what is your openion of Dhaka city?

Answer 1

Please bear in mind that you've post your question at M'sia travel. What does it go to do with M'sia travel???? Maybe you might change your sentence with “Can I know M'sian opinion of Dhaka city?”

Answer 2

Dhaka (previously Dacca) is the capital of Bangladesh and the Dhaka District. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka and its metropolitan area have a population of 11 million, making it the largest city in Bangladesh and one of the most populous cities in the world.
Under Mughal rule, the city was also known as Jahangir Nagar. The modern city was largely developed by British authorities and soon became the second-largest city in Bengal after Kolkata. With the partition of India, Dhaka became the administrative capital of East Pakistan before becoming the capital of an independent Bangladesh in 1972. During this period Dhaka witnessed extensive political turmoil, including many periods of martial law, the declaration of Bangladesh's independence, military suppression and devastation from war and natural calamities.
Modern Dhaka is the centre of political, cultural and economic life in Bangladesh, enjoying the highest literacy rate amongst other Bangladeshi cities and a diverse economy. While the urban infrastructure is the most developed in the country, Dhaka suffers from severe challenges such as pollution, congestion, supply shortages, poverty and crime. In recent decades Dhaka has seen a modernisation of transport, communications and public works. The city is attracting considerable foreign investment, greater volumes of commerce and trade and an increasing influx of people from across the nation.

Answer 3

Dhaka??? You want to know a Malaysian view of Dhaka? We have nothing against Bangladeshis.

Anyways, to me, Dhaka is a city that is progressing upwards and future looks bright.

Answer 4

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Wow! I am amazed and happy to note that ' Avalon 0214' could depict Dhaka's true picture though she said that she was here for only two months, and that also when two-stroke Petroil (Petrol+Oil) driven Scooters (Auto-Rickshaws) were plying in Dhaka and polluting the atmosphere.

These white-smokes belching Auto-rickshaws were phased out almost 100% after the BNP took the governance sometimes after 2001. I would like her (Avalon) to visit Dhaka now when some 50% vehicles- private cars are running by CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) as fuel and the air is much cleaner than what it used to be about 5 years ago.

The black-smoke belching Trucks and Buses are also numbered a few in these days after the imposition of strict control by the then Environment Minister Shahjahan Siraj. One of the achievements of the last BNP government was to clean the air of Dhaka city and also to remove Polyethylene Bags (Poly-bags) from Bangladesh.

She (Avalon) also mentioned that “Very few people have private cars”, which is not the exact case. I just wish that her statement was correct so that we could have less traffic jams being created by these private cars even on the main-roads and a few VIP roads which are off-limit to manually driven Rickshaws, which are generally the main culprit of traffic jams in Dhaka City.

It is a good idea to take Bus for short rides, but the middle-class people would avoid bus for fear of getting mobbed or pick-pocketed (lol). The law & order situation has improved in recent weeks, if not months. The then main opposition leader Sk. Hasina of Awami League could manage to create total anarchy all over the Bangladesh, Dhaka in particular, from 1991-1996 and again from 2001-2006.

It would have been advisable to the foreigners not to come to Dhaka during the continuous Strikes and Blockades calls given out by that particular political party (AL) during and after the tenure of Khaleda led BNP government in October-2006 just to show to the world that Bangladesh is not governable and to cut-off all the links with the BNP as well as with the Caretaker Government. In such unruly and volatile situation we do not expect a favorable testimonial from any foreigners for Dhaka as well as our country.

Though these are out of context matters here but it is to be known that the docile people of Bangladesh were made unruly and ill-behaved by these politicians, in the name of establishing democracy and human rights in Bangladesh. These dirty-leaders basically served their Master's dictate, who would help them with money and logistics and crippled the economy of our country to favor that particular country in its export of readymade garments. The mayhem in our garments industries are testimony to this allegation. That is the reason we can still see what the Avalon's statement about Dhaka to be about 90% correct, leave a few thing those may not be possible to judge within such short visit.

Avlon is also very right that Chittagong is much better place to visit as well as live than Dhaka City which is too much crowded with about 1.5 Million people in day time and about 1.2 Million permanent inhabitants. The 0.3 Million commutes from the suburbs and/ or from nearby districts as the rent of house or flats are beyond the reach of lower-middle class people.

About the stare girls and women receive on Dhaka streets; I think she is correct as most of the people on the roads are male. So, any beautiful lady if not 'properly' covered would be something eye-soothing for the onlookers who are not that sophisticated to know the manner (lol).

We have to go a long way to educate our 150 Million populace to learn what acceptable manners are in almost all the sphere of daily life. It is sad but true that people here learn all the subjects in schools and colleges but very little is taught and practiced to make them a good citizen and to lead a good and dignified lifestyle. Btw, this opportunity to go to school and colleges are available to about 50% of the populace and the balance is dropouts from either primary school or secondary school levels. Only a few gets to go to colleges and universities. Due to the population boom from 1970s almost 100% increase from 75 M to about 150M now, Bangladesh is becoming ungovernable due to its accumulative massive problems in almost all the sectors compounded with non-cooperative and selfish politicians who are mercilessly punishing the nation at their sweet whims.

