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Chapter 34 - Bangladesh - The Most Densely Populated Large Country in the World

Bangladesh is not a place most tourists go, as you can see from this tourism poster. But I was in neighboring India, and could not pass up the opportunity to visit my good friends who live there as diplomats.

The thing I find interesting about Bangladesh is that it is the most densely populated large country in the world. That means more people, on average, live in a square mile there than in any other country in the world, with the exception of city-states like Singapore, where nearly all the land is filled with people. Or in short, Bangladesh is the largest crowded country in the world. To make it even more challenging for the Bangladeshis, much of the country is a low-lying river delta covered with water. To put it in perspective, Bangladesh is as crowded as cramming half of the United State's population (158 million people) into the state of Wisconsin, with one-third of its land under water!

Because of this, I expected that there would be people everywhere all the time. In fact, I found there were people everywhere only sometimes. My friends Randy and Anne live in the capital city of Dhaka with their happy, six-month-old son. The center of the capital city was always crowded with people and traffic, but the suburbs and countryside didn't seem crowded at all.

One afternoon we decided to take a nice river boat ride, past the many flooded rice fields outside of the crowded capital city of Dhaka. It was a beautiful scene, watching the villages and farms and boats go by. There were barges so full of sand that I was convinced they should have sunk to the bottom of the river. At one point, we passed the brick factory where the barges were hauling the sand to make bricks. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries on earth, so workers do not make much money for a hard day's work. Fortunately for them, the cost of living in Bangladesh is also quite low, although many, many people live in dire poverty.

Because labor is so cheap, cheaper than buying machines an equipment, people in Bangladesh often do the work that we would do with machines in the US or Europe. For example, I saw these friendly men covered with sand unloading the barge of wet sand one basket at a time. Each man carried out a basket on his head and dumped it in a pile by the brick kiln. It looked like exhausting and back-breaking work, but I was impressed with their smiles and friendliness despite this difficult job. Kindness and happiness were traits I saw in most Bangladeshis.

Near the river, I saw this house. I took this picture, as kids sometimes ask me where the bathrooms are in the local houses. Can you see the bathroom in this picture? It's the outhouse on the left, by the river shore. It's not that different from the outhouse my grandparents had at their lake cottage in northern Wisconsin when I was a boy. But my grandparents' toilet had a hole in the ground, while this one appears to empty directly into the river. Unfortunately dumping raw sewage into the river is less sanitary and leads to lots of fatal cases of diarrhea, called cholera--so many cases, in fact, that there is a large hospital devoted entirely to cholera in Dhaka.

I visited this hospital and was very impressed and touched by the many lives they save there each day. Hundreds of poor and sick Bangladeshis arrive daily for inexpensive treatment. Those who can't get there have a 40% chance of dying, while those who are treated with the simple remedies this hospital invented almost always leave that day cured. To the many Bangladeshis who get cholera, this hospital is literally a lifesaver.

My eyes teared up as I looked at these many malnourished children whose mothers were taking nutrition classes so they could grow and survive another case of diarrhea. The mothers were so happy and asked me to take pictures of them with their children. I've learned that many people around the world love to see themselves in a digital camera, as they may never have a photo taken of themselves otherwise. I was happy to do anything that would bring a smile to their faces as they are surrounded by so much suffering. I couldn't help but be inspired by the hospital's sense of mission, the staff's hard work, the parents' devotion, and the patients' desires to feel better.

I had another interesting experience at the end of of river trip we took. Randy and Anne had their son and their pug dog, Stella, outside their car. This created quite an attraction in the village, since many of the townspeople had never seen a little white baby before. One of the gentlemen brought his son over to say hi, and I got this picture of the two infants together. Hopefully, their generation can continue this kind of friendship as they grow older. But the the life of that boy in Bangladesh will surely be quite different than the life of my friends' son, who is blessed with many things Bangladeshis do without, like access to clean water, sufficient nutrition, education and a solid home.

On the way home from our boat trip, I finally saw how crowded Bangladesh can get, as the streets were full of people, buses, cars and rickshaws. Rickshaws are three-wheeled bicycles pulled by a driver with a two-person seat in back, like the ones I saw in India (Chapter 32). Most transportation in Bangladesh is by rickshaw or bus. I liked taking a rickshaw when I could and meeting the rickshaw drivers, as they were all nice and so hard-working.

Before sundown, everyone seemed to be on the streets to buy food and other items in the market until the power went out at 7 PM. The government shuts down the power at that time because they don't have enough electricity for everyone. They want to encourage people to shop before sundown, so that the markets don't require so much electricity for lights. Most store keepers had little generators, however, and were able to keep their shops open while so many people were on the streets. So when the lights went out, it was darker, but no less crowded.

