Overnight boat ride from the far south to Dhaka, BANGLADESH

Spent yesterday on a small boat navigating around small rivers and visited the small village of Sripur (about 2 hours from Barisal). My guide asked the people if they have ever seen White people in their village and the answer was NO. So me - and my new Aussie friend who joined me for the past two days - were the first White people to ever visit the village and that sure was obvious. Once we set foot on the banks of the river, a small crowd started to follow us and within minutes it seems like the entire village was walking with us. A senior villager invited us into his home for snacks...and gave us fried egg with sugar. That apparently is not their normal way of eating eggs but our guide suspects he wanted to make the egg special for us. Ever tried fried egg with sugar? The entire day was packed with excitement as we took so many great pictures and met such colourful people.

At 8am our boat left Barisal for the 10 hour trip up north to Dhaka. We arrived at 6am and the harbour area was teaming with early morning life. I'm having a relaxing day in Dhaka - now going for a sumptuous buffet at an upscale Bangladeshi restaurant.

I arrived in Bangladesh 2 weeks ago and so far have seen only 4 other tourists. Two Finnish women, one Dutch guy, and my Aussie friend.

Tonight after midnight I am taking Dragon Air back to Hong Kong. The past two weeks here in Bangladesh has been an unforgettable experience!