Extortion by Elephant: Dhaka to Rajshahi, 1 September 2014

Shortly after 10am we started the surprisingly easy journey to Rajshahi (again, Bangladesh was undersold to me).  Once clear of Dhaka traffic we drove past hundreds of brick kilns rising out of the surrounding water.  In the dry season vast quantities of bricks are baked: the country has very few rocks and bricks are broken up and used for aggregate in concrete (and Bangladesh uses a lot of concrete!) and rock making.  Further north there were fewer kilns but bricks are still produced all along the northern road.

Bricks and crushed end product at a brick factory

Piles of bricks and kiln in background

Next we drove past rice paddies and flooded structures: the government is planning to widen the road and will compensate ‘dwellers’ for any inhabited land it acquires.  Many enterprising Bangladeshis are building four walls and a roof to maximise their compensation claims: most structures were flooded up to the eaves or beyond – I guess there’s no point building the structure any higher than necessary!

For much of the picturesque drive there was a secondary path beside the road (which itself was good quality sealed, one lane each way) on which tuktuks, rickshaws and other slower vehicles and pedestrians moved.  D reckoned this was the gift of a Dutch NGO...apparently it’s similar to cycle paths in The Netherlands. Traffic was definitely faster when we didn’t have to keep slowing for cycle rickshaws. 

Flooded fields and cycle path along the road to Rajshahi 

A lot of jute was being harvested and dried by the road: first in small stooks and secondly as more recognisable lengths of fibre.  Apparently Bangladesh used to be the world’s supplier of jute and it’s still a big industry here.

Sheaves of jute drying by the road

There are many gum trees: they seem to have spread globally – perhaps retaliation for all the pest species introduced into Australia?  Although they seem to be welcomed for their ability to grow fast and straight: they’re often a cash crop as well as a windbreak.  It’s strange to see them partially submerged on the side of a rice paddy.

We crossed the Brahma Putra River in flood – it took about five minutes to drive across, going about 80 km/hr.  Hooting was officially forbidden on the bridge: not many drivers could resist completely for that long, but it was certainly quieter than on most other roads (according to D a major mechanical malfunction in a Bangladeshi vehicle is when the horn breaks!)

We saw many fishing nets in use along the way; the system is similar to that used in Lao PDR.  A large bamboo structure supports a net which is probably 3-4 m² and suspended in the water from a lever.  The fisherman levers up the net to gather in the harvest.

Bamboo fishing net structure (out of the water)

At one point we were stopped by a elephant in the middle of the road: his rider wouldn’t move him until we paid up, which our driver did after a bit of good natured arguing and elephant slobber on the windscreen.  I don’t know what happens if you don’t pay up!  As D said, there are limited options if you do happen to have an elephant in northern Bangladesh: there aren’t any forests to move trees in, and there isn’t a circus anywhere.  How else do you feed it (and your family)?!?!

Elephant pre extortion

Elephant extortion

Elephant post extortion

Once in Rajshahi (it was about an easy eight hour drive including a long stop for lunch) we visited the Padma River (aka Ganges in India) at sunset.  It was even wider than the Brahma Putra – about 6km at this point (in flood).  Heaps of people were out enjoying the cooler evening – it was a really beautiful, colourful scene.

Sunset by the Padma River