[debopam]

Hi GD,

I am planning a Bangladesh trip sometime around next Feb. Did you manage to do your Bangladesh Trip? How was it? I want to know on the paperwork to take an Indian car there. It will be great if you can please help.
Thanks in advance!

Regards,
DB

[gd1418]

Oh so this dead thread came alive. No I couldn't make it to Bangladesh then or later. My sis-in-law returned back in few months as this combination proved too much for her:

Breakfast

Daal, Bhaat, Maachh

Lunch

Bhaat, Daal, Maachh

Dinner

Maachh, Daal, Bhaat

Originally Posted by debopam

Hi GD,

I am planning a Bangladesh trip sometime around next Feb. Did you manage to do your Bangladesh Trip? How was it? I want to know on the paperwork to take an Indian car there. It will be great if you can please help.
Thanks in advance!

Regards,
DB

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Oh so this dead thread came alive. No I couldn't make it to Bangladesh then or later. My sis-in-law returned back in few months as this combination proved too much for her:

Apologies for waking up a dead thread again. I am planning a visit to Dhaka in November, 2012.

Planning the visit with my Father (octogenarian) , kids , wifey. I have planned to take the easy route in terms of getting there (Biman Bangladesh) and staying there (it's a mid range hotel recommended by lonely planet).

I intend to visit a couple of places near Dhaka , where Dad grew up before he migrated to India during the Partition. Both of these are likely to be day-trips (each is about 50 km from Dhaka city).


What I am struggling with is understanding what kind of transportation options are available. Considering that the hotel I am staying at is frequented by Westerners, I am sure, any transportation recommendations from their side would be expensive (going by my experience of transportation options offerred by hotels in India which are recommended by lonely planet ).


You mentioned your relative was in Dhaka for some time.... Could you pass me any contact numbers for local taxi-services that they used?

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

What I am struggling with is understanding what kind of transportation options are available.

Taxis - walk over to the nearest taxi stand or street corner where taxis are parked, and just ask one of them whether he would take you the next day to your destination. Generally 2 types are available.

1. The cheaper non-AC hatch (anything from M800 to Santro to A-Star), running on CNG (everything runs on CNG in Bangladesh, from cars to generators), with zero boot space. You can hire them by the meter for intra-city trips, and for a mutually agreed lumpsum amount when making intercity trips. No idea of current costs, but expect to pay at par with what you would pay for a full-day hire (outstation trip) of an Indica in India.

2. The more expensive AC sedan - usually Toyota Corollas and Nissan Sunnys, refurbished and brought in from Singapore and Thailand. Expect to pay 1.5x to 2x what you would pay for the non-AC hatch. These are also available for short trips inside the city by meter.

Do NOT agree to travel long distances by meter - bargain hard, have an idea of what distance the round trip would be, and you'll probably end up paying 60% - 75% of what the fare by meter would be. It helps greatly if a local chap is doing the bargaining, or you speak fluent Bangaal, and hide the fact that you are Indian.