sylhet – M's Adventures

Sri Lankan Tea Tasting in Lima

February 3, 2019M's Adventures

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The tea tasting costs 25 soles. The tasting is only Mlesna brand tea, one of the leading brands of tea in the world. This is the only Sri Lankan tea shop in Peru. The teacher was clearly bewitched by her time in Sri Lanka and that shows in her presentation. I have been to tea plantations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (although, I never got around to writing about that part because I was too interested in other aspects of Sylhet) so I sort of understood her fascination.

The store is filled with artwork, cups, plates, bags, and many other things to buy. It is a bit like an artists collective as the artists also own and work in the store.

I’d say to go on a South Asia kick and eat at Dhaasu before or after…

Fishing for Sand in Sylhet

December 29, 2012December 29, 2012M's Adventures

Bangladeshi men fish for sand from India.

If Jaflong provides rocks, then the rivers in the nearby areas provide the next best thing — cement. The sand comes down from India and is considered of the finest quality. It is very fine in size and seeped in my canvas shoes through the canvas.

The process of sand fishing involves getting pails of sand from the river bottom, hauling them up into the boat, letting the sand drain a little, and then letting your colleagues push the drying sand into the center of the boat. At the back of the boat is a bilge pump or a guy bailing the boat. The sand is ferried down to waiting trucks and then the trucks move the sand to hand cranked cement makers.

Fishing for Rocks in Jaflong

December 19, 2012December 19, 2012M's Adventures

Medieval misery in Jaflong's rock fisheries. — Medieval misery in Jaflong’s rock fisheries.

As an alluvial delta, Bangladesh has few rocks. In Jaflong, in the northeast corner of Bangladesh, they fish for rocks. The rocks are fished from the river, broken, loaded onto trucks and taken off to be turned into cement. Jaflong sits on the invisible border with India and was once considered a beautiful place. Even now, amidst the horrors of backbreaking labor and touristy traps, you can still see the faded glory in the bridge and the hills.

Moving rocks from river to boat to truck.

It’s hard to see the beauty through the lifeless eyes and the maelstrom of medieval tableaux.