Places and People of Bandarban – April, 2009

Tour Schedule: 9-11 April, 2009

Places Visited: Parjatan Rest House, Shoilo Propat, Chimbuk, Nilgiri, Shangu river, Ruma Bazar, Boga Lake.

Hill tracks of chittagong were always dream to visit, but before the Safari 4 of Through The Lens: Bangladesh (TTL), i wasn’t lucky enought to visit one of the most beautiful landscape of Bangladesh.

5^th March, 2009. TTL announced that Safari 4 is going to be held in Bandarban from 9-11 April, 2009. Listed places for visit was Bandarban Town (Parjatan Rest house Meghla), Chimbuk, Nilgiri rest house (night stay), Next day start for Ruma Bazar, Boga Lake (night stay), next day starts for Bandarban, then Shwarna Mondir and back to Dhaka. In between this, we shell visit some tribal villages. I enrolled my name in the tour member list as quick as I saw the thread in the group and starts waiting for the 8^th April night because we will start journey at 8^th Night.

Finally the 8^th Night came and we were supposed to be meeting at SA Poribahan Counter, Komla Pur at 10.00PM. Bus was supposed to start at 10.30. I reached at 10.05pm and many of us were already there and then starts waiting for rest of the people. Though our tour member list reached 32+ members, but finally we were 27 and 5/6 of them was from Sylhet. They came Dhaka at the same day and starts with us. Our bus started at 11.00pm.

No one was interested to sleep rather than chatting and enjoying the journey. But it was not the first time. It’s the same case as our previous three Safari tours and Kite Festival tour in St. Martins. But after some time of chatting, I feel for sleep and I went back to my sit for a sound sleep. Weak up when our bus stops for 20 minutes to have a break on journey. Provably we took more than 30 minutes 😀 and went back to bus and I sleep again until we reached Bandarban.

9^th April, 2009. We reached Bandarbat at around 8.00am and took a two hours break for fresh up and breakfast. We stayed at Parjatan Reast house Meghla. As per plan, after fresh up and breakfast we start our journey with two cars. Unfortunately I don’t have any good picture of the Parjatan rest house, our breakfast and the cars when we started.

View from Bandaran Parjatan Complex

Started enjoying the beauty of Bandarban, Hills, roads and everything we was passing by. We saw Tiger hill from our car and I planned to visit that place anytime next.

At around 10.00am we reached Shoilo Propat. We all came down of and spread around the place within the moment. I started with Zamir bhai (Zamieeruddin Faisal) to take some birds shot. But in between that I also took some other places that are a tiny water flow from rocks, hills behind the Shoilo Propat, two bridges in two sides of the place. Anyway, those bird shots wasn’t good enough to post here.

Bridge beside Shoilo Propat

View from Shoilo Propat circle

Shoilo Propat

Another Bridge beside Shoilo Propat

Local peopels beside Shoilo Propat

Than we start again for Nilgiri and enjoyed the beautiful landscape.

Before reaching Nilgiri, we visited Chimbok as well. The beauty of hills from chimbuk is just awesome. We take some food from there as well.

Chimbok, We taking food

Chimbok, right two cars was ours

Chimbok

Butterfly with Joba

Landscape from Chimbok

Hills from Chimbok

Hills from Chimbok

We enjoying junk food in Chimbok

We reached Nilgiri around 1.30pm and were really shocked to see such luxury resort in that remote area which is in 2,500 feet high. It was so beautiful and clean and two cottages were in front of us which was so beautiful and in blackish red color.

Nilgiri tree

Nilgiri living cottage

Nilgiri cottage

Nilgiri rest house

Nilgiri Rest House, Views

Nilgiri Rest House View

Nilgiri Rest House View

Then we informed that there was another cottage which is VIP and finally I stayed in that room with Sharif bhai, Zamir bhai, Nurur bhai, Tushar bhai and Neaz bhai. The level of luxury of that room is just awesome. Wooden furniture, the balcony, washroom, bed and TV with Tata Sky receiver just amazed us all.

