Jackfruit galore!

After traveling around and seeing local markets, I thought I've seen all the varieties of exotic vegetables and fruit that the sub-Asian climate had to offer. Jackfruit caught me completely off guard, it's everywhere. On the streets, you can find shops filled floor to ceiling with jackfruit. I find it hard to believe that people can eat sooooo much jackfruit, you would think that something that weighs anywhere from 30-80 pounds with spikes couldn't possibly be edible. And how is it picked anyways? One of them will fill an entire fruit basket. I'm guessing you don't wait for it to fall on the ground, I'd hate to be the one catching it under the jackfruit tree.

Jackfruit truck-



Yes, believe it or not, these spiked fruit are edible. Although I have to admit, I've been in Bangladesh for 2 months eating in a lot of local places, and I've only eaten it once. It wasn't too bad, just fleshy and slightly fragant.

So I'm thinking that people must be doing something else with these jackfruit. I mean look at the size of them! What do they do, export them to Florida and advertise them to the AARP as the alternative to prunes? Load them onto a catapault and aim for India?


Actually, I found out that chips, chewing gum, pudding, jam, and curry all can be made from jackfruit. Hmm... maybe I've eaten more of it than I thought.

"Show me your best jackfruit!" Jackfruit-wallahs posing with their favorite fruit.

So, you're tired of your job?

Alright, I know that a lot of you are at work aimlessly surfing the Internet (yes, you government workers, hah!). I know all too well what it's like - too much time in front of the computer, no exercise, no fresh air, rat maze-like cubicles, florescent lighting, the office space routine. Have fantasies quitting and trying something different? Well, there are always opportunities. For instance...

File clerk

What happens when you're the new employee and the boss wants a copy of a report from 3 years ago ASAP? Or an errant cigarette butt gets tossed?

Wire-lifter

Wires are dangling everywhere so someone has to sit on the top of buses and large trucks to lift the wires over the vehicles. You wouldn't want someone to get electrocuted from a torn electric wire flopping around on the street, would you? Makes sense to me. This is a close second to electrician. Usually they stick these rickety bamboo ladders right on the powerlines.

Furniture mover

I have no idea how they manage to not only balance such huge loads on a rickety cart, but also pedal it down the road! I've seen entire sections of houses on these carts. I swear, any of these guys probably could win the Tour de France without breaking a sweat, those metal Chinese bikes alone probably weigh over 40 pounds.

Chicken stuffer/transporter


Yet another job involving balance. Not only do you have to stuff chickens in a big basket, but you have balance it on top of your head AND climb a ladder on a bus.


Brick breaker
There are soooooo many brick factories around Noakhali, each surrounded by enough bricks to rebuild any Bangladesh version of the Great Wall.

Breakers then take these perfectly well-formed bricks and then hammer them into tiny pieces to fill the roads with. I would have thought there'd be an easier way to skip straight to the tiny pieces stage instead. su


My interpreter



Meet my interpreter, Robin. Thankfully, he's the same age as me, has a sense of humor, thinks getting in a little bit of trouble is a fun time, and knows the ins and outs of Bangladesh. He goes everywhere I go, but I think he cringes a little bit everytime I say I want to go to the "hard to reach" areas of Bangladesh (which of course is my idea of a fun time). This means we're going to get dirty, and there's a very good chance he's going to fall in the mud and water again, hah!

Waterworld

I was told prior to coming to Bangladesh, that it was a water-based culture. After visiting some of the rural areas, I can definitely see why. Flooded rice fields are everywhere. Dishes and glasses even come to the table wet in restaurants. People have an almost pious way of drinking water as if it was coming from the cup of life.

Nearly every house has their own pond in front for washing, bathing, and cooking. Seriously, it's just like one giant bath tub for the kids to splash around in. Who wouldn't want to jump in (well, other than the bugs, the mud, and the dozen naked kids who probably all contribute their water to the pond)?



Washing in the pond isn't necessarily reserved just for people.




People are very much accustomed to dealing with lots of water.

Things to do in "dry" Bangladesh

Well, that’s only partially true. Even though Bangladesh is a Muslim country, alcohol is available in expat bars and certain elite hotels. And of course there always is the option of cruising along the completely dark industrial docks on the outskirts of town looking for a warm $5 can of Heineken that “conveniently” fell off a cargoship and washed onto shore and came into possession of an unsavory smuggler named “Taliban”… err… not that I would know from personally experience or anything.

So yes, there ways to entertain yourself without drinking. For instance you can partake in such fun activities as:

(1) Sit on a stool in the middle of the marketplace at night, buy 2kg (about 4 pounds) of mangos and eat them. Of course they tasted really good and it seemed like a really good idea at the time, but as always the next morning gives you a reality check.

(2) Feed the mango peels to the street sheep. Yes, as far as I can tell, these sheep were homeless. You see, unlike the fluffy snow white sheep that everyone in the western world count jumping over fences, Bangladesh sheep are not quite the same. If you can imagine a big woolen sponge wandering around in a humid tropical environment soaking up all the ‘flavors” of a Bangladesh street… well, you get the idea. They actually come running in a pack when someone starts eating mangos, it’s awfully fun to feed them the skins for some reason. It’s kind of a variation on the feeding banana peels to cows game in India. I liked to toss the peels under peoples chairs. Cheap thrills in Bangladesh, what can I say.



(3) Watch Bangladesh dogs round up goats and sheep on the rice fields. I guess they get bored and try entertain themselves somehow too.



(4) Chew beetlenut. It's a spicy plant that has a bit of a slightly narcotic kick to it. I tried some, and I ended up feeling like a goat chewing cud.

(5) Watch sunset and scenes of everyday rural Bangladesh life unfold. Always a crowd pleaser.





(6) Mud + soccer = one good time with all of your buddies. Soccer fever has gripped the country especially with the World Cup being played.

Scenes from a Bangladesh boat journey

Because of a nationwide strike, I actually went to some remote islands in Bangladesh to evaluate their immunizations program. Basically, if you drive 4 hours south from the capital of Dhaka to the middle of nowhere and then drive another hour, take a 3 hour boat ride, take a ambulance taxi (yep, exactly what it sounds like- no joke, they always have the cycle rickshaw ambulance as a backup if someone gets sick I guess) for another hour, then take another 3 hour boat ride... well you get the idea. No strike out there (or electricity, or television...), hah! Here are some scenes from the boat journey.

I can't believe how many people they crammed into this boat. One strong wave, and it's sunk for sure. I think they waterline was only about a foot and a half below.

The bigger boats weren't that much better.

Actually, the boat we took was quite a luxury, we had the bunks that the crew and captain normally get. When we left the docks, the captain misjudged the navigation and ended up hitting the dock twice which created 2 very large dents in the side. He came out to personally reassure me that I had nothing to worry about since the boat was "made in China." Yep, that was reassuring. I almost swam back to shore.

Even though no man is in island, everyman can HAVE an island.

Moving the boat

Loading cargo


Actually the boat above also loaded on goats, but the operator just stuffed them bleating into a box otherwise they'd fight with the cows. He didn't want to waste precious cargo space, you know? Kinda like playing tetris with livestock.

Fishing and more fishing are the two main occupations.



Lots of people spending most of their lives on boats.

Fisherboy working the boats. Not much time to enjoy a childhood I'm guessing.