Back in Dhaka Part 1

Hello All! We are back online! Sorry for the lapse in time from the past post to now. No, Devone, Jesse is not stranded somewhere in the desert with a rag on his head... We just didn't have access to a computer on our trip. We finally got access at Jessore, but the connection was so slow, that it was only possible to type quick e-mails to our family to let them know that we were safe.

Picture 1 - Pigs on a wagon

So now bear with us as we try to catch you up on the past 7 days of our lives in Bangladesh... We left Dhaka on the morning of the 14th and made almost a question mark from Dhaka, north, west, then south to Kuakata. We will begin with the description of what we saw on the road between our stops. For starters, we have a new respect of what a 3 wheeled bike can handle. We saw things like a load of logs (yes, Dad, logs... do you want me to pick one up?), sugar cane, sacks of grain (so high it was at least 3 feet higher than the man riding the bike), 30' long pieces of bamboo, a huge pile of straw... and the best thing we saw was 4 pigs "hog tied" (sorry for the pun) in a stack laying down on the back of the bike (see picture). We saw virtually no wildlife, just lots of other animals like pigs (a whole herd of black bristly pigs running in the ditch), very skinny cows, water buffalo, ducks & geese (Shilo, there were some very interesting looking ducks) and lots and lots of gawking people.

Picture 2 - Shauna in a villiage

I bet it was quite interesting for them to be walking down the road in time to see 7 vans/SUV’s drive by with their horns blaring… but when they saw the white people inside a couple of them… then it was open faced STARING. Yes, we felt like celebrities when we would walk anywhere. We even got asked for our autographs. Shauna enjoyed the women & children wanting to talk and get their picture with her, but the men drove her crazy. Sally & Shauna are constantly being harassed with men taking their picture or taking a “group” picture with the lens being aimed at them… It’s frustrating. Jesse is helping with providing “shelter” as she ducks in beside him just before a photo is taken.

Picture 3 - Jesse, same villiage, Milling Lentil

We stayed in research station guest houses & hotels along the way. It was funny. When we arrived in Dhaka, we thought that the Rigs Inn wasn’t that nice of a hotel, but then when we got back. WOW this hotel is the ritz! The bathrooms are so gross over here. First of all… there are hoses beside every toilet with little spray nozzles on the end that they use instead of TP. So it’s luck if you find toilet paper. It’s even luckier if you find a toilet!

Yes, you heard me right… over here there is a toilet in the floor with grips on each side for your feet… hehe… lots of fun! So thankfully, our hotel here is a really beautifully clean bathroom with a full seat and nice pink toilet paper.

Picture 4 - Bangladesh traditional toilet

We have gotten to see SO many different crops over here in the fields. Some of them are sugar cane, rice, wheat, lentil, chick pea, tobacco, field pea, jute, marigold, mungbean, blackgram, grass pea, peanut, onions, garlic, coriander, mustard, bananas, coconuts, date palms, jujubies, mangos, papayas, pineapple, guava, jack fruit, among other things.

Anyway… we need to let Bert have his computer back, however, we will write more tomorrow (or later today as it would be for you).

We love & miss you guys, and hope all is well! Check out for a new posting soon as we have LOTS more to tell!

Picture 5 - Shauna, Sally & Blaine drinking green cocount juice (yes, Jason, it is so refreshing!)

Picture 6 - Jesse " Drink! Drink! Drink!"

Picture 6 - Amusement (mr. Unibrow - Blaine made me take this picture just so he could have a record of this unibrow!)

Bangldesh Day 2

Picture 1 - Jesse & Bert looking across the River

Today was quite interesting. After sleeping for 9 hours, we got up feeling very rested. We were afraid that we would be waking up at all hours of the night, but we were so exhausted, that we slept until 5:45. Our room here at the Rigs Hotel is actually quite nice. It is located right on a street with poverty surrounding it. There are rickshaw drivers outside of the gate waiting to take anyone where they would like to go. These rickshaws are tricycle pedal bikes with bench seats on the back with brightly decorated canopies. Jesse and I are on the 5th floor, and Blaine, Bert & Sally are on the 3rd floor. We have to climb 10 flights of marble stairs to get to our room on the 5th floor. We are fortunate to have airconditioning and a comfy bed with decent pillows (and no visible cockroaches yet).

Picture 2 &3 - River, Boats & Shanties

This morning Jesse and I went for a walk just down 1/2 block from our hotel. Nearby is a tributary of the Gangese river. Across it, is a slum/low income community made of tinned shanties like you would see in National Geographic. Crossing the river are many boats laden with goods bound for the market. On our

side of the river, there were a few shanties as well. These were made of blankets stretched over poles. The poverty and filth is stunning, but the people seem to be very very happy and so friendly. The children were having fun practicing their English on us with short phrases like "how are you" and "Good Morning". It was so fun to talk to them and observe how happy and carefree they were.

Picture 4 - Children playing with the bricks - little girl waving at us

After Breakfast we drove to Gasipore to the BARI - Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, where we stayed all day listening to research seminars from researchers around the pulse producing world. Everywhere we go we are treated like royalty. The people are always saying "Please" as they escort us to a seat that is better, or food that we should eat, etc.

Vehicle travel is harrowing. Imagine 5 lanes of traffic packed into 3. Ok, so you are imagining that... now times that by 10 million people (Dhaka's population) and no traffic lights/signal lights/stop signs or driver courtesy. The constant honking has brough Jesse to cursing a blue streak and have had to be reminded that appropriate language is needed by Shauna.

