Dhaka to Hong Kong

Well back in December my school had a three week holiday. Ian lives in Shanghai, Pei lives in Hangzhou, and Nate and Jin were traveling in China at the same time as my vacation, so I went to China! I'll try to write some entries about things that I did in chronological order before I forget everything that happened!

My travels started in airports. While I was driving to Dhaka's Zia International Airport, it dawned on me that this was my first time leaving Bangladesh in over five months. Sitting in the international terminal, my ears searched desperately for every bit of Bangla they could find, and I watched the flight announcements sign skip back and forth between English and Bangla. Desperate for some Bangla conversation, I talked with the Snack Stand's night manager, who asked if we do "live-in" in America (i.e. do we live with boyfriends and girlfriends before getting married). "Of course we do live-in in America!" I replied. I'm proud to be an unofficial ambassador of all things we value in American culture.

Arriving at the Hong Kong airport at 5am local time only escalated all of the strange feelings that rushed into my head. I had just spent five months without going in a proper shopping mall or walking on a dirt-free road. In three and a half hours, I was plunged into an airport where even the slightest walking distance called for a people-mover, and people who wanted to smoke had specially designated rooms located at frequent intervals throughout the airport. There were even baby-changing rooms! Yes, rooms designed specifically for changing diapers! All of the stores were closed until 7 or 8am, but I couldn't stop walking around. One part of me was pumped about the Burger King that was opening in less than two hours, but I couldn't help feeling a little upset Bangladesh was being left behind. The idea of considering the needs of different kinds of people in public spaces, like non-smokers and women with babies, is decades away from reaching Bangladesh.

I was in such awe that I actually took pictures of the airport

The airport was completely empty at 5am, and as the hours passed while I waited for my connection to Shanghai, people started arriving, and the sun slowly rose in the horizon, revealing the silohetted mountains of Hong Kong. The only elevated terrain I had seen in the last five months was during my visit to Chittagong, so I walked to the glass to get as close as possible to this mountain. I was looking at China!

My Shanghai travels coming soon!