Thanks for asking this question and also for the candid response from many, particularly from Avalon. We are improving fast; please do visit us when time permits!

Answer 5

I spent some time in Bangladesh in Decemeber '01 to January '02, starting in Dhaka. I would just say that Dhaka was my least favorite place in all of Bangladesh (Chittagong is much more laid back, and the hill-tracts where the indigenous people live is by far the best in terms of interacting with the locals), but your question was specifically for Dhaka, so here you go... Several things:

1. Air-Quality: Dhaka is, as the other responder said, the capital city. There was about 12million people living in the city when we visited. They had just out-lawed two-stroke engines, but the air quality was still really bad. Literally, the skies were dark with the pollution, so it takes some getting used to - you'll occassionally see some rikshaw wallas or pedestrians wearing face masks to try to block inhaling it.

2. Transportation: Methods of transportation are similar to other developing countries, but for me (a silly american who, before visiting Bangladesh, had never been to one) it was a thrill! Basically, there are buses and trains that most people take for long distances (really anything over a couple miles) and rickshaws (the bicycle variety) for shorter distances. Of course there are traditional taxies for those few who can afford it. They also have "mini-taxis" (in Vietnam it's called a tuk-tuk) which aren't as expensive. Very few people have private cars. The buses are the most polluting of all vehicles on the road, and they are always packed (they come with a driver and a "helper" who yells at people on the road to get out of the way - too funny!). We got stuck in traffic on a bus from old town dhaka to "new" town dhaka where we were staying, and literally they would turn off the engine because the wait to move just a few feet was so long - if you go, definitely try to ride a bus. The rickshaws are just awesome - wallas decorate their rickshaws in colorful patterns to attract riders. You can actually buy the material in one part of Dhaka. Haggling with the wallas can be quite fun, but make sure you have small bills when you do it - we had just exchanged money for the trip, so all of our bills here huge (add to that the fact the we were white - more on that in a minute) so we ended up taking the bus as opposed to giving in to the wallas' pressure.

3. Women Travellers: It's primarily Muslim (about 89% muslim, 9ish% hindu, the rest animist or other), which is not in and of itself a bad thing, but if you're a female, it can get a little tedious. Generally, only men go out on the streets, women go with men or walk very briskly to their next stop. We got all sorts of questions about where our fathers or brothers were and why we were there (i.e. without them), etc. Certainly, I never felt unsafe, but not terribly comfortable either. It's better to go with someone who speaks the language (they get the idea of "western" women who don't rely on men but also think that means they're "loose" which, of course, is not necessarily the case).

4. White Travellers: They historically haven't seen much tourism (which is the main reason we went). Every year it seems to grow, but most "tourism" was originally just to Dhaka and it usually revolved around some sort of conference being held at the Sheraton (or other upmarket hotels, which there aren't very many, btw). As a result, they don't see a lot of caucasian people and will literally stop and stare at you. They don't smile, but they don't frown. When we were there, Dhaka's population was about 12million. So think about millions of eyes peering at you. It was pretty intense (when I think back now, it was pretty humorous, though I had lost my sense of humor at the time - I was tired). Also, we did get a lot of beggars, and some were very persistent. We had hired a local to take us places and who spoke the language. He worked for an eco-tourism company and asked that we try not to give to beggars - it would just ruin it for everyone else. It's hard to not have serious empathy for people in Dhaka, it seemed very few were doing well, but I just resolved to save my money, go home and find/donate to the best charities working in Dhaka. Anyway, it's an amazing experience in that aspect alone.

5. Local Goods: The city's major industry was textiles and it seemed like there was thread or fabric everywhere. Merchants were all over the streets selling anything they could find, trying to make a living. As I said above, life in the city doesn't seem to be easy, unlike that of the rural areas. Bangladesh has very fertile land (thanks to the blessing and curse of their monsoon season). In Dhaka, most people seemed to be on the take (as I guess they had to be to survive), but in the rural areas people were much more relaxed and interested in more than your money. :)

6. Local Food: The food was excellent. Things were generally spicy (well, sort of) and simple. Less meat, which I was good with, and you eat with your hands!! A curry (my favorite was what a friend made - pumpkin curry) with some rice was pretty much it. Bread is traditionally only served in the morning (something I had to get used to) and everyone wanted to serve you tea (a very small cup of relatively strong and super sweet black tea). Ironically, in the rural areas they grow tea but cannot afford to buy it (it's mostly for export to the UK), so they buy a cheaper brand (I think it was from Vietnam, but can't remember).

Anyway, hope it helps. If you go to Dhaka, you'll have a good time, but try to go to Chittagong or to some rural areas as well.
Cheers!

Answer 6

good or bad, its my own city

Answer 7

soleha.. have u heard of daki?