Hog plum

There are many kinds of fruit and vegetables at the market and in the supermarkets that I'm not at all familiar with.  So I will buy and try.

This is a Hog Plum or Amla http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondias, relative to mangoes.

The ones sold here are a sour fruit, eaten with salt and chillies as a snack.  I quite liked the sourness, Lon didn't.  I was reminded of green papaya used in thai salads, and can imagine buying one to use for that or a salsa.  A quick google showed that they are popular in pickles and chutneys as well.  I get that.

Special Offers

Special offers at a local supermarket.  Fish is a bit of an issue here, other expats warn against buying it in Dhaka since it is often treated with formaldehyde* and or other chemicals to keep it fresh.  After landlocked Rwanda / Burkina the range (and prices) make me more interested in cooking fish.  I will try to find a reputable source.


*(allegedly)

road 79, some thoughts

 

This is our building from across the street - we are at the top on the right

 This is the electricity cabling knot at head height opposite our appartment

 I think this is a live wire being protected (at my face height)

Perhaps we should have checked online before we chose to live here.  13 floors, due to be finished March 2014.
http://www.shantaproperties.com/

There is a lot of noise from the building site, including 4 am deliveries.  Eventually,  we will also lose a lot of natural light.  I must say I'm not looking forward to the time when they are at our level.

More cabling tangles - how they sort out the bills is a miracle!

Dutch Club

We live less than five minutes walk from the Dutch Club on road 75.

It will be a home away from home for us.

They have a large clean pool, which I swam in for the first time today, tennis and squash courts, and yoga and pilates lessons which I mean to try asap.  The food is pretty good, and comes in what we would call "normal" combinations, e.g. meat, veg, carbohydrate.  In Burkina, eating out meant ordering veg and carbs separately in the French Fashion, which could make the meal more expensive.

Gulshan 2 Circle

This is where it's at. Everything. Pretty much.  

Gulshan 2 Circle is a mega crossroad, with mega traffic issues.  It's also where a lot of business takes place.

Twiter must be a new bangladeshi social media form

Tuk tuks are known as CNG's or baby taxis.  They now run on Compressed Natural Gas - I haven't yet been able to find out where the Natural Gas comes from

Most of the time, this is how Gulshan 2 circle is experienced.  There are traffic lights, but they don't work.  Instead there are policemen, who direct the traffic.  Each "green" is much longer than it would be in Europe, but then again, so is each red.

So. Take A Walk Every Day Keep Your Health Fit

Also known as Gulshan Tank Park

On Friday (= Sunday), we decided to take a walk round the neighbourhood, and went to a local park.

It is lovely and green and shady.

It seemed there was more to it than meets the eye

and there is a lap indicated by the yellow arrows, and motivational boards at regular intervals

 Oh yes, the ladies corner, solely occupied by men (perhaps they were on display for the ladieez to choose from?)

oddly, we walked into some kind of election. Apparently there is an organisation which runs the Health Club, the main activity is walking laps in the morning.  One day I will get up so I can join in!

 

Bonded Warehouse

Before arriving in Bangladesh, we knew it is a Muslim country, and as such "dry", regular Bangladeshis have no access to alcohol.  As Diplomats we have an allowance - and a pass book to purchase alcoholic beverages.  Most expats give their pass book quotas to either the American or British Commissaries and purchase their drinks through them.  Unfortunately for us, both commissaries are not accepting new members from outside (even though I'm a Brit, it doesn't help).  This I think is due to some abuse of the system - where people were using the passbook twice.

So this meant that I needed to go to a "bonded warehouse" in order to buy some booze, I have no passbook yet, as it is in the administrative process, but I had a letter, and the embassy had called ahead.

So the driver and I went off to Road 131.  He wasn't quite sure where it was, so I showed him a map.  It was apparent that he couldn't read the map, or at least relate where we were to where we needed to go.  But we still found it.

He decided he needed to accompany me in - mostly our of curiosity, rather than gallantry (though there is an overwhelming amount of courtesy here - doors being opened, bags carried, chairs pushed in etc)

What is behind the blue door?

so, up in the elevator to the fifth floor, to the shop

oh - a Soviet-era-esque shop

I had to "window shop" and then my list was written on a form

the paperwork

which was then entered into the computer.  I then paid (cash hard currency dollars - we have a hard currency and Taka account opened at the bank - just waiting for cards and chequebook)

down to the third floor with my receipt

fuzzy photo of the stock room

where the stock was collected for me

so now we have some Australian (Hardy's) and South African (Nederberg) red wine.  There was no beer available on Thursday.

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Should be arriving in Bangladesh next week!