Nilgiri Rest House, VIP Room

Nilgiri Rest House, VIP Room - Wash room in the photo

Nilgiri Rest House, VIP Room stairs

Nilgiri Rest House, VIP room

Nilgir Rest House, VIP Room

Then we informed for lunch and we joined in canteen which one is also very much luxurious. We took our lunch and enjoyed tea in the balcony of the canteen.

Nilgiri Rest House - Canteen

Nilgiri Rest House - Canteen, Taking lunch

Nilgiri Rest House - Canteen, Tea after lunch

I’ve took some other views of Nilgiri Rest House just after tea.

Nilgiri Rest House View

Nilgiri Rest House View

Then started a walk for a tribal village. Some of us very tired then after walking a while we decided not to go in the village and come back in rest house.Took some photos in between. Most of them was nature phtoos

Nilgiri Nature

Nilgiri Nature, Ant colony

Nilgiri Nature, Spider

Nilgiri Nature, Spider

Nilgiri Nature, Spider

Road just beside Nilgiri Rest House

Then had a sleep in balcony of the canteen with two of my cameras just beside me in an open place. Nuru bhai also did the same :D.

After a very sound sleep, we felt that its almost sunset time and become busy with camera till dark night.

Nilgiri Rest House, View from Canteen

Nilgiri Rest House, View form Canteen

Nilgiri Rest House, The Canteen

Nilgiri Rest House, The Canteen

Landscape from Nilgiri

Landscape from Nilgiri

Nilgiri Rest House

Nilgiri Rest House, The Canteen

Landscape from Nilgiri

Nilgiri Rest House

Landscape from Nilgiri Rest House

Then after shooting, all becomes busy with camera charging and chat. We were in our VIP room than suddenly someone called us to go outside to see clouds. At 2500 feet high, clouds were passing between the rest house. When we came of room, it was crossing us and we felt the cloud. Some of us were trying long exposure, but I didn’t. Everything can’t just capture in frames, something must felt also. After sometimes we were called for dinner. Had dinner and went for sleep.

10^th April 2009. Weak up at morning 7.00am and have the breakfast very quickly because we have to move fast for our next destination, Boga Lake via Ruma Bazar.Took breakfast so fast and some photos from that time.

Nilgiri Rest House, The Canteen during breakfast

Canteen Balcony

Started our journey around 8.30am in the same way we came to Nilgiri up to Chimbuk Army camp. Then we turned in another road in the way to Shangu Nodi (River).

We reached in the bank of Shangu Nodi around 11am and reserved some boats to take us up to Ruma Bazar . At boat we all were enjoying the beauty of river, its cold water as the weather was too hot. The hills and village around the river. Found many people’s working on river with bamboos. The river wasn’t very deep in this dry season. Many times our boat gets shucked with the soil under the river.. imagine how deep it was.. some of us get down from the boat and starts walking beside the boat.. it was a wow feelings.

Shangu nodi (River)

Shangu Nodi (River)

Shangu Nodi (River)

Shangu Nodi (River)

Shangu Nodi (River)

Our boat on Shangu Nodi (river)

Peoples of Shangu Nodi (River)

Fisherman in Sangu

Shangu & its bank

Around 1am we reach in Ruma Bazar. Boat port in Ruma bazar really remind me my childhood life of Bhairab Bazar as that is one of the biggest boat port in Bangladesh.

Bank of Shango Nodi in Ruma

We had our lunch in Ruma Bazar from Al Amin hotel and bought some dry foods, drinks from the market. Then started our journey again with other cars. This road was more difficult than previous roads.

Ruma Bazar

Ruma Bazar

Ruma Bazar

Hotel in Ruma Bazar

Ruma bazar

Restaurant in Ruma bazar

After a hardcore journey, we reached near of Boga Lake. Our car stopped and our driver and guide told us that now we need to climb a hill to reach Boga Lake. It was really tough for us, because none of us had any good experience of tracking. There was no other option, so we started! It was really hard time for us, we was taking rest after each 5minutes of tracking and total average 30/45mins of tracking we reached in pick and saw the beautiful Boga Lake.

