The Happy Traveler

If you like traveling and have yet to visit the United Kingdom it is high time you visit the lovely island Kingdom. I was fortunate enough to visit England for five weeks from September to October of this year.  The journey began with morning and noon spent at Wightwick Manor and Garden over fish and chips for lunch. Wightwick Manor is a Victorian house in the suburbs of Wolverhampton. They host a lot of activities, unfortunately, it was raining so we could not see the gardens and instead, we opted for the indoor attractions, especially the museum. Next on our agenda was a three-hour train ride south from Wolverhampton (West Midlands) to iconic London. In London, we stayed at the Kitson Manor House and our first stop was downtown London where we visited the Big Ben, Parliament Square, Hyde Park, London Bridge, Westminister, St. James Park, and Buckingham Palace. From there we visited Oxford University, the oldest University in the Western World, founded in 1096. At Oxford, we ate a...

Is Bangladesh becoming too cold, need to relax in the tropics, take a vacation to Malaysia. This winter visit Malaysia, for the beaches, highlands, and wonderful duty-free shopping. Spend time in lovely Kuala Lumpur, home to shopping, Petronas World Trade Center, and Kuala Lumpur City Center. One can go around Kuala Lumpur on the great public transportation services: LRT, MRT, and Monorail. You can also choose Taxi and more economical, use the ride-sharing service, Grab. Close to KL is Genting’s high land, more than 1,800 meters high, ride the Cable Car on top of the mountain and visit the large indoor shopping and recreational mall. Close to Kuala Lumpur visit Putra Jaya, where you can visit the Prime Minister's residence/office and Putra Mosque. There are buses, taxis, and Grab available for your transport. Genting and Putra Jaya are about 45 minutes from Kuala Lumpur city center. After Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi are the two most popular destination spots. Penang is lo...

Day One: Eid in Dhaka is spent enjoying the company of family and friends, and this Eid was no different. The morning was started in preparation for prayers. After prayers, my nuclear family spent getting ready for a visit by two uncles, which is also a family tradition practiced every Eid, lunch with two of my close mamas. The time is spent talking about any subject, from local to foreign, however, mostly listening to the stories of yesteryear. Following this, almost a tradition, are visits from my cousins' and their extended family. Time here spent with them includes discussing the latest familial news, current news, and more.  This year's Eid was different in that our household help visited his family in the villages leaving me to take the helm. For most of the day, I spent ushering in food from the kitchen to the family room and back. Most importantly I spend time as a barista taking and delivering orders for tea and coffee. This was a novel, tiring, and, importantly, a ful...

On December sixth I launched a trip to Sylhet to stay at the Nazimgarh Resorts in Khadimnagar and Lalakhal. I went to Sylhet with my parents and close family friends. We left Dhaka early morning by road on the sixth and arrived in Khadimnagar in the afternoon. The Journey was a six-and-a-half-hour trip by road for a distance of 251 km. After the long journey, it was nice to relax and stretch out in Khadimnagar where we were introduced to the resort with a welcome fruit drink. There are two Nazimgarh resorts in Sylhet, one in Khadimnagar, and another in Lalakhal. The resort in Khadimnagar is the Nazimgarh Garden Resort. The Garden Resort is set across six acres of landscaped hillside, where you can find dozens of varieties of mountainous flora along with a tea garden for the resort’s guests. The resort is inclusive of 35 luxurious rooms and suites.  We visited in a lull time and were the sole guests of the resort. On-site, there are several activities including a pool, sauna, game...

A layover at Istanbul International Airport is a worthwhile experience. The airport’s international terminal is home to a food court with many restaurants such as Subway and Sbarro’s Pizzas. Included in the airport is a wide selection of expensive items in the Duty-Free where a Pierre Cardin sock cost Euros 10,50. Also available are several lounges such as the Business Class Lounges and the Turkish Airline Lounge. However, if you have to stay for a prolonged amount at the Istanbul Airport, it is worthwhile accessing the IGA or the official Istanbul Airport Lounge. IGA stands for Istanbul Grand Airport. The IGA is on the third floor of the airport and an IGA Pass costs an Adult Euro 50.00, Child Euro 25.00, and free for Babies, and good for four hours. There are a lot of facilities available for those who purchase an IGA Pass, such as Free Wi-Fi, Shower Facilities, Welcome Lounge, Place for Worship, Bar Area, Terrace, Nap Zones/Resting Area, Open Pita Serving, Free Message Service, Un...

At 1:30 PM on February 10 th we arrived in Bhutan at Paro International Airport via a Druk Air flight departed from Dhaka. The airport in Paro is the country’s sole international airport and is six kilometers from Paro’s downtown, in a deep valley on the bank of the river Paro Chhu. Bhutan and Bangladesh have a bi-lateral agreement that states that citizens visiting either country can acquire on-arrival visas. From Paro, we went to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, which was an hour-long taxi ride. After checking into a hotel at Paro we rested the day. The following day we visited a Buddha Statue near the Thimphu River. This particular Buddha statue is the Buddha Dordenma Statue, which completed construction in 2015, it is made of Bronze, is the tallest statue in Bhutan measuring 54 meters in height, and is one of the tallest in the world. Thimphu is home to the administrative branch of the government and is also the home of the King of Bhutan, his residence, and office. Bhutan is a l...