Many of the workers were in factories all day making clothing and baseball caps. In fact, I bet if you looked at the tags of your clothes for the next few weeks, you will see that some of your clothes were made in Bangladesh, by some of the friendliest and happiest people I have ever met, despite all the challenges they face. They were an inspiration to me and a reminder of how truly blessed we are and how often I take many of the conveniences of my life for granted.

Travel Questions on Bangladesh:

1. Bangladesh is the size of what US state?
2. Bangladesh is the _____ country in the world.
   A) highest B) greenest C) happiest D) most densely populated.
3. How did the men Toto saw on the river unload the sand from the barge?
4. What type of factory did Toto see by the river?
5. Which disease did the hospital Toto visit primarily treat?
6. In both India and Bangladesh Toto rode a rickshaw. What is a rickshaw?
7. What items might you find in your room that were made in Bangladesh?

Global Nomad Questions on Bangladesh:

1. Find Bangladesh on a map and list all the countries it borders.
2. Look on a map to find the Ganges River that flows from through India and into Bangladesh. Once in Bangladesh, what name does the river change to?
3. Prior to India's independence from Britain in 1947, Bangladesh was part of the British India colony. Bangladesh wasn't independent immediately, though. Rather, it was part of Pakistan until it earned its independence from that country. Do a cybersearch on Bangladeshi independence and write what you learned.
4. Do a cybersearch on the Archimedes Principle to understand the laws of physics that keep a barge full of wet sand from sinking.

Chapter 33 - Singapore - Clean and Green

 

Singapore is another candidate for a country that's the complete opposite of India. So I couldn't help but wonder what the Indian passengers on my flight from Delhi to Singapore thought when they landed in Singapore. For me, the first thing I noticed is that Singapore is clean and green. It rains in Singapore most afternoons during the time of year I was there, making everything quite green. Singapore is also close to the equator, so it is warm year-round, which also contributes to all the beautiful green trees and plants throughout the island.

The country is quite small, effectively only an island. In fact, Singapore is what many people refer to as a "city-state," which is a country that's not much bigger than a city. There are lots of reasons a city can end up being its own country. In Singapore's case, the country achieved independence from neighboring Malaysia in 1965. When I was driving around Singapore, I met this nice man, Mr. Ung, who drove the taxi I took to my hotel. He was born in Singapore before its independence and told me about what it's been like to live there over the past forty years.

 

Today Singapore is known for being very clean, orderly, planned, and safe (which is why it is unlike India). For several decades Singapore was ruled by one man, a prime minister named Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, who wanted to improve Singapore. Mr. Ung laughed as he told me that when he grew up, families like his lived in straw huts built on stilts--the island of Singapore was really just a fishing village. They were so poor that they had to walk to fetch water from wells, much like many African villages.

 

Mr. Ung spoke proudly of Mr. Lee (in Asia, people use their family name first, the opposite of how we do things in America--if I lived in Singapore, everyone would call me Chmielewski Tom), whom he credits with having made Singapore into the wealthy country it is today. All the citizens like Mr. Ung essentially gave up their rights to have political opposition and to vote, in exchange for allowing Mr. Lee to improve the country without any opposition like we have in a democracy. Even though Mr. Lee called himself a prime minister, this effectively made him a dictator, and dictators often don't end up being very good for the countries they rule. When people get into positions of power like this, with no opposition, they usually become corrupt very quickly, and the only people who benefit from their rule are their family and friends.

What I find interesting about Singapore is that Mr. Lee lived up to his end of the bargain. He increased the standard of living for all Singaporeans by improving the schools, roads, water system, industry, airport, and seaports. He did such a good job that this little country, with almost no natural resources, is now one of the biggest ports in the world. Mr. Ung's family no longer lives in a straw hut, but in a high rise like this one, which are all over town. That's why Mr. Ung laughed when he remembered having to fetch water from a well growing up. Everyone in Singapore now just turns on the tap, often one in a new home or high-rise apartment.

 

As I looked around at all the clean, modern buildings and thought about Mr. Ung living in a grass hut just a generation ago, I couldn't help but be impressed with what Mr. Lee achieved. But like most things in life, there was a trade off, as Mr. Lee had strict rules for Singapore's citizens. For example, he made chewing gum illegal. Seriously. Mr. Lee hated the sight of gum on the sidewalk, so he outlawed it. (Remember how I said Singapore was super-clean?) Mr. Lee also decreed that all men had to have short hair, in keeping with the clean and orderly image.

 

I do admire Mr. Lee for having not turned into a completely corrupt dictator who stole from his people, like many of the rulers with such power in Africa. Clearly, the Singaporean people trusted him and were willing to work hard to achieve a common goal of prosperity.