Boga Lake at 1200ft high from sea level

Laram Rest House, Boga Lake

After the first sight of Boga Lake, forget the hard time of tracking. Was so pleased to see the landscape. A beautiful lake surrounded by high hills and a small village just beside the lake. When I know that we will stay in the village we just saw, felt I am in haven for one day.

When entered in the village, after saw the house we going to sleep I felt so pleasure that I can’t express. It was a dream house and dream village to live my entire life.

Village beside Boga Lake

Government sign board of Boga Lake

Just had a walk in the bank of the lake and front of the village. Suddenly I heard a bell from the village church and went in front of the church. Villagers was going inside one by one.

Peopels of Boga Lake

Peopels of Boga Lake

Tribal Kid. Her naem is Belinda, Boga Lake

Asked permission to get into church to have experience of their prayer. In the tone they started prayer, make me mad.. Fall in love with the tone.

Inside of Boga Lake Church

After a while I come out of the church and saw some people were bathing on the lake and I also joined. After bath many of us was busy in long exposures, as like before, I wasn’t interested rather I joined in chat with other. Then had dinner and finally went to bed to sleep.

11^th April 2009. Weak up at 6.30am. A team was going Murong village which is another 1hour tracking far from the village we stayed. When I weak up, I didn’t find those who stayed here. After a 10 minute walk, I fund Rafi bhai and we been called for breakfast. Then Me, Rafi Bhai, Shakil, Anis bhai took breakfast and start walking and have a short tracking in just up our village.

Our breakfast table

It was just 10 minute track.Shots from the walk.

A tribal man reparing his home

A tribal family in their Balcony

Tribal girl working

Tribal girls working

A tribal man working

Village tribal people

A tribal baby

A tribal man was reparing his old home

A tribal full family working

A tribal kid

Same Kid again

Tribal architecture from Bwam village

Tribal Architecture from Bwam village

Some nature shot in same time..

A fruit called Aam-jam

Insect 1

Grasshopper

At returning time, I went Belinda’s home and meet her mother. She was working that time.

Belinda with her mom

Belinda with her mom

I couldn’t stop my selft to take a photo of mine with Belinda. The kid is soo cute.

Me with Belinda and her mom

After coming back from there, we went to Marma village with rest of us. After a while, when we saw we need to go down of a small hill, some of us backed in village and some of us was still going.

Way to Marma Village

Road of Marma Village

But we feel so sad that the Marma villagers didn’t allow us to take photographs of them. Finally we just took some photos of their home and other landscape and came back to our village.

A Mamra house

A Marma House

Taken from Marma Village

Another Marma Architecture

Marma Village

Then start coming back and toke photograph of Marma village from top.

We coming back from Marma Village

Marma Village in Top View

Boga Lake from Marma Village side

Then we came back to ur village and went to lake for bath and enjoyed the bath in the lake. Just after bath, we said good bye to Boga Lake and start journey for Bandarban. Here are last few shots from Boga Lake

A tribal girl

A tribal kid

Birder trying for portrait

Dragonfly 1

Dragonfly 2

Dragonfly 3

Bee 1

Ant1

Leisure walk in Boga Lake

A beautiful girl of Boga lake

Young players of Boga Lake

After a crazy drive, we backed in Ruma Bazar, have lunch there and start again for Bandarban. This time we passed Shangu by walking. We reached Bandarban at around 5 and have another bath in Parjatan Rest house.

Last shot of the tour

Then we took our dinner and ride on bust at 8.30PM. No one was energetic enough to have another chat, I just slept and weak up at 5.30 when we was in Dhaka and the tour ends here.

This was one of the unforgetable tour in my life. Love u Bandarban, Love u Bangladeh, the queen of Beauty.