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Ogling vintage cars and food at Rot Fai Market, Bangkok

Rot Fai Market means Train Market because it is situated near the train tracks behind the famous and massive Chatuchak Market. Consider it like a museum where you get to take food and drinks inside.
14 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Jewel of the Indian Ocean

Whenever we go to any country, we tend to take our preconceived notions of that place with us. I had this idea that Sri Lanka would be like Bangladesh and the people would resemble South Indians with the accompanying Tamil accent. I could not have been more wrong. In fact, this trip has left me wondering exactly how I got such ideas in the first place. The soft-spoken eloquence and refined attitude of the Sri
14 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Country by City

I spent a lot of time in my twenties travelling through Europe and North Africa. I did the typical weekend tourist one-two step: touched down in one city, did a whirlwind tour of the most Instagrammable spots, indulged in some good meals, and if I wasn't too jet-lagged, checked out the nightlife. In and out, another country on the books. At the rate I was going, I would have made it to my goal of 30 countries, but by then my approach to travelling had changed.
14 June 2018, 18:00 PM

To you, Marrakech

I can't quite remember who picked us up—probably someone from the villa—but they played 'No Scrubs' by TLC in the car and it reminded me of my childhood. Secret hip hop aspirations stormed through my senses, and at once, I felt at ease. Like I knew you Marrakech, and you knew me.
14 June 2018, 18:00 PM

MAILBOX

Practically every day you open your morning newspaper, go through your social media account or catch up on a news portal, chances are that you will read about an attack on a minority group by extremists. These minorities tend to be religious ones with Hindu families being the primary target. Attacks at Nasirnagar in Brahmanbaria in October 2016 and Thakurbari in Rangpur in November 2017 are recent examples. These incidents keep on repeating themselves because of the lack of punishment for the people involved.
14 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Half of my heart is in Havana

When I told my bosses I was taking off to travel to Cuba, their first response was “Tell us if you're stuck in Guantanamo”. All jokes aside, when people think of Cuba, they think of Frank Sinatra, they think of classic cars and flamenco dancers, and now, they probably think of the “Havana” song. And, of course, they think of socialism.
14 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Local woman goes to England and spends her time looking at paintings by dead dudes and relics stolen from colonies

People don't usually visit the UK for the sole purpose of tourism. They either go there to study, work or visit family. Last year I had the chance to spend three weeks in London, and it was the best vacation of my life. The only reason many, at least from Bangladesh, don't consider the UK as a holiday destination is because of the high price tag. But if you're savvy, there are many ways to cut down on your expenses. Once you figure out food and shelter, your UK trip should be a breeze.
14 June 2018, 18:00 PM

How to get yourself to Antarctica

Many people think of Antarctica as this far away, impossible-to-reach place, accessible only virtually via repeat viewings of Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2, but that's not true. Trust me, if I can get myself there, you totally can too (but hopefully with less vomiting).
14 June 2018, 18:00 PM

IN AGONY

Sicilia Snal, aged 25 in 2006, was shot when she went to collect firewood in the forest near her village. Sicilia is a Garo woman of Uttar Rasulpur, in Madhupur sal forest area. It was early in the morning of August 21, 2006, that Sicilia went to collect firewood with a few other Garo women. On their way back, they put down their loads to take rest for a while. All of a sudden, to their great surprise, the forest guards fired shots from their guns. Sicilia was hit. She fell to the ground, unconscious and bleeding. Terrified all but one woman fled.
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Gazipur's Resorts: Not out of the Woods yet

Just about 50 kilometres north of Dhaka lies the wooded surrounds of Gazipur, a district that has become increasingly popular these days because of its luxurious resorts that offer the guests a chance to get lost in nature's serenity and leave behind the big-city stress.
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Where does all our waste end up?

Matuail landfill, located about eight kilometres from Gulistan in the south of Dhaka, is one of two landfills serving Dhaka city. Spanning 100 acres, the site is used by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) to dispose of its municipal solid waste. Now 23 years old, it will reach capacity in a year at most. The Amin Bazar site, used by the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), has already expired last year. Putrid waste swarming with flies and rodents towers in hills tens of metres high.
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Dark Flows the River Turag

The waters of the Turag flow alongside Dhaka's industrial suburbs of Tongi, Gazipur and Savar, lined with dyeing and finishing factories. The river was once surrounded by agricultural land and the water was used mainly for fishing and transportation. Nowadays, the area is mostly inhabited by people who directly or indirectly work in the textile industry.
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

From depending on it to drowning in it

Catfish, or Magur Mach, may not be a best seller in the market when compared to say a Chingri or an Ilish. However, when cooked the right way—fresh out off the pond—there are few delicacies that can beat the appetising taste of a Magur Macher jhol. Aside from the good taste, it also has medicinal values and is often prepared for pregnant women.
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

In conversation with Soumya Dutta

Soumya Dutta is an Indian energy expert, green activist and researcher working on climate justice, energy, pollution and ecological justice. He has authored seven books/booklets and over 120 articles in related areas, and trained over 1,000 high school science teachers, activists and other workers. He has been an active proponent of the movement against the Rampal Power Plant. In this interview, he talks to Maha Mirza, a researcher and environmental activist from Bangladesh, about the dangers of subscribing to an unsustainable model of power generation.
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Coast or Construction?

The Yamaha engine sputters before giving life to the speedboat which swerves a sharp right and zooms past the zigzag of large fishing trawlers, the smell of dried fish, and sea salt heavy in the air. Within a few minutes on the steely-grey ocean expanse, the green speck of Moheshkhali appears. Planted mangroves lend this place a Sundarbans-like feel.
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Barapukuria

In 2016, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, addressing protesters of coal-fired power plants, stated: “Whenever we try to produce electricity, a section of people come out on the streets in the name of environment protection. There is a coal-fired power plant in Barapukuria, Dinajpur. No environmental damage has been reported there. Rather, soil fertility has improved. Rice crops are growing; trees are growing. People in this country indulge in eccentric thinking. I don't know where such thinking comes from.” She also said, “Coal purifies water.”
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

The Invisible Victims of “Development”

During every high tide, thousands of people from different parts of Mongla Upazila rush to the Pashur River with dinghies and fishing nets. Those who cannot afford dinghies, wade through the river as far as they can with handheld fish traps. Even women, children and elderly people join this race to secure a place in the river or a foothold on its shallow shore. This race is not to catch fish but to catch the shrimp
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

The Sanctuary on its Death Bed

On January 23 this year, at around 6:00am, the inhabitants of Gulishakhali village awoke terrified to the blood-curdling howl of a Bengal Tiger very close to their village. Soon afterwards, the six-foot tiger was seen roaming freely around the village in the Morelganj upazila of Bagerhat district. It roared fiercely as it searched for food, and its frustrated hunger made it charge at doors of several houses,scaring their
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Anti-politics of climate change

In the global imaginary of climate change, Bangladesh holds a prominent position. Frequently described as the 'world's most vulnerable country to climate change', this imagination of Bangladesh's impending climate crisis has taken on a life of its own. The spectre of Bangladesh underwater, wiped off the map by rising sea levels, has given birth to a crisis narrative that obscures the ways in which interventions in
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM

In search of a development model that doesn't leave out people and the environment

Is development essentially harmful for the environment? Must we sacrifice the environment in order to achieve much-needed development? Should we allow poisoning of our air, destruction of our forests, and pollution of our water to embrace development? If the answer is yes, how can we survive—how can this mother earth retain its ability to support our existence and our reproduction?
7 June 2018, 18:00 PM