Yesterday I braved the traffic with a rickshaw and made my way to Star Kebab Restaurant. There, I had the last supper of mutton biryani with a pattie next to it, also a vegetable dish, a salad of chillie, cucumber, onion and lime. A bottle of water and a lassi. All for less than £2. Walking on the way back I found a ladies beauty salon. The facial seemed pricey at £10. The facial was about 10 applications of various treatments including fancy machines. At the...

With views to Everest on the right and red wine at 11am, it was a pleasant flight from Bhutan back to Dhaka. The CNG (auto-rickshaw) as shown above, was horrendous as usual but at least I now had a mask to protect my lungs from the pollution. Although I had a card with a map on the back it was a drama finding the Viator Guest House in the Banani district of Dhaka. Never sure if it is a ploy to make a bit extra. It felt so hot and muggy after Bhutan. Checked in...

Lazy day after buffet breakfast all included in the £18. Had trouble connecting to wifi. Went down to the business centre to print out my visa for Bhutan. Wandered around to find shops but same old rubbish. Rickshaw wallah tried it on by refusing to take the money. We agreed 20, I went to give him 30 but he wanted 50. I walked away and he then took it. In the evening found another Boaishaki restaurant (same as the one in Rangpur) and had a chicken biryani and c...

The picture is of Tiger, the dog, in front of my cottage on St Martins island near Burna. Note the comfortable hammock not so easy for me to clamber out though! The temperature is just pleasant with a slight breeze. Last night the staff were singing, playing bongos and flute so no one around when I got up. Walked to the beach and along past other small resorts and through garden of government resort no sign of coffee. Took rickshaw to town and stopped by a euro/...

Up at 5.30am rickshaw to bus station hoping to take bus to Teknaf to take ferry to St Martins Island which is the very far southeastern tip of Bangladesh next to Burma/Myanmar. No luck as there is a transport strike. Rickshaw back to hotel. On the way streets quiet except for loads of riot police. Was saddened to see a group of very young boys-aged about 10, standing around a burning tyre with heavy sticks. No adults around, the boys were proud of what they wer...