May Day Vacay

From awhile ago

So I actually wrote this three weeks ago and I am finally posting it:  Surprise!  I am still alive.  I'm sure everyone was beginning to wonder, I know I was.  I have finally been able to dig my way out of the avalanche of books and homework that has kept me holed up in the building the past couple weeks.  Phew... feels good to breath.  I even managed to take a day trip and two day vacay out of the city.

Last week the group had an opportunity to take a day trip to Rangamati.  Rangamati is one of the three areas that makes up the Hill Tracts.  Originally, the hill tracts were populated by a number of different tribes, but today it is a mix of Bangladeshis and tribal people.  The mixing of the tribal cultures and the Bangladeshi culture has led to some trouble and as a result we had three police escorts, carrying big guns, on our boat trip around Kapatai Lake.  The tribal people of the hill tracts look much different from your typical b-deshi.  Their facial features and skin tone are similar to people in southeast Asia; some even look filipino.  A friend informed us that some of the tribes are matriarchal and sometimes at night the men in the villages will dress up with flowers in their hair and dance for the women.  Now, I don't know if it's true, but I love it none the less.

We took a boat ride around Kapatai Lake which was beautiful and stopped on an island made up of a restaurant and some guest houses.  We ordered lunch at the restaurant and then had to hang out while the food was being cooked.  Some people went swimming in the lake, but I, along with Nancy, Amy and Mahmuda, found some tables in an open air hut and took naps.  After an hour so I was woken from my glorious nap and told that lunch was ready.  The restaurant is named Peda Ting Ting which means stomach full full, and it's not false advertising.  The food was some of the best I have had since arriving in Bangladesh.  We had this chicken for lunch that is cooked inside of bamboo shoots.  Holy Poop, it was delicious.  I even liked the fish and I don't like fish.  Sooooo good.  Of course the highlight of my day would be the food.  After that we cruised around the lake did a little shopping in town and headed back to Chittagong.

For May day weekend we escaped to a guest house outside of the city.  The guest house was located on the compound of a mission hospital and it was so calm and peaceful.  It was fantastic.  I spent the weekend eating, sleeping, and swimming.  Couldn't have asked for more.

Rangamati