The river is a harbour

While in Old Dhaka last weekend, we went down to the river's edge to check out the action. The river area is actually Dhaka's port - bundles of bananas were being carried on heads from the wooden boat at the river's edge, along planks and up the slope to the nearby warehouse. Here they were being piled into baskets before heading off to their sale destination. A warehouse (well open shed with 3 walls and a roof) opposite was the pineapple distribution centre.
The man below carries live chickens on his head. Since I first saw one wandering around Gulshan where I live, I have wanted a photo. While near the river, as I am about to round a corner I almost get run over by a man and his chicken hat!
There are boats everywhere on the river, from small wooden boats like these are the river-crossing taxi service where many in checked lungyis sit waiting for customers, some under umbrellas. Dredges lumber along the middle of the river while the large passenger ferries float side by side waiting for there passengers to board. Hustle and bustle is everywhere - boats, people, rickshaws and CNGs.
As is the usual situation in Bangladesh, people like having their photos taken and readily pose for the camera such as this young man.
Alice and Zac got brave and took one of the small wooden boats out onto the river for a 20 minute cruise around, doding the naked boys swimming, the small boats criss-crossing the river, the slow-moving dredges and the general flotsam and jetsam that dots the river. AND they arrived back safely . . . ..

Dhaka - River and boats

Here are a couple of photos I took when I was in Old Dhaka a couple of weeks ago. They show the river that runs through central Dhaka and the amazing collection of boats for which the river is home. Mind you I'm sure there are many other smaller rivers or tributaries in Dhaka as well, as it is a huge city with a population of more than 15 million.

Note the smog!!!

Bangladesh river boats

I am sure at the present moment that about one-third of the country called Bangladesh must be under water. There is water everywhere. As we drove we saw it on either side, the rivers are wide and there is more water on the other side of the embankments. It is no wonder that boats are the most important form of transport in this country. Mind you, some of the sights I saw also showed why it can be so dangerous, such overloaded boats have to be seen to be believed. Spending many hours travelling up and down the river, a huge variety of boats was seen The following photographs show a few.

Here is a river passenger boat, that is not dreadfully overloaded.

This is the smoke stack of an ocean going ship that was at the port of Mongla.

This is the typical type of boat used by the villagers, made of wood and propelled with a wooden oar. here it is being used to transport freshly cut grass.

However, the majority of the boats we saw on the river were fishing boats like the one below. They usually contained 3 or 4 people - one at the back to steer, two at the from to paddle and one in the middle to put out (or bring in) the fishing nets.

This is one of the overloaded boats as seen in Khulna where it ferries people from one side of the river to the other.

Here are the wood cutters on their boat at the river mouth with the Bay of Bengal in the background.

This is another passenger boat but not overloaded this time.

This shows the contrasts of the boats found on the river - a small wooden boat with the side on an ocean-going, cement carrying ship in the background.

And this is one of the more modern boats, a coast guard vessel near Mongla.

Here is a barge being pushed along by another boat.