Travelling Abroad

Hi guys!

By now you probably know that I am in Bangladesh for holidays. Of course that means I had to travel for a ridiculous amount of time and it got all of us exhausted. I wanted to share with you lovely people the process of travelling abroad and more specifically travelling to Bangladesh and what you encounter and feel like through the process of travelling.

1.     1. Travel to the airport

Nothing too hassling. Just pick up your bags, put them in the car, sit in the car and just go. The only annoying thing about travelling to the airport is the bags. This is because when you are Asian and have a family like mine, you travel with 12 bags and they are sure as hell.

     2. Travel to country of transit (if it’s not a direct flight)

By now you get through customs, security and all that nonsense. You are in a place surrounded by strangers. You are seating in the most uncomfortable seat and no damn position is helping you to get comfortable. Either way, you fly and things get not as normal as when you are on the ground. You are in the air with strangers and a specific amount of oxygen. The food they serve you is very strange for some reason even though it is normal food for normal people. I personally like airplane food but everyone has mixed opinions about this. Water is also provided in a specific amount. The last 30 minutes do not just end at all. Every second of that half an hour is too long. Finally, the plane lands at the last 5-10 minutes and what do you hear around? People are clapping! This wasn’t your son’s graduation ceremony please!

3.      3. Travel to the actual country

If your flight isn’t direct, you are stuck in a transit. This experience varies for everyone. Some people get long transit hours like 12 hours, some get very short like 1 hour and some decent like 4 hours. I got 1 hour. So you know that if someone saw me at Istanbul airport, they saw me running around to catch the connecting flight to Dhaka. Thank God I got that flight and now you are surrounded around other kinds of people. Bear in mind these people are going Bangladesh as well. So a variety of people is a must to see. In front of me was a loudmouth who apparently knows it all and thinks that “you should get an ultrasound scan if you break your bones”. On my right was my family and on my left, the whole column was a huge family with a ton of children. You know children means crying, hitting and a lot of chatter. Hence why half of my journey I spent it sleepless. The man in front of me kept talking non-stop to his neighbour (even after my dad requesting him to keep it quite because I couldn’t sleep) and the family on my left kept making noise including a lady who interrupted the way to the toilet. Again the last 30 minutes are not ending but we land at the end. Surprisingly no one clapped this time. You get off, get through customs, collect your bag and be ready for the next journey.

4.      4. Travel to the final destination

By now you have passed immigration before everyone because “your cousin’s wife’s brother in law works in customs and immigration” so I am thankful for getting this quick pass. Usually I help my dad when collecting the “8 bags” (4 are handbags) from the belt. I didn’t this time because I was exhausted due to the lack of sleep. We are out and our car is waiting for us outside with a family member. My fave uncle came to collect us and no pauses, we start the journey to my city. Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh but I live in a city called Khulna and it’s a beautiful place. There is not a specific flight to Khulna from Dhaka so driving it is better and takes generally 6 hours if the conditions are fine. We took 11 hours. This is where the madness started. It took 3-4 hours to get a ferry because they made us stand in the queue, drive around the place for the gate, plead the people to let us in because somehow we are important and then get the ferry. The journey after getting off the ferry was the car breaking down, a lot of shaking due to the broken roads, speedy driving and praying that you reach your house without dying because of the dangerous and carelessly driving in the roads. People constantly horn and overtake each other. It was mad

At the end you are home, stinky, sweaty and it is all worth it when you see your family. So I would like to say that I have no regrets about the journey (only regret that my portable charger stopped working).

Did you ever experience such crazy journeys? Let me know in the comments below. Make sure to check back every late Wednesdays and Saturdays for amazing Bangladesh posts though August.

Take Care,

Yours, Nafiza