Okay, I realized it had been a long time since my last post. I didn't quite realize it had been over a month. Yikes. And the events covered here were from even earlier. Oh well.

We (not so) recently went on a river cruise with several other people from the Embassy community. I think they only have a few boats, but I understand they're all in the style of traditional Bengali river boats. Not sure if they're restored or replicas.

The river we traveled on was a little bit outside Dhaka. Not that that narrows it down much; there's a lot of water here. As expected, the car commute took quite some time, but it was worth it to get outside the grime and noise of the city.

The cruise itself was very relaxing. The boat (being in traditional Bengali style after all) was a bit cramped for someone who is not of a traditional Bengali size, but still quite comfortable, with half of it dedicated to picnic bench style seating and the other half covered in futon-esque cushions and pillows.

I don't have that much broad commentary to provide. Instead, I'll just comment in the gallery below. Enjoy!

The boat! Actually from when we were disembarking but I didn't take one on the way out.

The interior of the boat.

We spent some time hanging out on the roof. Grace is preparing for the climb.

The two of us! Sans photobombers (took a few tries).

We saw a lot of fisherman. Many of them stepped up production by using a lot of poles, like this guy.

Another fisherman. We got a lot of waves. Bengalis tend to be very friendly, or at least very much amused by a bunch of people of very obviously non-Bengali descent going down the river in a traditional Bengali boat.

More friendly faces.

Do you not take baths with your cow?

Not entirely sure what these contraptions are, but I think some sort of fish trap or netting device.

Another one.

Most of the more modern boats are very colorful. I'm not sure if this boat is owned by the cow, but I like to think so.

Old boats make great swimming piers/diving boards.

Lots of greenery in Bangladesh.

A fisherman operating a stationary net.

Going under a bridge!

We saw quite a few boats shared between cows and people. I'm not sure which of us was more amused by the other.

Several of our contingent took the opportunity for a swim. Braver souls than I.

More boats, more cows, more people.

A woman waiting by some abandoned boats.

Some sort of crane. Or heron. Or egret. I don't know a whole lot about birds. This one is white.

Old, mostly submerged boat.

Another one of the traditional Bengali boats owned by the company. I think this one is used for more elaborate cruises (you can do dinner and even overnight cruises).

Disembarking!