Bangladesh 2024 pt. 7: The Beginning of the End

TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2024

Mongla and Batiaghata, Bangladesh

DAY 19

We met Doyle’s family and Ripon, one of the members from Gopalgonj, in Mongla in the morning. We planned to take a boat ride from Mongla port to the Sunderbans. The port is a little over an hour from our house, so it’s a nice little romp to do with company.

The Sundarbans is the world’s largest mangrove forest and home to the Bengal Tiger, as well as monkeys, lizards, snakes, and crocodiles.

The boat is a double-decker situation with seating on the top. We always use the same boat driver. “It’s been many days since I’ve seen you!” he said when he saw me. I was surprised he remembered me.

(we take a boat similar to the orange one)

We cruised along, watching the sailors from the big ships taking their baths in the water. Our little boat slipped through the water in between the big river ships. We opened our freezer bags and dined on our river cuisine of sandwiches, cold cokes, chips, and bars.

We arrived to the Sunderbans at the same time as another foreigner. He was from the Netherlands, and had arrived in Dhaka from Kolkata, India just yesterday.

We walked on, passing the crocodiles they cage for breeding. They keep all sizes… from 1 foot in length to 12 foot Romeo, the patriarch. Then, we ventured into the dark forest.

It was cool inside. The concrete pathway was raised above the marshy ground, and crabs scuttled sideways in and out of the water. Birds called from the trees overhead, and not a ray of sunlight shone through the overgrowth.

After a short walk, we arrived at the watchtower just as the first drops of rain were beginning to fall. Some climbed to the top, and others stayed below. We asked where the monkeys were; usually they are in the tree! “Oh,” they said. “They are ahead.”

(the watchtower)

We walked ahead through the light rain, but still didn’t see any monkeys. When we came to the end of the trail, we had seen only one. Turns out, they were not “ahead”. It was then that we saw another foreigner: this time, a lady! She was from Finland, and was taking a solo tour of Asia. Two foreigners in one day? Usually the ones we see are ourselves! A solo tour? My extroversion could never.

We got back on the boat. Our route would take a slight detour through some river villages. River dolphins surfaced and re-submerged in front of our boat. The children screamed with delight as they spotted them. And then, lying silently in the water, the driver spotted a huge crocodile. We were all so excited! We had seen the crocodiles in the enclosures, but we had never seen one in the wild.

Once, when I was in Africa, I spotted a crocodile just as it was sliding back into the water. It was only a second before it was gone. But this crocodile today was not shy. He swam for almost a full minute, his head and part of his body above the water, before he stealthily slipped beneath the surface.

When we disembarked, we said goodbye to Doyle’s and Ripon. After a quick bathroom break, we headed back for home.

In the afternoon, we had an invitation to Sunil Kaka’s (our night guard). We told him we had eaten so much, we only wanted tea and a small snack. When we arrived, we were so relieved to see it was just that. His beautiful daughter-in-law (who is only 2 months older than I am btw) was bent over her mud stove cooking noodles. She makes the best noodles. She also served us lemonade and milk tea. The lemonade was not my favorite, but I drank 2 glasses of the milk tea. Raj, the daughter-in-law’s son, and Kylie played in the other room. The beautiful sound of their laughter echoed across the concrete walls of the house.

We left just as the sun had set. Again, we had been shown Bengali love in the medium of food.

(Dudh cha, Milk tea)

After dark, we went to Batiaghata. In American terms, Batiaghata is the county seat. It’s not as major as Khulna City, but has more than the little villages around here. Tonight, I was in the hunt for melamine rice plates. I regretted not taking them back the first time I left, so this time, it was a must. We had been told Batiaghata was the place to go.

After I picked out my plates at a hole-in-the-wall dokan, I quickly slipped away to let Trevor do the bargaining. I hate doing that. I usually just give them the price they ask for, just because I cringe every time I try to bargain with them. He loves it, so I’ll give him the joy.

After that, we walked around the bazaar. I bought 100 pieces of my favorite candy for Tk250 (around $2). We stood in the banks of the river watching small boats come in. When the power went out, we stayed to look at the stars. I pointed out different constellations to 9yo Brock, and thought of all the times my friends and I would lay in the wheat fields and do the same.

And then, we returned home. Just as the power came back. Good timing.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26th, 2024

Khulna, Bangladesh

DAY 20

We girls took transportation into Khulna in the morning. Trevor, Brock, and Kylie brought the van in and met us for lunch. We met them at the Ramen restaurant again! I savored every bite, knowing it would be my last time at the Ramen restaurant.

Shanto’s wanted to be with us one more time before I left. He wondered what kind of food I had wanted. Well, we were entirely Bangla-fooded out by this point, and could not fathom trying to stuff more rice in our bellies. We told them we wanted ruti and dal. Just something light. We won’t eat much, we told them.

When we got there that evening, we had no idea what awaited us. How much food would there be? Would they disobey and prepare a huge rice feast? They did pretty good. They had ruti, dal, chicken, fried potatoes, rice, payash, and noodles payash. As promised, we only took small portions.

We sat on the floor and ate with our hands again. I took my usual spot between Hridoy and Whitney. The food was so good and I didn’t want to think about it being my last meal together with them.

