The morning of my first full day began innocently enough, with doves cooing gently outside my window. I had slept soundly and with nary a mosquito bite (thank you, mosquito net inventor!). I took a cold shower, lounged in bed to finish a book (it was a national holiday so all offices were closed), then decided to venture outside to search for the legendary King's Cafe, a Malaysian coffee house franchise.
Since I am adventurous (and my place is tucked away where no rickshaw dare enter), I decided to walk. Basically, I have three bustling streets to deal with: Airport Road, Kamal Ataturk Road, and the glamorous Road 11--don't let the name fool you! Airport Road boasts a pedestrian overpass (Allah be praised!), and I present to you a view of Dhaka traffic on a good day.
I was also pleased to note that the capital offers equal opportunity employment when it comes to backbreaking labor. These ladies were delighted at my not-so-ninja picture taking, and posed smilingly long after I was done.
I was also happy that I didn't get as many stares as I did in Chittagong; Dhaka is so much more cosmopolitan! Also, there are tons of foreigners here for the cricket world cup, so I am one among many.
As I walked back, I saw some irresistible Engrish. Are YOU shooting like a blind?
So anyway, near as I can figure out, this map accurately describes my current environs (image not to scale, and I have no idea where north is):
Finally, I got home and had a bizness chat, and then a bizness dinner, which looked like this:
Then I had coffee, so now it's 2 am and I'm typing like a madwoman. Dhoom, dhoooooom.
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