Bangkok?

Lake at Bijoypur in Shushong-Durgapur. Photo: Ihtisham Kabir

For most people a holiday abroad is a treat to look   forward to. There is the delight of seeing new places, the anticipation of tasting new food, the excitement of meeting new people - not to mention the rush of new  adventures. 
But for several years now I look forward more to travelling inside Bangladesh. This is due in no small measure to the words of my uncle Shafi Chacha who has told me many inspiring stories about his travels   criss-crossing Bangladesh. (More about his adventures in a future Tangents.)
Sure, the world has much to offer and it would be nice to see, for             example, South Africa or the Greek Isles. But, in a way that I cannot quite   pinpoint, the prospect of seeing a new place inside Bangladesh pulls me with a stronger force. And some special places I have already visited beckon me for a return trip. 
Perhaps it is because they are “mine” in an ancestral sort of way. Perhaps it is being able to converse in Bangla with anyone. Perhaps it is the knowledge that I can get some familiar rice, curry and dal in any hupri             restaurant. Perhaps it is making up for lost time after my decades abroad.
Say an opportunity came along to visit a faraway country. I would take my time, think, hee and haw, think again, finally coming to a decision in a few days. But let's say you invited me to join you on a four-day boating trip to Tanguar Haor in the winter, or a three-day trek in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. That, for me, would be a      one-minute decision.
The nation's infrastructure has improved so that travelling inside the country has become much easier. You can drive in any direction from one of the major cities and come to attractive spots within an hour (faster if you can start early and avoid the morning traffic jams.)
Longer trips yield significantly better rewards.
Take Shushong-Durgapur for    example. Four or five hours of travel        heading due north from Dhaka brings you to a beautiful village, where the fast, knee-deep Shomeshwari river flows through a pristine landscape. Lakes of turquoise are nestled in the hills.
Or Sundarban, the largest mangrove forest in the world. A three or four day boat trip to this forest is a magical experience.
In the Sylhet region, hills, haors and spectacular spots such as Lalakhal and Lawacherra are within easy reach of several world-class resorts. 
But does my story end happily? Today's political instability strikes at the heart of our nascent tourism  industry. For example, the               entrepreneurs who have worked so hard and staked so much to create hotels and resorts such as Sylhet's Nazim Garh and Shuktara, Jessore's Panigram, Moulvi Bazar's DuSai, the hotels in Cox's Bazar and Kuakata – as well as many others – face great    difficulty when people cancel travel plans due to safety concerns. 
Their dreams, their hard work and their courageous bets on our future – will it all be in vain?

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