Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Spud10]

I'm heading there in January. If anybody has been there, I'd like to hear about your experience, thoughts, concerns and whatever else you wanna say.

[bucheon bum]

What do you want to know? It's crowded, dirty, extremely friendly to foreigners, and the food isn't bad (but gets boring after awhile). Assuming you don't go to the upscale areas of Dhaka, you probably won't see any fellow travelers either. In the month I was there, I think the number of non-Bangladeshis I saw was no more than 15.

Not too many people speak English (at least compared to India), but they will do whatever they can to help you out.

Have you been to India? If so, then envision a poorer, flatter, (relatively) tout-free version of it.

[Spud10]

Haha, alright. Sounds great.

Where did you travel? I'm split between either traveling the Eastern half of Bangladesh or the Western half and then, if time is available, heading up into the Sikkim.

While I'm leaning towards the west, being a beach bum on St Martins does sound appealing.

[alwaysbeclosing100]

the thorn tree forums have pretty accurate info. as best i can tell you can get an on arrival visa at the airport only and i have heard it is usually $50.

[bucheon bum]

[Canadian Club]

It's busy, crowded, but lovely. I lived there for a year- parrots flew by my window in the mornings, tailors are ridiculously cheap, fabric is gorgeous, the people are VERY curious about westerners.

Dress conservatively. Especially if you're a woman.

If you're going for a short trip, contach Mehdi at Travellers World- he's honest and very very good at his job. He's also the travel agent that the International School teachers and embassy staff use. http://www.travelersworldbd.com/ It's not so easy to get around if you're completely alone- you may need to find a couchsurf hoster or local person to "guide" you and help you navigate the locan and national transit system.

[Canadian Club]

Also, regarding the visas: best to get it ahead of time, but at the airport is generally possible too, definetly if you're a woman.

The country is extremely corrupt. If they say "no" to anything, they're willing to negotiate.

[Spud10]

Thanks for replies, everyone. I'll be dropping off my passport & documents at the Bangladeshi embassy the first week of December so that shouldn't be a problem.

Judging from what I've read, I think I'll be skipping the whole south-east with the hill tribes, Cox's Bazaar and St. Martins. Nothing sounds incredibly tempting that way aside from the hill tribes.

@Bucheon Bum: Why did you take a liking to Sylhet? Do anything else there aside from the Tea fields?

@Canadian Club: In your year of living there, did you venture into the Northwest at all? Anything up there? There seems to be a few ruins scattered about but I'm not really super attracted to that.

The deal is, I'm looking for nice, smallish cities/towns that are interesting for a day or three and with maybe a tourist draw. To be honest I just like exploring about, walking/rickshaws and just taking in the scene. Don't need fancy tours or typical tourists traps like ruins, temples, palaces, museums. They are nice, but I don't base my trips around them.

Also, I'm contemplating throwing in a trip to the Sikkim. If there is time and not a whole lot to do. I'm considering making my way into the west and north-western part of Bangladesh and then into Darjeeling and up in the Sikkim.

There is a eastern route that is more lengthy that I may take if the western route proves not too exciting. This would take me through Sylhet and then into Meghalaya.

Ugh, sorry. That's a lot of writing. Anyways, if any one reads that all, thanks. Looking forward to any more responses!

[bucheon bum]