On my final day in Dhaka, I was determined to visit Sonargaon. It seemed to me to be best day trip from the capital. I had originally planned to do it earlier in the week, but it was surprisingly closed so this final day was my last chance.
Sonargaon is an historic, mostly abandoned city and former capital of the Bengal region. It was settled in the 13th century and over time and various rulers and through various wars (I was going to summarise them, but, seriously, it’s a lot) it came to be a major river port city known for literature and learning and commerce. Today it is an area popular for trips outside Dhaka, festivals, and crafts. There is also the abandoned town of Panam Nagar, which was, by the 19th century, a bustling merchant and administrative centre. It is now a stretch of decaying, beautiful buildings.
Getting to Sonargaon
When I planned to go to Sonargaon I meticulously figured out the route by bus. It is quite doable by bus on one’s own from Dhaka, provided you start out at the right bus station. Because I ended up going on a different day – a day on which my flight to Singapore was scheduled in the evening – I was paranoid about going solo arriving back in Dhaka too late and missing my flight, so I hired a car. But if I had not had the flight, I would have made my way there solo, which would have involved getting a bus from the Gulistan bus station in Dhaka and taking a bus to Mograpara to the stop by the side of the road and then walking or taking a rickshaw to the site. Once at Mograpara, it was obvious that the distance from there to the Sonargaon Museum would have been easily walkable (maybe 20-30 mins) and that there are tons of rickshaws and businesses. No worries of being stranded. The only unpredictable part is the traffic in and out of Dhaka, which is highly congested, but it should take about 3 hours to get there. To go by bus would cost only a couple of dollars. To go by private car is a lot more and I missed out on the fun of the public transport, but I also didn’t spend my day rushing and worrying about missing my flight.
Sonargaon Museum and around
If you google pictures of Sonargaon you will usually see this:
And it does look exactly that beautiful. There is a small collection of gorgeous buildings along the water that you can visit (and I did). They are nice inside, but the exteriors and the setting are really the draw. Around them are waterways with little boats for rent, lush, green picnic areas, and some odd, colorful animal statues. It is all quite pleasant.
It was very busy with visitors, but not many tourists like me; mostly it was local families and school groups. Many of whom wanted to introduce themselves and take selfies.
The Museum at Sonargaon is also worth visiting. It has a great collection of arts and crafts on display (clothing, musical instruments, jewelry, tapestries, etc). My enjoyment of the museum was somewhat hindered by the school kids that were there that just stared at me or asked for pictures. It was all kind and friendly, but I did feel rather on display. I had to say no to many of the photo requests, but I did agree to take a picture with this one group of kids because they were so nice, but you can see on my face how awkward it all was. Me and children? Not a natural combination.
The Abandoned City of Panam Nagar
From the Songaraon Museum area we drove a short distance to Panam Nagar. Panam Nagar was a thriving and prosperous area until the mid 20th century when ethnic tensions between Hindus and Muslims and the Indo-Pakistani war sent the mostly Hindu residents away and left the area abandoned. What remains is a long road lined by ornate British colonial era buildings slowly crumbling.
It is so photogenic, with the bones of the architecture there accentuated by the deterioration and discoloration; it is surrounded by vibrant greenery.
Almost every building had people in front of it taking highly posed shots in colorful clothes. All locals though. And me.
I did get persuaded to pose with a few families and with one female police officer who approached me, causing momentary alarm, only to be dissipated by a bashful request for a picture.
There isn’t much to do there, but strolling amongst the buildings and under the trees was lovely.
Back to Dhaka and Onwards
We drove back to Dhaka at a crawl in the traffic. At least I was comfortable and got to take in all of the decorative trucks (not as ornate as those in Pakistan, but vividly painted with scenes of flowers and rural areas) and beat up buses.
Back in Dhaka, I had time for a cigar in the garden at the Ambrosia Guest House where I was staying before I taxied to the airport for my red eye flight to Singapore.
Bangladesh had been awesome. Dhaka was a delight. I felt so free and alive. Especially after the subdued and Jeddah. Everything was super affordable and the people area amongst the friendliest I have met. I would love to go back one day and see the rest of the country. Sail the green waterways and take in some small-town life; search for tigers in the jungle. It says a lot for Bangladesh that I would return. Maybe someday. This time, I had one more stop on my short round-the-world trip: the not as delightful and very different Singapore.