Hmm. Where to begin? Its much easier to write as you go than to have to look back, so I guess I’ll start from the beginning.

I arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday evening and headed out Friday morning to go south to the coastal belt around Barisal and Patuakhali. We continued south on Saturday and took a boat to visit some of the villages hit by Cyclone Aila just a few weeks ago. Many houses were destroyed and lives lost in the storm. Of the houses that were not destroyed, many literally had their foundations washed away. Somehow the posts managed to stay in the ground, preventing the collapse of the house.

The house below had water up to the windows following the cyclone…

This area of Bangladesh is absolutely beautiful, barring the destruction. Pictures, as usual, just don’t do it justice. There is so much water. It amazes me how the people have adapted to their surroundings. Fishing is their main source of food and income. When I was on one of the ferries, many men offered me fresh fish. Fresh as in still desperately gasping for air. And river prawns bigger than my hand.

During the monsoon season, the area floods creating islands. During the dry season, the water recedes, bridging many of the islands by silt and sand. It would be interesting to see during the dry season. During cyclones, however, it floods more than usual. The biggest problem caused by the unexpected flooding is the contaminating of their drinking water with salt water.

The water buffalo don’t seem to mind the water, though…

The main means of transportation is…yep, you guessed it, boats! Cargo transport, people transport, fishing, and joy riding(?). Hill-hopping in Cincinnati, wave-hopping in Bangladesh. Some were motorized, but most were man-powered. I would imagine fuel is rather expensive in this part of the country. I saw many sunk boats after the cyclone, and many places had boats up on stanchions being fixed and re-sealed. The cyclone put those with boats in a catch-22 situation. They needed money to fix their boats, but their form of earning money was their boat.

Wish I had one of those umbrellas. I’m still shedding like a snake…

We then returned to Dhaka Sunday night. It was a ten hour drive both ways. I spent the rest of my time in Dhaka, so there is more to follow. Stay tuned!

The rest of my pictures I posted can be found HERE