2013 has been a really busy and unsettled year for us.
Bangladesh was in the world news due to violence following War Crime trials, the garment factory collapse in Savar, and hurricane Mahasen (which caused thankfully little damage).
Strikes and violence (or threat of) have been a strong feature of the year, and also meant that we were unable to explore as much of Bangladesh or even Dhaka as we might have liked, but we took such opportunities as there were.
As of 30th November 89
nationwide Hartals counted (35 in Dhaka alone), +364 hours blockade
between 25th Nov. -22nd Dec. and an estimated loss of $250
million a day per strike day!
So since we weren't able to move much in Bangladesh (or Dhaka) we made the most of the situation and travelled in the region - which is still pretty much unknown for us
January - February
Lon went to Afghanistan to assist at the Embassy
I went to snowy Holland. Gem and Greg came to visit to make sure I didn't get cabin fever on my own
February - March
Dad came for a visit - we had a great time eating our way round Dhaka and exploring the city
Back to more cold and snow for Easter in Holland, Zomer family get together at Slagharen. We had a cold fun, noisy time, and celebrated our 12.5 year wedding anniversary (a dutch thing)
April
Queens day was a special one this year, as it featured the abdication of Queen Beatrix and the Coronation of King Willem Alexander
May
We had a once in a lifetime weekend away and visited Bhutan - it and the people we met were absolutely stunning
June
A hot and sweaty field trip to some projects supported by NL in the Sylhet region
August
We had our summer holidays in Holland - with a 36 hour stopover in Kuala Lumpur
this time the sun shone - almost non stop it seemed, and was glorious. We enjoyed the long evenings, cycling, and fresh summer fruit
we also had the family over from the UK to visit us
Lon celebrated his birthday with the family on a treasure hunt and picnic, complete with cherry pit spitting contest
Lon cut short his leave, and went back again to Kabul to help out
September
we visited Durga puja celebrations at Kumudini hospital and in Dhaka
October - November
We spent two weeks in Nepal. No trekking in the mountains for us, but we took the time to visit some of the old Newari towns, go to Chitwan National Park and enjoy the scenery.
December
Two weeks in Laos and almost a week in Thailand on the beach ended the year for us (full posts will be written soon) - but it's no secret that we had an incredible time - I fully recommend Laos to anyone wanting to visit Asia.
Happy and Healthy New Year to all our friends and family
xx
