lounging around on the 'Rocket' in Bangladesh
36 hours on the 'Rocket'
ferries across the ganges delta
approaching Khulna, early morning, 35 hours into the 24 hour journey
500 people aboard
memsahib enjoying the first class deck 
the other 'Rocket' heading south to north - identical to ours 
fan assisted first class room
tuck shop
the dining hall
the dining hall
memsahib enjoying the first class deck
the other 'Rocket' heading south to north - identical to ours
fan assisted first class roomYuletide greetings from Ko Chang, where 'men are often women, and women are proud of it.' Its time for a catch up on our final 2 weeks in Bangladesh so as to get up to speed. We have had no time to write as we had such a wonderfully hectic December and though we were ready to leave Bangladesh on the 23rd, we take with us truly humbling generosity on a scale that Western has not experiended apart from arguably Pakistan & North Wales.
We managed to get our 1st class Rocket reservation, though not without incident - as requested by Bangladesh Inland Waterways Transport Company, we showed our faces promptly on the 11th December, but were told by the same officer who had instructed our return that all cabins were taken and that he could possibly get us a space in 2nd class - not a disaster, but a major disappointment. Then Ell noticed in his diary that our names were indeed written down for the 15th - when I said "Thats us", he replied " Aah, you're very lucky". As far as we were concerned, 'tenacious' yes, 'persistant' yes, but 'lucky' no. 3 x trips to the same office - sat there smiling inanely whilst locals were seen to first was for us a victory of quiet diplomacy. Letting the officer keep 3 quid change also helped....nobody ever has change in Bangladesh!
The fabulously inapproprietely named vessel 'The Rocket' was a real treat. Built in Calcutta in 1938 as a paddle steamer, it was converted to diesel in 1983 but the rest of the 2 tiered boat remained the same. We had our 1st class cabin which meant we dined along with 7 other cabins away from deck class which housed 560 people as it says on the tin - covering two decks worth of space. I am not exaggerating when I say that you could not see the surface under prostrate bodies, boxes and bags. For those of you out there saying 'softies' - Western & Kiss opting out by going first class, let me just clarify that though we were alright to walk through gingerly to the snack bar at the back, our presence would not have been appreciated in that class. Needless to say yet again no other westerners on the boat. Try & imagine the look on people's faces if Prince Charles walked naked down the high street clutching a copy of Socialist Worker, and you would have an idea of the sort of reaction we often get in this country.
The trip was scheduled to take 24 hours- it took 36. We ended up with a 2nd night on board as the thick winter fog prevented safe navigation. The views during the day were again exceptional - passing through relatively narrow stretches where you could nose at farming & fishing communities, before the river would broaden again and you would get glimpses of Gangetic dolphins and a whole host of different fishing boats.
1st class had a dedicated kitchen staff, so we regularly sat on deck at the front, in the shade, drinking tea. We almost felt like royalty apart from the regular conversations with the Bengali 1st class travelling companions, which meant we didnt get to relax quite as much as we had hoped. That sounds really ungracious - but fielding the same questions time & time again can be wearing. Our Bengali knowledge only enables us to say where we are from & our names, and many of the Bangladshi's we were speaking to have English of a similar quality. The 3 students from Dhaka University - Rashid, Faribi and believe it or not Saddam Hussein on the other hand were terriffic speakers. They were keen to tell us of nepotism, corruption and poverty in their country - the people here deserve better.
Food was interesting, we were given the European meal. We never saw menu and could never find out what anything was going to cost - so we waited on our final bill with some trepidation. As it turned out, we paid 3 quid for a supper which consisted of soup in a mug, then fish cutlets with fried potatoes, then chicken in a mock wine sauce. The chicken was THAT lean I swear it had been marathon training. Lunch was the Bengali version with huge amounts of rice, dhal, veg and chicken, which was equally athletic - the Seb Coe to suppers Steve Ovett.
We probably docked at about 10 places, each time there was a frantic exchanging of places in deck class as people hopped on & off the boat. It was a great experience & we felt we had been taken about 70 years. I dont know if Charlie Boorman included this river trip in his recent travel programme but I suggest that if he didn't then the series may well lack all credibility! This was 'different gravy'.
We managed to get our 1st class Rocket reservation, though not without incident - as requested by Bangladesh Inland Waterways Transport Company, we showed our faces promptly on the 11th December, but were told by the same officer who had instructed our return that all cabins were taken and that he could possibly get us a space in 2nd class - not a disaster, but a major disappointment. Then Ell noticed in his diary that our names were indeed written down for the 15th - when I said "Thats us", he replied " Aah, you're very lucky". As far as we were concerned, 'tenacious' yes, 'persistant' yes, but 'lucky' no. 3 x trips to the same office - sat there smiling inanely whilst locals were seen to first was for us a victory of quiet diplomacy. Letting the officer keep 3 quid change also helped....nobody ever has change in Bangladesh!
The fabulously inapproprietely named vessel 'The Rocket' was a real treat. Built in Calcutta in 1938 as a paddle steamer, it was converted to diesel in 1983 but the rest of the 2 tiered boat remained the same. We had our 1st class cabin which meant we dined along with 7 other cabins away from deck class which housed 560 people as it says on the tin - covering two decks worth of space. I am not exaggerating when I say that you could not see the surface under prostrate bodies, boxes and bags. For those of you out there saying 'softies' - Western & Kiss opting out by going first class, let me just clarify that though we were alright to walk through gingerly to the snack bar at the back, our presence would not have been appreciated in that class. Needless to say yet again no other westerners on the boat. Try & imagine the look on people's faces if Prince Charles walked naked down the high street clutching a copy of Socialist Worker, and you would have an idea of the sort of reaction we often get in this country.
The trip was scheduled to take 24 hours- it took 36. We ended up with a 2nd night on board as the thick winter fog prevented safe navigation. The views during the day were again exceptional - passing through relatively narrow stretches where you could nose at farming & fishing communities, before the river would broaden again and you would get glimpses of Gangetic dolphins and a whole host of different fishing boats.
1st class had a dedicated kitchen staff, so we regularly sat on deck at the front, in the shade, drinking tea. We almost felt like royalty apart from the regular conversations with the Bengali 1st class travelling companions, which meant we didnt get to relax quite as much as we had hoped. That sounds really ungracious - but fielding the same questions time & time again can be wearing. Our Bengali knowledge only enables us to say where we are from & our names, and many of the Bangladshi's we were speaking to have English of a similar quality. The 3 students from Dhaka University - Rashid, Faribi and believe it or not Saddam Hussein on the other hand were terriffic speakers. They were keen to tell us of nepotism, corruption and poverty in their country - the people here deserve better.
Food was interesting, we were given the European meal. We never saw menu and could never find out what anything was going to cost - so we waited on our final bill with some trepidation. As it turned out, we paid 3 quid for a supper which consisted of soup in a mug, then fish cutlets with fried potatoes, then chicken in a mock wine sauce. The chicken was THAT lean I swear it had been marathon training. Lunch was the Bengali version with huge amounts of rice, dhal, veg and chicken, which was equally athletic - the Seb Coe to suppers Steve Ovett.
We probably docked at about 10 places, each time there was a frantic exchanging of places in deck class as people hopped on & off the boat. It was a great experience & we felt we had been taken about 70 years. I dont know if Charlie Boorman included this river trip in his recent travel programme but I suggest that if he didn't then the series may well lack all credibility! This was 'different gravy'.
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