Bandarban and Rangamati

The final destination on our trip was the Chittagong Hill tracts, a hilly area in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh right on the Burmese border.

Our car, parked in the hill tracts.

This section of Bangladesh is peculiar not just for its large hills, but also for its people. An overwhelming majority of the people in Bangladesh are ethnically Bengali, with a small minority of Biharis. However, in the Hill Tracts there are many different tribal groups who look like they should be from south-east asia. They have their own style of dress, and they don't seem to fit in with the rest of Bangladesh.

We visited Bandarban and Rangamati, and as you drive along the main road in Bandarban, there are signs describing the different tribal groups. Each sign has a man and a woman in traditional dress, and there is info as if we were driving through an open-air museum ("The Chakma tribe is known for their fierce warrior traditions and unique hunting style..."). We had a local kid take us on a long walk to through the hills in Bandarban, and we saw lots of green.


And as we walked, we ran into some tribal peoples actually trying to get stuff done while the foreigners come and cause a commotion. Hardly any of them spoke any Bangla (they have their own tribal languages) which caught me by surprise. I've become so used to having short conversations with villagers that I felt more uncomfortable than other village visits. Being able to chat always makes me feel less like a spectator, and those strange museum-like signs back on the road didn't help me feel at ease. All we could do was try to gather kids together to take pictures.

Our guide Onik (who was probably in his early 20's) said "ohh I haven't met that girl before." It is our sincere hope that we will be invited to the wedding, because the rest of our trek through the hills included not-so-subtle hints that he has to lock that down asap.

One of the most peculiar things about the Chittagong Hill Tracts is that they are a little mysterious, even to some people who live in Bangladesh. There are apparently underground independence movements, which makes sense to me, since the Hill Tracts have almost nothing in common with the rest of the country. There have been a number of reports of foreigners being held hostage in the past few years. Because of this, the government treats the Hill Tracts as a high security zone, and we had to call the district commisioners in advance for each area we were traveling to in order to gain permission. There are conspiracy theories, though, which claim that the government is trying to prevent development in the region in order to quietly smother the tribal people. The Hill Tracts is undoubtedly one of the most interesting places in Bangladesh, but fear about safety is preventing all but the bravest (or craziest) foreigners from seeing it. The U.S. Department of State has this to say about the Hill Tracts:

"U.S. citizens are advised against traveling to the Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban Hill Tracts districts (collectively known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts) due to kidnappings and other security incidents, including those involving foreign nationals. Foreigners traveling in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are required to register with local authorities. ... Individuals who choose to visit these districts are urged to excercise extreme caution."

In addition to the "Shogotom!" (Welcome!) signs that could be seen as we crossed town borders, we also ran into signs like this about six times during our two days in the Hill Tracts:


We also stopped at a Buddhist temple on the top of a hill outside of the Bandarban town. The temple wasn't open yet since we had arrived so early in the morning, but a monk was chillin' near the gate and was more than happy to let us take a look.