Bangladesh needs to explore all avenues to build its infrastructure for better international connectivity. One essential component for this is to highlight investment in air travel; both passenger and cargo travel, at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Currently a third Terminal is being built as a priority project of the government at a total cost of  ৳ 21,300 crore ( US$2.5 billion).  The  Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh  (CAAB) operates and maintains the airport. With the completion of Terminal three in 2022 the HSIA’s annual  passenger handling capacity will increase to 20 million from the current eight million. And the annual cargo handling capacity will also increase to 500,000 tons from the current 200,000 tons. However, the HSIA has only one runway for servicing international flights, domestic flights, and for use by the  Bangladesh Air Force . Currently  eight flights take off and land every hour at the HSIA. With one ...

It was a hot Monday morning on the 24 th of May and I had been awake all night from the excitement of visiting the Padma Bridge, Bangladesh’s iconic infrastructure mega project. At 9:30PM we left home and took the road for the Mawa Highway past the Dhaka University Campus, over the Hanif flyover, and finally arrived near the Mawa Bridge Point having driven 50 kilometers in 1.5 hours. Our first course of business was to meet Padma Bridge Engineers at one of their quarters and after getting acquainted we had some snacks and tea headed out for the Bridge construction site. From the Engineer’s quarters, the Padma Bridge site was about a 10 min drive. After passing through an inspection check-point we stopped at the Pier One parking-lot and walked to the first Pier where the Bridge is directly over the Padma River. The Bridge spans a total of 42 piers for a length of 6.15 km. The height of the bridge varies from 18.5 meters to 25 meters. Interestingly the shape of the Bridge is the let...

What can you do during the lockdown when you're not busy telecommuting. One, you can get into arguments with whomever you see. Two, you can go online and post nefarious comments across any post that you disagree with. You can do all of these things and more. Unfortunately neither of these ideas will benefit your health and peace of mind. First of all it is imperative you keep a schedule, for example sleeping and waking up at the same time every day. Secondly, you can pick up a new hobby.  I never indulged in any hobbies until this lockdown came into effect and now I am spending enjoyable time collecting coins I have found at home. Other hobbies can be rooftop gardening, indoor sports, or keeping a pet--cat/dog.  Most importantly you can help keep your house clean, help prepare tasty meals, help washing, drying plates, and clothing.

BTI HQ, Gulshan Ave. Private house in Nuthon bazar. Standard Chartered plaza in Gulshan Renaissance hotel (Group of JW Marriot) Shanta commercial bldg in Gulshan 1.

A journey to Bangkok, Thailand is not complete without a tour of the Chao Phraya River. In Thai the river is called, 'Maenam Chao Phraya'. It was the 17 th of March and we arrived at the River jetty early as we wanted good seats for the boat cruise. The pier was surrounded by a promenade of cafes and restaurants packed with tourists. As we boarded the cruise ship a local Thai dance troupe performed their routine very similar to traditional Indian dance. The ship had two floors; the first was air-conditioned while the top floor was open. We wanted the best experience and took seat on the second floor, cooled by fans and open to the sights, sounds, and sweet smell of the Chao Phraya River. Soon a live band playing contemporary Thai and English music began their performance. As the ship left the docks, the night life around the river came to light. We saw traditionally designed wooden water houses next to multi-storied commercial buildings. The fisherman’s wharf w...

Our trip to Bangkok, Thailand was for eight days and eight nights. We arrived in Bangkok on the 14 th of March. We were there as hospice-tourists, while I was tagging along. Thai’s are humble people and also proud of their past, as Thailand is one of the few developing countries that was never colonized. The constitutional head of the country is their King and the royal family’s role in the country is ceremonial. While the head of the government and the national assembly is the Prime Minister. Thailand follows a bicameral parliamentary system; however, the last election the government held was eight years ago. On the 17 th of March this year an early voting was held for those who registered early and the general election is to be held on 24 th of March 2019. Thailand is the home of the sporting world’s Tiger Woods and Alexander Albon, the first Thai to drive in the Formula 1 circuit. Interestingly, Bangkok has as much 7-11’s as Dhaka has its tea shops. The 7-11 initially o...

During the end of 2018, my family and I went on a vacation to Sri Lanka. Flying by Sri Lankan Airlines we arrived in Colombo international airport on a crisp day in December. Colombo airport is very close to the scenic beaches, but about two hours from the city center. We stayed in Colombo for three days. And visited the city center mall, an upscale mall. Outside the mall was a man-made lake, with a bridge connecting an island to down-town. After three nights and days in Colombo we started our journey to Kandy, a resort town get-away, three hours south east from Colombo. In Kandy we stayed for three nights and days at the Thilanka Hotel, A beautiful hill top resort with a splendid view of Lake Kandy. The resort boasts two restaurants, a formal dine-in restaurant and a pool side bar. Kandy is a small town renowned for its elevation and temperate climate; fortunately the towns’ attractions are all walking distance. We spent most of our time in and around Kandy Lake. Kan...

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