If we had one complaint, it's the smell of Dhaka city. The pollution is staggaring. We blew our noses after just driving through the city in a van with the window open, and it was black. It smells like (as Jesse explains it) butchering chickens & pumping sewage (which runs freely down the gutters).

We haven't figured out if its the jet lag, or the food, or the combination, but Shauna has had a bit of a harder time adjusting. Her stomach is pretty weak (although no major reprocussions) Blaine & Jesse seem to be doing fine, although we are all exhausted.

Well, it's 11pm here, and we have to get up for 6. I hope this gives you a look of the life in Dhaka city, as we are heading out of here tomorrow on the pulse tour across Bangladesh.

We love and miss you guys!

Morning 1 in Bangladesh

Ok, so we are just waiting for breakfast. We slept well last night after eating a good supper of lentil soup. It was quite tasty. Wonderful service here, there are gaurds at the locked iron gates waiting to open the doors even if you just want a breath of fresh air. We went for a short walk this morning, and saw three kids who were practicing thier English on us... it was fun. Will update more tonight. :)

Bangladesh at Last!

Hi All!

Well we are finally here! At long last, may we add. We are staying at the Riggs Inn here in Bangladesh, and wow, is it a culture shock! We read about what it might look like here... but we found out as soon as we walked out the front door of the airport, that we would be in for an adventure. The perimiter of the airport is fenced with metal fencing of some kind, almost a type of iron fence... and all you can see, all around the entrance, are the crowds of people cramming against the iron fence to see if their loved one has arrived. There were men with big guns, walking back and forth... army and police... it was quite interesting. Then, before we realized it, we were sweapt off to the hotel with the 2 vehicles that the hotel supplied (with drivers) to pick us up. Our luggage was in one of the vans, with Jesse, Bert & Blaine, and Sally & I were in the other car with another guy from London who happened to be heading to the same hotel so he came with us on the same car. So... now comes the part where I literally had my mouth open in a ... "wow" sort of way... as we started the trek to the hotel with 2 short "beep - Beeeee - eeeeep"s of our car... and the way it works here... weither you are a bus, a truck a tiny little green thing that looks like a 3 wheeled motorbike... he who beeps the loundest, gets to go... so you can imagine the sounds... on our way... people are everywhere... crossing the street, which would literally be like someone crossing the I10 in Southern California during rush hour... and the cars don't swerve... they just drive... while seeing this, I notice a train is going by... and oh wait... there are 5 children riding on the top of it... STANDING UP as if they are surfing! Crazy hey? and their hair is blowing in the wind, and their little skinny legs are holding thier little dirty-clad bodies up... it was kinda stiking... poverty is so obvious... oh and teh rickshaws (sp) are everywhere... and we can go on them for only about 50 cents for a whole hour! :)

People waiting to pick up loved ones at airport

Ok, enough for now... that was all just from driving to the hotel... where we FINALLY got to shower and have a little nap...

Love you guys

Doha, Qatar

ok... so I am writing on an international keyboard, so there may not be many capital letters. We are in Doha, Qatar. The flights so far have been pretty long. We have one more flight from here to Dhaka, Bangladesh, and that flight is around 5 1/2 hours as well. We hear that we will get to see elephants, parrots, camels, tigers, and many other things - bananas, mangos... rice patties... it's crazy to think of how we are supposed to take it all in, and not get overwhelmed. When we flew into Qatar, it was the nice warm temperature of 18 degrees C at it was at at 10:20 pm! crazy hey? So Qatar is a tiny pininsula that sticks out into the Persian Gulf. It's 80kms/180kms (as my seat mate, who is German & works here on road construction, informed me). As it was dark when we flew in, we didn't get to see the ocean or the wonderful sandy beaches... but it looks quite amazing. I will tell you one thing though.. Qatar Airlines is the way to travel! It was crazy to see how much service we got on that flight from Germany to Qatar. We got a menu and could pick either Chicken Curry (which I chose) with rice - along with a bun, butter, crackers & cheese, a curd cake of some kind with raspberries on it, and a toblerone bar, or salmon (which Jesse chose) along with the same list of things. Throughout our flight, we got given nice warm toweletts, and we were in economy class! I watched 2 movies (from lists and lists of them). The only bad thing was that I was in seat 19a, and Jesse was in seat 39k... so we didn't get to see eachother for 5 1/2 hours of the trip.

well, I am sure there is lots more to write, but I am tired, and there is a line up for the internet. We love you guys, and although we are dragging our butts from traveling for the past 27 hours, we are quite excited, and still can't believe we get to do this!

Almost ready...

Ok... so this picture isn't the best, but Mom really wanted to see a picture of us packing... so this is us, after many hours of work this week, and FINALLY packed and ready. We will be adding to this site as soon as we get a chance on the way. We fly out at 11:40 tomorrow morning, and arrive the next day at what would be the equivilent to 9:40 pm - 9:40 am Bangladesh time. We will write more... :) Thanks for all the postings, and for the comments!

Almost here...

Well, we fly out in just 2 more days. Jesse had a meeting with Bert (his advisor) and the rest of the group who are going with us on this trip. We finally have our passports back! It was crazy, we got all of our passports and filled out the necessary paperwork and got a bunch of pictures taken for our visas. Sent them all away to Ottawa, and the consolate of Bangladesh gave us our visa's, but India sent our stuff back saying that we needed to actually send the stuff to Vancouver! Oh fun... so we finally have them all back, and we have our tickets for our flights, and we can't believe that we are going in just 2 days! Hopefully we will be ready. I have 2 more days of work, and then we will be off! We will write one more thing tomorrow night before we leave, and hopefully figure out how to attach a picture so we know how when we are over there.
Take care!