Little Observations, Big Generalisations

The buses don’t stop:

Ø to let people on and off (they just slow down);
Ø for little kids who get car sick (they have to vomit out the window);
Ø to let old men and women take their seat without falling over (so they fall over, usually);
Ø when they are overtaking on the wrong side of the road and there is a truck coming in the other direction (the truck just flashes its lights and hopes for the best);
Ø for a break when I’m busting for the toilet (but that’s just my bad luck).

CNG drivers are fearless.

Rickshaw wallahs work REALLY hard. They all have 0% fat.

“Mutton” here is not sheep, it is goat, so it gives the saying “Mutton dressed as Lamb” a whole new meaning.

Most physical labour is done by hand. A large donation of wheelbarrows would do wonders here.

In the cities, different areas are known for selling different things, e.g. if you want plants, you go to Mirpur Road, if you want books you go to Newmarket, if you want flowers you go to Kamal Ataturk Avenue, if you want an aquarium you go to New Elephant Road. So when you get there, you see about 5000 plants, books, bunches of flowers or fish tanks, all exactly the same, lined up along the street. Surely this can’t be good for business.

Everyone loves it when a foreigner tries to speak Bangla, no matter how badly it is executed. It’s the effort that counts.

Paan rots your teeth and turns your saliva bright red.

There is an abundance of “doormen” in Bangladesh.

There is a lot to see on public transport.

If you want to “just be good friends” with a member of the opposite sex, you have to call them your brother/sister (not your friend), and then it can be socially acceptable.

There are some MASSIVE mosquitoes in Bangladesh. I’m talking a 10cm diameter.

Good pillows are not available in Bangladesh.

Bangla is not a difficult language to learn.

Not all Muslim women wear a head covering.

Not all Muslim men pray five times a day.

Squat toilets are better in every way.

Everyone really does REALLY love cricket.

If you pick your nose in public, no-one bats an eyelid.

There is always an exception to the rule.