UP | uncultured project

Once you’ve get settled in Bangladesh, there is no shortage of resources to find information on where to go, what to see, and good places to eat. But what about advice for those just thinking about coming here? Or practical advice for the first few hours in this country?

I’ve talked about my friend Alicia before – a friend of mine from Notre Dame who decided to come to Bangladesh as part of a Fulbright scholarship she earned.

Well, what advice did I give her?

1. The Shock Factor: If you’ve never come to a place like this before – prepare to be shocked. The sights, the smells, and people – will all seem alien at first. There isn’t really a way to prepare for this. Just don’t get worried if you find yourself in a bit of shock when you first arrive.
2. How Safe Do You Want to Be?: If you want to fully immerse yourself in the experience, you will have to take some risks. Riding a rickshaw or CNG is quaint, but there is a chance that something bad can happen. This isn’t just an urban legend. I know friends and family that have been assaulted, robbed, and even kidnapped. The more authentic an experience (live like the locals, etc) you want – the greater the risk.
3. You Will Get Sick: Even if you don’t drink the water, avoid suspicious ice cubes, use hand sanitizer every so often – you will get sick sooner or later. Don’t treat it like you’ve somehow failed to take enough precautions. It happens to everyone.
4. You Can’t Buy Everything Here – Bring That Stuff With You: Hand Sanitizers, Pepto Bismol, and Spray-On Mosquito Repellent are all things I’ve never been able to buy here. My advice? Bring as much of what you think you will need to use (and a little extra) with you from home before you fly here.
5. People will stare. Sorry: The more foreign you look – the more stares you draw. You can sometimes even draw a crowd. No insult is inteded – it’s mostly just curiosity. The exception to this rule are establishments which specifically cater to the rich and foreigners. Those places you’ll probably fit in stare-free.
6. Don’t tough it alone at the airport: The cabbies there are highway robbers and will treat you poorly (I’m also looking for a link to a newspaper article that has more info on this). The professional beggars at the airport will harass you for foreign currencies. If you have a friend that is there to meet you and give you a ride – that makes all the difference in the world. Seriously.

So what did we do on the day we met up?

Well, the first important thing was getting her a multi-plug (aka a powerbar) that would fit her US-style three-pronged laptop adapter. I had advised Alicia to NOT bother buying adapters before she left. I had spent a lot of time going to a lot of Radio Shacks to find adapters that work in Bangladesh. Turns out I was wasting my time. In Bangladesh, its very easy to buy powerbars/multi-plugs and adpaters which have a special shape that fits all kinds of plugs. And most modern electronics (like laptop adapters) automatically convert voltage (whether its 110v or 220v). If you have time to spare – spend a day shopping here and buy those adapters here instead of wasting your money in Radio Shack.

The second thing we did was buy her a cellphone. Cellphones are much more common than landlines in Bangladesh. There are a lot of cellphone providers to choose from. I had recommended her GrameenPhone. It’s what I use to connect to the internet – and am using right now to upload this blog post. GrameenPhone has been pretty reliable – it was working despite the nationwide blackout caused by Cyclone Sidr. It also worked in rural villages where there was no power – including the Cyclone Sidr disaster area when power had yet to be restored. As I’ve said in the past – in both reliability and cost of cellphone plans and service – Bangladesh beats Canada.

It’s a bit compliated to sign up for a cellphone here. You need to bring your passport, passport photos, and you also have to give your thumbprint and have a reference contact. I acted as her local contact and had told her ahead of time of what she needed and so she came prepared. We were able to get it all setup in one go.

I tried to take a photo of all the people staring at her – but most people scattered when I tried to take a photo. I guess some don’t mind staring – but don’t like it when you stare back. Ahh well.

Canada maybe a “first world” developed country, but when it comes to cellphone service, it’s got nothing when it comes to Bangladesh. Don’t believe me? Ask Piotr Staniaszek – who recently got a bill for over $85,000 from Bell Mobility. What was his crime? He used his cellphone as a modem so that his computer could get on the internet. He downloaded some high-definition video and transferred a lot of large files which, as the BBC put it resulted in “massive extra charges”.

You know what’s so funny? I do the same thing but it costs me only $20 a month. I seriously give my cellular provider a run for its money. I’ve done over 2 gigabytes of activity in the past few weeks alone. The latest episode of The Uncultured Project on YouTube took me 300 megs alone. But, unlike Canada, the cellphone providers here don’t care how much you use or whether you are using the internet on your phone or connecting your phone to your computer. Plus they have a feature so that prevents you from accidentally incurring excessive charges.

I used to think that Canada, having the status of a “first world” country meant that it did everything better than “the third world”. I guess, when I hear those terms, I imagine it as an analogy of a race. But, whenever I look at my cellphone here – I’m reminded that there are some things Bangladeshis do better than Canucks. I feel sorry for my friends in the Frigid North.

I wrote an article about this on NowPublic.com. It’s after the jump. It’s the same thing that I said here though – just more news-ish sounding.

Continue reading ‘Cellphone Plans and Service: Bangladesh Beats Canada. Period.’

[This post has been updated - see below after the jump] Bangladesh seems to be apparently blocking access to Google and its related web properties. I noticed this on my own connection about 48 to 72 hours ago. Since then I have been able to get independent confirmation from those using different internet connections. This problem seems to affect Bangladeshis trying to access Google’s services via EDGE, GPRS, and landline based internet connections in both Dhaka and other locations in the country.

More details after the jump along with a way to bypass this blocking. Continue reading ‘BREAKING: Bangladesh Censoring/Blocking Access to Google’