 

One of the things Singapore introduced was a toll system that makes you pay every time you drive into the downtown area. Because the entire country is effectively one large city, traffic downtown can get busy. So about ten years ago, Singapore introduced road planning. Today the system is all electronic and referred to as ERP, or "Electronic Road Planning." All cars have a transmitter, so whenever they drive under the detection system at the start of every street into downtown, they are charged one dollar. Singapore's currency is also called the "dollar," although one Singapore dollar is worth about 70 US cents. (Singapore's dollar looks different from ours. Only the name is the same.)

 

When I lived in London, England (see chapter 10) in 2003, the city government had just introduced a similar system, based on Singapore's innovative idea, to control the traffic in central London. Just this year, New York City is looking to implement a similar idea in Manhattan, based on the success in Singapore and London.

 

In addition to the cleanliness of Singapore, I loved the food, as it is a mixture of foods from the neighboring cultures of Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Thailand. The food that impressed me the most is the variety of fruit that grows in this green part of the world. My favorite fruit to see is the Dragon fruit. It's bright pink on the outside and bright white on the inside, with little edible black seeds throughout. The inside is a bit like a kiwi fruit: very colorful, but not super tasty or sweet. Nevertheless, I love it for its colors and its colorful name--the Dragon Fruit! Next time you see one, definitely give it a try.

 

In the end, I enjoyed my stay in the very clean and green city of Singapore, which, like the Dragon Fruit, is full of surprises like meeting Mr. Ung. He seemed to be "just" a cab driver, but had wonderful stories about the small fishing town that grew up into one of the world's wealthiest and most developed countries in only forty years.

 

Travel Questions about Singapore:

1. When did Singapore get its independence from Malaysia?
2. What was the name of the taxi driver Toto met in Singapore?
3. Is Singapore north or south of the equator?
4. What was the name of the Prime Minister who ruled Singapore for many years and helped the country develop?
5. What was one of the interesting laws he passed to ensure Singapore was clean?
6. What other cities have implemented or considered starting a downtown toll system to control traffic like Singapore?
7. What was the name of the fruit Toto loved so much in Singapore?

Global Nomad Questions on Singapore:

1. Do a cybersearch to find at least two other countries who have named their currency the "dollar." These are not countries that use the US dollar (like Panama), but have their own currency called the dollar.
2. There are several other city-states around the world that are small countries often not bigger than a city. Some examples are: San Marino, The Vatican (or Holy See), Monaco, Andorra, Lichtenstein, and Bahrain. Choose one of the above or another you discover and write a paragraph explaining how it got to be such a small country, and how it's stayed that way.
3. Like Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau were their own countries until 1997 and 1999, respectively. Now they are both part of China. Do a cybersearch and explain why both Hong Kong and Macau became part of China in those years. (Hint: It has to do with colonization of those territories by two European countries hundreds of years ago.)

Chapter 32 - India - Delhi and the beautiful Taj Mahal

I can't think of a country that is more the opposite of Switzerland than India. That is exactly where Toto flew next: to the capital city of New Delhi. Actually, the old city is referred to as just "Delhi" or "Old Delhi," which is where the city began hundreds of years ago. In Old Delhi, the streets are narrow, crowded, hot, dirty and hectic, like this street scene I photographed as I emerged from the clean, new, air-conditioned subway.

I took a rickshaw to the subway from my hotel in New Delhi, which is the name for the rest of the city that has grown around the original city of Delhi. A rickshaw is a three-wheeled bicycle taxi like this one. The streets are so crowded that rickshaws are a relatively quick way to go short distances around the city. India is a very poor country, but the rickshaw fares are affordable for many Indians, so there are many people who make a living driving rickshaws.

I had been to India many years ago, but never to the area around Delhi. The thing that always amuses me about India is that there are cows just walking around the streets everywhere. Cows are sacred to the Hindu religion, which is what many Indians believe, so they allow cows to wander around like this. If you've ever spent much time around cows, you will know that they tend to poop wherever they happen the be when the need arises. So there is cow poop everywhere in the crowded, hot, dirty and hectic streets of Delhi.

The world-famous site I wanted to see was the Taj Mahal. I had a free day, so I booked a one-day return tour to see it, a few hours south of Delhi in the city of Agra. Agra isn't too far from Delhi by US standards, only 200 kms (or 125 miles). But it took five hours to get there because the traffic is crazy. In fact, I think our driver was crazy, too. He wove in and out of traffic, dodging cows and buses and three-wheeled tuk-tuk taxis all the way to Agra. He spent the ENTIRE time honking his horn. I don't think he went more than 15 seconds between honks. At one point, I said to a German woman on my tour that I think our driver honked his horn more in one hour than I did all week. She replied, "He's honked his horn more on this trip than I have my whole life!" You know, I'm sure she was right.

