Back to Dhamrai & Savar

At the brass shop

Last weekend I went back to Dhamrai, the brass village, for the 4th or 5th time. It is always great to get out of Dhaka plus the village is great for taking photographs and the brass shop is interesting. But I think I will have to go back again and buy a brass elephant that holds a tea light candle. But a need to buy a tile to sit it on beforehand. It is always good to have an excuse to go back. Here are some photos of the traditional "lost wax" method used to produce the brass objects.

The wax mould of the cast

Breaking open the clay mould to reveal the brass statue

Wandering around the village is always fun, especially if the women in their colourful saris are walking around spreading the rice, or pushing it into rows or sweeping in between the rows. The bridge over the almost dry river, provides an ideal place to look down on this.

Sweeping the rice

Watching the women working on the rice

Boy watering the street

Decoration of a rickshaw seat

On the way we stopped twice in Savar. Once at the golf course to check out the details of playing - cost, availability etc, and the other at the Martyrs Memorial no doubt more crowded than usual because it was a long weekend.

Some of the very friendly visitors.

One of the best kept gardens in Bangladesh is around the Martyr's Memorial

Some pompom ducks for sale outside the Martyr's Memorial

Little Italy

Yesterday, I and a group of friends, went a day trip outside of Dhaka. It is always nice to have a change of scenery. I will post more about this trip and some photos soon. However on the way back we stopped at Little Italy, an Italian restaurant owned by the same people as Bella Italia here in Gulshan. Strangely though, the restaurant is located beside the road, rather than in the centre of a town.

Little Italy always makes on ideal stop on the way back from Dhamrai as it breaks the journey and has yummy pizzas. Below is my vegetarian pizza, the same as pizza Bella Italia. It has eggplant, spinach and mushrooms on. So that along with a diet pepsi and some chips was my lunch.


The other interesting sight is that opposite the restaurant there was a birckworks spouting lots of black smoke skywards. It was one of many that we passed while driving and all of them were contributing significantly to the air pollution we suffer with daily here in Dhaka.
Why are there so many brickworks? Due to the lack of rock and stone in Bangladesh (it is built on sand as a river delta), bricks are then broken up again to form stone for various jobs!!

Moroccan Dinner party

Having availed myself of other people's hospitality, last night I decided to have a Moroccan dinner party. So after playing 18 holes of golf early in the day, I then got cooking. Had a nice beetroot salad plus another salad followed by a chicken tagine, a beef and vegetable tagine and couscous with apricots. Then for dessert had orange slices sprinkled with cinnamon. Thankfully everyone enjoyed the food and a fun evening was had by all. (Plus I even have a few leftovers to eat!)

Here are the happy diners

Beef tagine, apricot couscous with the beetroot in the background

Chicken tagine with olives.

Slack again!!

Again I have struggled to update my blog. I suppose that means I haven't been doing anything exciting. In between work, just the weekly game of golf to give some respite from the crowds and staring of Dhaka. A little bit of shopping, a few meals out, Sunday evening spent at a school function and doubts about whether I would even stay here next year.
A long weekend this weekend so I am heading out of Dhaka for a day with a few friends and I will take my camera so hopefully will post some photos. back to Dhamrai, the brass village, with stops along the way at the Savar Golf Course to see how you go about playing there and also the Independence monument at Savar. Then a stop for pizza on the way back at Little Italy, the close relative of Bella Italia. Both restaurants have the same owner I believe. It is always nice to get out of the crowds of people and the polluting traffic jams although I expect travel will still be quite slow. Should also be nice and green with the rice growing since we are coming to the end of the dry season. Also having a dinner party, Moroccan style. I have to cook a tagine or two plus a few other bits and pieces. Should be good though and I'd better take a few photos as I get a bit slack at times.
So hopefully will manage a post after the weekend.

On the way home from work

Yesterday was a slow trip home from work, well the first part anyway as the main road was packed with people heading home from Ijtema, a Muslim religious festival just outside Dhaka. It is said that more than 2 million devotees attend and spend 3 days in prayer but afterwards, clothed in white, they walk, ride in buses, on top of buses, pile into rickshaws, pack into the back of trucks; basically travel in any vehicle they can. The result is a huge traffic jam. Our first challenge was to get on the road. The second was to travel far enough along the road so we could turn off.

Here are some photos. The first is of the cowshed we drive past most afternoons. Occasionally they are even busy milking them by hand. I do feel sorry for them having to spend all their time on concrete but the shed is always clean and they appear well fed.
The rest are of the crowds and traffic.

It has been soooo . . . cold, well for Bangladesh anyway.

Since I came back from the break over Christmas, it has been so cold - well for Bangladesh anyway. By far the coldest in the 18 months I've been here. So bad has it been that I had to get out my Winter woolies and unpack my doona that I haven't used since I lived in Morocco. Plus I wear my moccasins around the house to keep my feet warm.

Even yesterday after going for a walk to the ATM at the Westin Hotel then to the supermarket, I was a little warmer when I got back. Then cooking helped warm up the apartment a little. The trouble was that there was not a hint of sun all day. Instead it was fog or smog all day long so as a result felt quite damp.
During the early morning and evening I had to wear two long sleeve layers - unbelievable. I suppose electricity is being saved though as no need for a/c and I don't have a heater. I am lucky though that my apartment is one of the warmer ones. Plus I really enjoy getting all cosy in bed under the doona.

Today is a little warmer but I will wait and see if the weather is on the improve.

Really I shouldn't complain as all too soon I will be complaining about the heat!!

Some people are never happy!

A few Morocco photos

Here are a few photos from my holiday in Morocco.

The first three are from a group of spice and dried fruit shops hidden up a short alley.

Small shops selling sweet pastries

Miniature babouche

The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque in black and white

Donkey cart

Hand-carved wooden chess set