Many of the photos I take are with my iPhone including this one of the kiosk (near Gulshan 2 circle on the DIT 2 market side of Madani Avenue) where one can purchase scratch off top up cards for one’s prepaid iPhone. If your phone is unlocked, you can buy a sim card, some scratch off cards, and after some set up, you are good to go. I’d guess I use around 300 Taka per month ($4) on my phone and Internet. The sim card cost 250 Taka. You can also go the post-paid route and go to Grameen phone, give them copies of your passport, a photo, and then you will receive a bill monthly.
One of the changes in Dhaka during Ramadan (or Ramzan as they call it here), is that the traffic patterns change. After 6:30 p.m., there is almost no traffic on the roads so it makes getting around at that time ideal for those of us not trying to be somewhere to break the fast (Iftar) at sunset. The times of the shop openings are slightly different and things are in general not as bustling. But only slightly. Mostly, what one notices is the lack of traffic during normal rush hour hours.
One of my favorite roads in Dhaka.
If you are lucky enough to be invited to Iftar, you will find certain foods ready on your plate for that exact minute when the sun sets. Most of the items are small fried items like dates, fish cake, lentil patty, mini funnel cake, etc. There is also a special lentil soup called “haleem” which is a must to break the fast. Lemon water is the normal drink served. After the Iftar, or breaking of the fast, people will go for a quick prayer, then they eat a supper, often buffet if at a restaurant. Many, if not most, restaurants offer Iftar menus.
The end of Ramadan is marked by Eid-ul-Fitr (the first of two in the year). The long Eid is a festive time lasting days. Families give gifts, mainly of clothes, to each other. The shops are open all night long so that people can shop. Bonuses are paid. During the long Eid, many businesses close for days and many people leave town for the long holiday. The start and end of Ramadan depend on the moon.
Every week, my group of Food Adventurers Tasting Treats in Exotic Spots try out a new restaurant. This is part two (I wrote part one in March) of my review of places we’ve tried plus some I’ve been to on my own.
Bulgogi at Dae Jang Geum
Goong (the Castle – as one can tell from the large wooden gate) is on Road 50, House 12. Previously called Dae Jang Geum until a copycat restaurant opened up down the street! (13/13): Korean palace food. Best restaurant in Bangladesh. Best service and best food which happens to be Korean food. You can cook your own meat at the table on the 4th floor. Go for the fresh food, service, and salmon sashimi.
New Kings Kitchen (5/13): Cantonese. Note: they have karaoke.
Saltz (8/13): Seafood continental style. Like an underworld theme park. Must try: the fresh juice.
Spitfire (8/13): Western style. Same good juice as Saltz upstairs. Must try: serves warm bread rolls with every meal.
New Mermaid Cafe (9/13): Large airconditioned location on Gulshan Circle. Note: wish they had an elevator but maybe that would not be eco-friendly.
Rok (8/13): Meat of choice on volcanic hot rock. It’s a gimmick. Note: interior is more swanky than caveman.
Sajna (7/13): Indian. Good for business meetings. Must try: Can’t think of what.
Red Shift (6/13): Cafe. Rooftop. Note: It’s a coffee shop. Enough said.
Flambe (4/13): Random menu but not much to offer. Note: some dishes okay but not a repeat kind of place.
Pan Thao (8/13): Best Thai food in Dhaka. Note: Service can be slow.
In Bangladesh there are many happy (and bittersweet) opportunities for decorating the house with lights. For a farewell party last week, professional lighting guys arrived in the morning and strung (and flung) lights on the trees, gate, and house.
Draping lights off the roof.
There is a famous company here in Dhaka called Banani Decorators who charge around 6,000 Taka per day ($80) but my friend has a friend who knows a guy who is the guy… 3,500 Taka ($45) for the first day and 2,500 Taka for the second day. This price includes labor and lights. Always be friendly and ask around. Find out who the “nodes” of the social world and “get up and go” kind of people are… they will set you up. Plus, a proactive type personality will probably also help you with the music, logistics, etc… and even be a good friend.
The magical result.Tape and lights.Weaving lights through the tree.
