The final day and supper in the Rose Garden of Old Dhaka

Today was my final day in Dhaka, I leave tomorrow morning. Its been really hard but interesting work here this week. My final presentation this morning being the best I've done all week I feel. The outcome was that more people signed up for the paid for version of our service than any of the other sessions, and more people said they were going to, despite the internet behaving badly.

After the presentation Naushaba took Farhan and I to a lovely Indian restaurant just down the road from the office and we had a superb meal. Food seems to dominate my blog when I am away. This was a very good curry indeed. More mainstream than the one at Tommy Miahs Heritage but good all the same, spicier which is great for me.

We walked back to the office in the blistering heat (must have been nigh on 40C I would guess) and then settled into mashing names and emails to make sure we had everyone who had been to the sessions ready to roll. Surprisingly time consuming and manual. By 6.30 I was ready to drop. We walked back to the hotel a few mins away but I was dripping wet by the time we arrived. If anything it was hotter and more humid than earlier.

Naushaba's father had arranged a party for some friends in the recently renovated Rose Gardens in old Dhaka. Naushaba's driver picked us up and we zig zigged our way through the back streets and over crowded manic roads of Dhaka city. It was amazing to see the mass of rickshaws, CNGs and pedal all competing with trucks and buses and taxis and private cars for the narrow dusty space called a road. I love this place, its so full of energy and exciting sights.

Eventually we reached the old Dhaka narrow roads, barely wide enough for a cycle Rickshaw let alone a car and we wound our way around sharp corners having no idea what we would see next. Suddenly there it was in front of us - a palace amongst the back streets. An amazing sight to see. And this was where we were to eat.




Here's Naushaba and her husband on the steps of this mini palace.

I was introduced to countless people, including the owner of the palace. He told me of its history and how it had come into his family through his grandfather. He and his wife were lovely and had a little 18 month girl with them. Made me think of Millie back home and I wondered how she was getting on being looked after by Grandma Jan...

Later someone introduced me to (may be I misheard this) the French Ambassador to Bangladesh - he was certainly speaking french to those around him. It was all very lovely and seemed somehow very surreal in the middle of Dhaka.

Then the most bizarre thing of the night, we were invited into the scene of a film set in the downstairs of the house where a Bangladeshi Soap Opera was being filmed. We were allowed to watch for a few minutes and then told that dinner was served. It could only happen to me.... (Farhan caught it on video - please email me it Farhan and I'll post it here)





We had a lovely Biryani, a simple curry of meat and rice. Very filling. We drank coke served from plastic bottles which seemed so odd in such a setting and drank water labelled "Contains no arsenic". Another memorable night in a memorable city.

The head of the sourcing office then took us back to our hotel in her big 4x4 Lexus which impressed Farhan and I. They are expensive cars in the UK I am sure. Now I'm writing this and loading data at the same time.