When it came time to go, I told them we weren’t doing the crying like we did last time. “Last time was enough, and I don’t want to go away crying again,” I told them. But, when we were standing in the bamboo gate and it actually came time to say goodbye, and Antor’s eyes were sparkling with tears and Shanto got quieter and Shathi started sniffling and Hridoy smile grew painfully broader because it was either laugh or cry and Spondon talked about how he would be bigger next time I saw him, I couldn’t help but cry a little. Just a little. Just for them.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 27th, 2024

Dhaka, Bangladesh

DAY 21

I woke up in Khulna with memories of the last time I said goodbye. It had been awful. Awful, yes, but full of love. All my favorite people from church and the village had come over in the morning to tell me goodbye. We stood in the living room as Shanto had a prayer with everyone- Hindus, Muslims, Christians alike. Then, the goodbyes started and so did the tears.

But that was last time. And, as full of love that day was, I didn’t want to repeat it. I told Tulshi the same thing I’d told Shanto’s family: that we cried enough last time and we don’t need to do that this time. Last time was enough.

And so, I hugged Dipti and told her to stay well. I shook Tulshi’s hand and told him I wished I could stay for his wedding. “Take good care of Toby,” I told him. I know he will. He loves that crazy dog just as much as I do. I waved to my factory friends as we passed them at the gate. “I have faith I’ll see you again sometime,” I said. My eyes pooled with tears, but I managed to suck them back inside. I knew if I started crying, I’d never stop.

We drove the 3 hours to Dhaka. On the way, we stopped and looked at the old house in Gopalgonj. In another place, there was broken glass and blood on the road. Two abandoned shoes in the road echoed an ominous tale. Busses dodged in and out, and the green of the palms and clouds in the sky rolled by in the window. The vast rice fields stretched all the way to the tree line. Palms dotted the landscape. The Hindus say that if two Tal trees stand together, there are ghosts living there. There could be plenty of ghosts in these trees in the way to Dhaka.

In no time, the vast farmland and rivers were exchanged for the packed streets and noise of Dhaka. I think Trevor will find driving to be boring when he returns to civilization and organization. We honked our way through the traffic to the Jute store. Here, one can buy bags, rugs, practically anything made out of Bangladesh Jute. I bought my mother a new purse and a tote bag for myself.

After the shopping, it was Pizza Hut for lunch, followed by to-go coffees at North End. Then, we drove to Pink City.

Pink City is the new mission home in Dhaka. It’s a gated community outside of the hustle and bustle of the city. Lisa I went for a walk while she showed me around. I walked around in complete awe. The place before was in the middle of a busy concrete block with hardly any trees in sight. The CSI house and the guest house, where we stayed when we came in, were in apartment buildings. No yards for the children to play in, no good places for them to bike or run. Of course, at the time it was all we knew. We had good times there, too. After all, it’s people that create an excellent experience, rather than the location.

But now, Pink City is quiet, gated, clean, organized and safe. The children can bike up and down the street without worry. There are yards with grass and room for them to run. The houses are just the right size, and guest house is just down the street from the CSI house. I’m totally sold out on Pink City.

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FRIDAY, JUNE 28th, 2024

Dhaka, Bangladesh

DAY 22

Church in the morning. Church in Dhaka is in our CSI clinic and the walls are line with medicine cabinets. Behind the office/sanctuary is the kitchen, a bathroom and a room for patients. Nathon, who is 29, translates. He isn’t a member, but has been involved with our people since he was a teenager. He’s a lot of fun and does a lot with the missionaries and CSI people, helps out with interpretation when needed, and provides a sense of normalcy. It’s nice to have someone around who understands and is familiar with our culture.

We ate at Herfy’s with Nathon and his friend. As you may have guessed based on the fact that he’s one of our translators, Nathon speaks very good English. His friend, not so much. He was a good sport though. We communicated in Bangla as much as we could to try to include him.

After our burgers were eaten, we went to New Market, a huge bazaar. I had a few things I wanted to get from there, so Lisa walked around and checked off my list. Once we were sufficiently hot and sweaty and all my things were collected, we went back to the guest house.

Nathon and his friend had gone straight to the guest house after eating at Herfys. They were there cooking for us. We had ordered Nathon’s special beef curry for supper, and he was more than happy to oblige. We were more than happy to eat it.

While they cooked, Lisa and I went to Jared’s house. I wanted to see the new place, and Brianna gave me the grand tour. I even got to try out driving the scooter. It was not fun. It was not enjoyable. I will stick with walking. It’s better for you anyway.

When it was time to eat, we all sat down and looked at the food before us. Nathon and his friend had prepared beef curry, Basmati rice, 2 kinds of Bangla vegetables, and shemai for dessert. I don’t usually like beef curry, but this? This was incredible. And the shemai at the end was amazing as well.

(Shemai. Nutty, creamy, sweet. Similar to payesh, but in my opinion, better.)

We completely ate too much. Nathon and his friend stayed to talk and eat bars and drink coffee. After a proper Midwestern goodbye waving in the driveway until they were out of sight, Trevor, Lisa, and I tried to walk some of it off. Round and round we paced around the bright Mandela that had been painted in the intersection.

I went to bed that night for the last time in Bangladesh

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For the last time, love from Bangladesh 🇧🇩

-Kalli Sue

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P.S.

This one was a bit rushed and I feel like it’s boring. Sorry about that. I’ll be writing about the journey home in the next few days, so if you’re interested, keep an eye out. If not, it doesn’t bother me.

:)