November 5, 2010
Onto Chandpur and a train to Feni
country roads
The secretary of the Chairman takes me back to see a big tree we visited last night in the dark, which is followed by breakfast of omelette and roti, which is what was served for super last night. It hits the spot.
By 8:00 my panniers are packed and a large group of people have come out for the sendoff. There's around 20 or so locals, all curious to see this white guy on a fancy bike.
They know my destination is Chandpur and tell me it'll be straightforward getting there as it's a main town and there's a route to follow.
It's nice and peaceful most of the way, but traffic picks up as Chandpur nears with CNGs zipping along the road. People walking along look too shocked to speak to me and the surrounding flat countryside is awash with more of that pale-purple flowering water-crop .
I stop at an intersection and a man asks if I want to see a snake. He says he's a charmer and his friend opens what appears to be a series of cigar boxes - each containing a snake.
Snake bites are common in Bangladesh and I can now see why, as they poke the snakes into leaving their little hideaways. It's an interesting 10 minutes and I hand over 100 taka - and again get asked for 500.
Towards Chandpur the heat is bearing down and I arrive feeling like a siesta, but there's little chance of that in Bangladesh. When the train lines cross the road the idea of getting somewhere this afternoon flashes across my fried brain.
The station master is a friendly chap who kindly invites me to sit under the fan in his office out of the glare of the crowd and gives me the lowdown on departures going south. He also says there's one hotel in town and when I go there and check it out, it's not cheap enough to tempt me to stay the night and the guy running it is not in a negotiating mood, so I end up on the 3:00 PM departure to Feni - a town around 60km away and one which takes the train four hours to reach.
This is a nice train journey as it's not too long and along the way various fellow passengers ask the usual questions and before the sun goes down I take photos of people on the platforms at the small rural stations.
One guy on the train says he lives in Feni and offers to escort me to a hotel, which he does, with me riding behind the rickshaw he takes.
Hotel Midnight - it has a certain ring to it and could be a film noir title. Once there I opt to stay two nights.
Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 138 km (86 miles)
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