The roads, too, were a health hazard, with their abundance of rickshaws and the occasional car providing ample opportunity for disaster. Being accustomed to the cooler Australian climate, the hot and humid weather and the ravaging mosquitoes of the Bengali summer didn't exactly help either.

However, after my visit in April of this year, my view of Bangladesh improved significantly. While the perilous roads were still there, there was the occasional official watching over the sprawl of vehicles and pedestrians, and the festering drains had been covered up in a number of areas. Also, the lopsided currency conversion rates gave the opportunity to spend on shopping sprees only a fraction of what it would cost back home in Australia (that fraction being about 1/6). On top of this, my rather large extended family and all of our old friends were only too happy to feed us newcomers, leading to a significant increase in weight for me, at least, over the two week trip.

The trip to Cox's Bazar proved very fruitful; the aesthetics of the longest beach in the world coupled with, again, the rather cheap produce as well as very friendly people of the city left quite an impression; one of a perfect tropical holiday. The stopover in Chittagong, the famous port city of Bangladesh, exposed a previously unknown to me, yet very beautiful and rather hilly, city lounging leisurely but surely beside the Karnaphuli River.

These, coupled with a visit to the small village of Jambari near Comilla, and its beautiful expanse of fresh, green paddy fields that the wonders of irrigation helped produce, revealed the breathtaking beauty of natural Bangladesh.

My mother was quite sceptical of Bangladesh and very nearly all things Bengali, and felt the need to sterilise just about everything before our family came into contact with it. Nothing was spared, and all the cutlery, glasses, and even fruit, were mercilessly thrust into a bowl of boiling water. Despite her precautions, the inevitable and infamous stomach pains of Bangladesh descended upon us.

After learning of her cynical view of Bangladesh, our close friend from many years back, the friendly and rather dominating Dr. Ohidul Alam, saw it as his mission to reverse this obviously unjust view of my mother's. He took the liberty of driving us around Chittagong, giving a brief description of all the city's wonders as we drove past. We visited museums, universities, and, of course, the legendary Foy's Lake.

Thanks to his efforts, I must have come to know Chittagong better than I did my hometown of Sydney. We were also shown the high-life of the city, where we spent an evening shopping at the best shops and dining in the best restaurants. The ever so dedicated Dr. Alam was even kind enough to accompany us on the 300km journey to Cox's Bazar and back, during which we experienced the glories of an astounding 3 Australian dollar buffet breakfast, one easily fit for a king. It was most definitely a trip to remember.

Lastly, the mega city of Dhaka presented to us the epitome of civilization, with the monster of a shopping centre, Bashundhora, satisfying all our shopping needs, as well as eating up much of our precious time. Another wonder of the city was it's 2 o'clock traffic jams, which are unheard of in Sydney, and this in itself almost made up for its inconvenience.

I had, in the past, heard countless concerned accounts of Bangladesh's extremely infamous corruption and the effects it had on society there. I realised that this country still had a sizable distance to cover before breaking through its 3rd world status.

The poverty, too, had decreased significantly, largely due to the amazing work of both Grameen Bank and Professor Yunus, which was a great start. And while, according to the London School of Economics, the Bengali people may be the happiest in the world, amazingly, their government happened to be, until quite recently, one of the most corrupt in the world.

I believe that the Bengali government's vice was one of the major issues in terms of holding back the true potential of the nation's growth, and needed to be addressed as soon as possible. The interim government had recently done well to cleanse this country's leaders of corruption, and I am sure we will soon see Bangladesh's true capabilities.

In retrospect, the trip to Bangladesh was rather eventful, and if the change over the last couple of years is anything to go by, then I tingle in anticipation of seeing an even more developed country the next time I visit. While I may not be able to save as much money shopping next time, due to an expectant rise in the Bangladeshi Taka, on my part, this loss will most surely by worth it for the Bangladeshi economy. The country has done well for itself; it has cast off much of my negative impression of it being " a dump," and has now become what we Australians may refer to as "a corker of a country, mate." Farewell, until another time.

Konrad Islam is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.