First Stop - Bangladesh

Bangladesh – a country where people is getting confused if you are telling them you are visiting. It is a country one finds it hard to associate with travel.

Bangladesh isn’t my first choice of first stop. It has never been. In general, who will want to visit this country? Picking Bangladesh as my first stop is a bit hardcore I foresee, especially to people like me who has been taking granted on the convenience and comfort of the modern world for ages. Honestly, it doesn’t exhilarate me. Nor do it giving me any anticipation towards my trip. Landing on the land of Bangla isn’t going to give me any on-the-road mood. I suppose it isn’t a stop for a good warming up to my journey ahead. Having said that, it is still in my list. Every country has its own take. There is no country that I do not want to go. This explains everything.

My initial plan is to get in Bangladesh from India. Having learned from fellow travelers of being refused a visa-on-arrival (VOA) at land border years ago, I decided to land on it because according to numerous travelers’ account, getting a VOA at the airport is easy and straightforward.

I thought I was smart. 

The only setback is the 2355 arrival time. Who is willing to arrive at this odd hour? I was thinking to overnight at the airport. An earlier check on www.sleepinginairports.net found out that it is one of the ten worst airports to overnight 1. This, again set me back. I estimate the earliest time I will be arriving at the hotel via Uber, yes, via Uber, will definitely be in the wee hours. I afraid I will be locked out 2.

The ensuing event sees me being refused a VOA at the airport. 

¹ This turned out to be not true. Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is perfectly OK to stay overnight!

² This turned out to be true. Damn it.