Dhaka is famous for the number of people who live here. But, for every four people, there must be a dog… there are 15 million people in Dhaka. There is a thin, lanky, dun-colored dog “breed” that dominates the street scenes here. If you see a recognizable breed, then you will most likely see a dog walker attached to it. Every day I see dogs lying in the streets, lopping down the streets, using speed bumps as pillows, and reading canine news (sniffing). One night I saw a small white fluffy dog tiptoeing along beside a rickshaw… it was being walked from the rickshaw. So very Dhaka! Be warned, it is hard not to adopt a dog when you come here!
The night in Dhaka arrives around 6 pm. It is pitch dark on some streets (the potholes and dogs are only some of the obstacles). In Baridhara, the rickshaws are required to have a light on their rickshaw at night. Currently, they use open flame kerosene lanterns attached underneath the seat of the rickshaw…
Rickshaw is in the middle.
I wish that they would be retrofitted with pedal power LED lights… maybe there is an organization out there with this plan? Also, since rickshaws are extremely decorated, it would be nice to have reflective material used as part of the decoration. Just a thought.
Bangla is still a mystery to me but I’ve learned that “Dhaka” actually means “cover” and I’m beginning to see why I might cover my head when I go out and about in Dhaka.
Open sewer, tree, dirt road, chicken bone...
The other day, I went walking to market. I walked up a busy road so I stuck to the side of the road (most of the residential roads are not that busy so I walk down the middle navigating around the potholes and moist patches). In my neighborhood (which is the wealthy area), the sides of the roads sometimes have a few stretches of sidewalk but mostly, there are piles of dust and dirt where it’s been swept into piles.
This particular day, I was walking along a road with trees on the left side (yes, I should walk on the other side so that I can face oncoming traffic. Sorry, parents!) because I figured that I could scuttle from tree to tree and be slightly protected. It should be said that when I go out, I usually wear some form of shawl or scarf. I recently bought an out-size one and I like that it can cover almost all of me (both from dust and stares). So I set out with my newly washed hair flowing behind me. Suddenly, something dropped on my head! I tentatively tapped my head to feel for viscous guano (wet bird poop) and felt nothing. That was more worrying but I saw that an electrical cable had come loose and hit me on the head on it’s way down a tree. Just one of those things. I don’t know what crud had accumulated on that cable but I wish I’d had my head covered.
Then I continued down the street and… plop! I hear the sound of something hitting the ground. Right next to me, next to the cement foot for a metal pole and a tree… is a chicken bone… imagine if that had hit my head? I look up to see what is causing this commotion above my head. I see a black crow watching me giving me a territorial stare. Or maybe he was telling me to cover my head!
I went for a walk in the park… and enjoyed these signs… I’ve heard them called “ground nut” but what is “muri?” I shall have to ask someone. Is it candy?
Beside the lush Gulshan lake wooded path, in the gated neighborhood of Baridhara in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is a quiet street, lined with six floor high rises, milky lights and security guards at each gated house. Shinier and brighter than the residential buildings is the Ascot, a hotel with a rooftop restaurant. A barbecue restaurant. Passing through the hotel which is decorated like a spa (dark wood and zen plants) and past the staff all welcoming and greeting (there is no shortage of people in Dhaka), you whizz up in the elevator to the rooftop. Outside, the warm winter air (70 F even at 6 pm) is vibrating with Latin rhythms. The walls are decorated with strings of white holiday lights and exotic vines.
The food is good. My salmon with baked potato with butter and chunks of garlic is served with steamed vegetables. Plus, a yummy “jus” of citrus sauce. The portions are normal (so small compared to American portions); the service is slow but friendly; the prices baffling (not what is printed because of the addition of taxes etc.); and you must bring your own wine (and corkscrew). There are wine glasses on the table but you bring your own. This is a barbecue restaurant because the steak, salmon, red snapper, etc. is cooked on the grill (large drum style grills which give those grill marks and scent that tell you that you are eating outside!) My salmon entree cost around 890 Taka but I paid around 1,350 Taka (about $19) to include bottled water and taxes.
With the roar of landing airplanes, Latin music, mosquitoes and exclusion from the world at ground level… this could have been an experience almost anywhere in the world. It’s a good life.
The BBQ restaurant at the Ascot"Roof Top Flame Outlet"
