Thursday, October 22, 2009

Bangladesh: An Afternoon at Dhanmondi Lake Dhaka

I have been going to Dhanmondi Lake since 1999. It is 10 years now. Well, at first, I still remember that the place was much less crowded than today. In 2001, I used to go there almost every day in evening and stayed until 10 PM. My favorite place in Dhanmondi Lake was and still is Rabindra-Sarobar. Now, it is a very crowded place from 4 PM but back in 2001, very few people used to come in weekdays. There was a sizeable crowd in the holidays only. Today, I walked almost the entire part of the lake starting from the entrance near Medinova and then walked for a long time. My Photographer Abdul Aziz Liton was with me and he took a number of pictures and also we could just upload a video in YouTube. In fact, I have today created a channel called SouthAsiaBlog in YouTube. Hopefully, I will be uploading videos on a regular basis.

A good place to Walk
I think that Dhanmondi Lake is the best place for walking in whole Dhaka city. First of all, it is a very big place. It takes more than 30 minutes for me to walk from one end to the other. I am a tall man and perhaps walk some faster than the average people. Anyway, you can easily spend 1-2 hours here. Thus, it is an excellent place for walking in the afternoon. There are trees in all the parts and it is never very hot. Many people from Dhanmondi and its adjacent areas come for this matter every day. Many women from Dhanmondi also come to walk.
A Secured Place
Safety is a big concern in Dhaka city. I have been going to Dhanmondi Lake for a decade and I have never seen or heard of any bad incident. Specially, now, a number of security staffs are always there. So, it is a very secured place.
Eating and Chatting
My favorite place is Dingi where you can find all kind of food items. The kebab was excellent a few years ago when I used to go there regularly. I don’t know how the food is now. However, I still enjoy Chotpoti and Fuchka near Rabindra-Sarobar. You can find tea, coffee, nuts (badam), fast food, Chinese food, Bangladeshi food items etc. The best part is that the price is not outrageous. In some other places of Dhaka, food prices can be outrageous outside of a park or garden. Dhanmondi Lake is really a hassle free place in this regard.  
Boat Ride
I cannot swim and I am not that much comfortable with water. So, I have never tried this but many people enjoy it. There are boats for hire and you can get one for an hour or even more. The price is quite affordable for most people.
My photographer took some pictures and I will put them here gradually.
By the way, have you been to Dhanmondi Lake? If you have been there, did you enjoy the place? Let me know your idea in the comment section. If not then go there as soon as you can. 

2 comments:

  1. Unfortunately, there is no other place like Dhanmondi Lake right now. But, for a city of over 10 million people, this is too small a place.

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