We envisioned a new video game called "Delhi Taxi Driver" where the goal is to get to the Taj Mahal as quickly as possible without hitting any cows, dogs, people, crowded buses, fellow taxis, or motorcycles with an entire family crammed aboard. If Sony or Nintendo ever makes this game, our driver will get the high score for sure!

The near-death experience of the taxi ride was worth it in the end, as the Taj Mahal was quite beautiful. It was built between 1632-48 by the 5th Mughal emperor of India as a tomb for his beloved wife, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child. The area was--and still is--famous for its artisans of inlaid marble and souvenir shops selling their products. These craftsmen make beautiful designs by carving spaces into beautiful white marble and laying precisely carved semi-precious stones into the gaps. The beautiful designs adorn the inside of the tomb and were quite a sight to see. Apparently, the descendants of the families who built the tomb are the same people designing and selling the tables and picture frames  today.

I do have to say that the Taj Mahal was smaller than I expected. I guess it looks so impressive in all the photos I've seen that I expected it to be bigger. In a way, I'm glad it wasn't bigger as it was sooooo hot in May that I couldn't have walked around a bigger building without drinking another liter of water to compensate for all the sweat that was evaporating off my body.

At one point I sat under the shade of the tree with two police officers for a rest. They spoke some English, as that's the official language of India. India has over one billion people who speak over one hundred languages, so the only language that ties them together is English. The country decided during and after being a British colony that English should be their official language. Without English, an Indian from the Northern state of Uttar Pradesh (where Agra is) could not speak to an Indian from the beaches of Goa in the south. Not all Indians speak English, as it really depends on their level of education and what region they're from. All middle-class and educated Indians speak English, though, which makes it easier to get around as a traveler.

The other famous site in Agra which I saw was the Red Fort. Can you guess what color it is? I think it was more of a palace than a fort, or a palace within a fort. The Mughal emperors built the fort as a place to live while they were in power. This fort had so many defenses that no one ever conquered it in battle. Had they ever gotten inside, the attackers would have seen the most amazing views of the Taj Mahal, like this one.

Our guide told us one story that, while cruel by today's standards, tells us a bit about the curiosity of the Mughal emperors. Several hundred years ago, one emperor wanted to know what "natural language" children were born with. As I mentioned, there were so many languages across his empire, and since the British hadn't arrived in India yet, English was not yet the common language. So this emperor took about a dozen infants  from various communities he ruled, each one with its own unique language.

He then told his servants to raised the children in a separate community, with strict instructions that they could not speak to, or around, these children. (Since he had the power to take children away from their parents, I imagine "strict instructions" meant he would kill any servant who spoke to the children.) After twelve years had passed, he had the children brought to his court to see which language they would speak. His advisers each guessed which languages they thought were innate (or natural) to humans, each one choosing his own native language. Can you guess what these poor kids spoke?

Nothing. Without the stimulation of hearing speech from adults, they never learned to communicate verbally. Moreover, they remained unable to speak the rest of their lives, as they had missed the window of opportunity to learn speech during their brain's development. So, while this experiment was certainly cruel by today's standards, it teaches us two more things about the Mughal emperors. First, they were curious. Second, they were used to being able to do whatever they wanted, regardless of the consequences to their subjects. But they also left behind the beautiful Taj Mahal and Red Fort for us to visit today.

Travel Questions on India:

1. What is the name of the original part of the city around which New Delhi has grown?
2. What animals can be seen walking the streets of cities throughout India?
3. What did Toto's taxi driver do during the entire drive to Agra?
4. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife as a:
   A) closet B) garage C) palace D) tomb
5. What do the artisans around the Taj Mahal sell today, based on the skills their ancestors used to build the Taj Mahal?
6. Was the Red Fort ever successfully attacked?
7. What was the conclusion of the Mughal emperor's experiment about which language was natural to humans?

Global Nomad Questions on India:

1. Both India and the United States were once colonies of Britain and now speak English as a result. Do a cybersearch to list three other former British colonies.
2. India received independence from Britain in 1947. A main figure in India's efforts to become independent was Mahatma Gandhi, who is respected worldwide for his approach of non-violence. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the U.S. modeled our civil rights movement on Gandhi's principles of non-violence. Do a cybersearch on Mahatma Gandhi and write about what impressed you most.
3. The Taj Mahal was recently voted on an internet poll as one of the seven wonders of the world. Do a cybersearch and list the other six and where they are.