living here has meant to me.

Oh yeah, and I had a mohawk for the weekend... no, there was not a bet involved.

This has been an ongoing fascination for me, taking pictures of people taking pictures of Bangladeshis. Sara flips the script on me here, so this is a picture of someone trying to take a picture of someone who was taking a picture of a bangladeshi... my head is going to explode.

Some classic Bangladeshi architecture

The mosaic tile on the side of this mosque has been updated with some ceramic plates

We attract a crowd...

Here is an old and very large colonial home. It now houses over fifty families of Bangladeshis, which probably amounts to around 300 people. This could be an interesting museum or some other public good, but there are just a lot of people everywhere, and squatters (which is not what is happening here, but something that is regular) arrive quickly.

This is a typical sugar cane grinder

Chickens for sale! Watching people buy these things was hilarious... it's a very rigorous inspection process.

One thing I know I will miss about Bangladesh is the colors. Everywhere are bright reds, yellows, oranges, greens.

Here I am with a couple of blade grinders. They pedal on one end and sharpen the metal on the other.

A woman walks out of an alley

This little guy was following us around all day. Six months ago this definitely makes me a bit uncomfortable. On this tour, we named him Tommy and talked to him in English while he replied in Bangla. He didn't really beg, but just kind of hung around. A very nice kid, he was a bit cross eyed, but in a cute way somehow.

We got to walk through some Saturday morning markets down by the port

We cruised through rows and rows of pepper vendors. The smell was very strong and the colors, as usual were amazing.
This is a large pepper weighing scale

Go America!

Unloading produce on the Buriganga

This was a pretty building that, oddly, we did not stop for

Bangaldeshi's really take care of their hair, and on the weekends the shops move out onto the street.

I couldn't agree more.