Dhaka - Saderghat & Buriganga River

Ferrymen (sampan walas) ply across the Buriganga River in a timeless scene a far cry from the romance of Venetian goldoliers	The Burigana, like most rivers in Bangladesh, is a branch of the mighty Ganges	Sampans, the gondolas of Dhaka, Bangladesh - in front of the Pink Palace in Old Dhaka	Men digging through the mud on the banks of the Buriganga River, Old Dhaka
Is there a better name of these boats than "sampan"?	Small wooden sampans lined up waiting to ferry passengers across the Buriganga, Old Dkaha	In Dubai, we'd call this the Abra Station	Large Bangladeshi river ferries...the type that make the news all-to-often when they wreck and kill hundreds...
Future shipwrecks along the riverfront of Dhaka	An old houseboat with what look like squatters shacks built on top of it	Young Hindu boy (guessing by the spot) by Sader Ghat	Working the river makes you fit
Bangladeshis hanging out at Sadar Ghat, Dhaka	Even with the soap, I can't believe that filthy river water can clean anything	Bath time at Sadar Ghat, Dhaka	Barge filled with broken bricks pulled up on the riverbank
The cook on one of the big boats preparing a meal (with river water)	...and endless line of sampans ferrying across the Buriganga, Dhaka	The oarsman uses a single long yuloh to row like a Venetian gondolier while facing forward, Dhaka	Sampan setting off from Old Dhaka
A pair of finely dressed women crossing the river	We wanted to find a boat leaving soon to go up or down the river for an hour or so	Dirty boy sleeping right in the middle of the gangplank	Sampans pulled up along the riverbank, Old Dhaka
Sampans pulled up along the riverbank, Old Dhaka	Sampans pulled up along the riverbank, Old Dhaka	There's definitely a different dress code in Muslim Bangladesh than in Muslim Arabia	It's way to hot for that hat...
Market along the river, Old Dhaka	Hundreds of sampans and other little wooden boats plying the Buriganga River in the center of Dhaka	Bangladesh Inland Water Ways (Passenger Carriers) Association	Naked boys along the river, Sader Ghat, Dhaka
A boatload of ferry passengers waiting to depart...but no one knows when	Bathing along the river, Sadar Ghat, Dhaka	The big ferry Terminal at Sadar Ghat, Dhaka	Supposedly these big boats can only operated at certain times of year when the river is high
Big river boats at the Sadar Ghat Ferry Terminal, Dhaka	A fully loaded cargo boat carrying giant bundles of things I've seen lugged all over Dhaka by rickshaw and handcart	A friendly wave to the only tourist in town	Large Bangladeshi river ferry, Sandar Ghat, Dhaka
Pots of something on the quay at Sadar Ghat	Sampan setting across the river off with five passengers while the other wallahs wait patiently	Rustic scene of life along the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka	...but what about when it rains?
Dhaka sampan wallah...a fan of the St. Louis Rams, Bangladesh	We finally found a medium-sized ferry heading downstream and we hoped aboard for a "river cruise"	Some of the cargo on our boat - a giant bale of what looks like banana leaves	The boat-boy
On the river...I can only picture what happens when the visibility drops...which is often in Dhaka	We're bigger so we have the right-of-way...	The ferry we ended up taking is about half the size of that one	Medium sized freighter riding high
A small freighter riding low...very low	The left bank of the Buriganga River downstream from Sadar Ghat	A riverside mosque in Dhaka-Sutrapur with the rotted remains of what were once very nice homes along the river	Link to the same scene in an historic photo from 1889
Life along the river, Dhaka	Along the river downstream from old Dhaka with what I believe is a textile factory	Bangladeshi men bathing along the ghat (the steps leading down to the river) Dhaka	Laundry day along the Buriganga River, Dhaka-Faridabad
Textiles from the factory set out along the riverbank with the colors all nicely sorted	A small freighter fully loaded with gray sand surely praying the river stays smooth	A boat fully laden with produced headed to market in Dhaka	A respectable looking ferry of the Bengal Shipping Company - it's amazing what a coat of paint can do...
Ferry of the Bengal Shipping Company tied up riverside at Dhaka-Faridabad	Riverside Dhaka-Faridabad, just prior to the Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge over the Buriganga	The Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge (1989) over the Buriganga, part of the Dhaka-Mawa Highway	There are also Bangladesh-Burma, Bangladesh-Denmark, and Bangladesh-UK Friendship Bridges... but none for India or Pakistan...
Medium-sized ferry headed to Dhaka	Mate fetching water...no wonder you want your tea "piping hot"	Auxiliary vessel of the Bangladeshi navy at the Shyampur dock just downstream of the Friendship Bridge on the left bank	A small motorized dhow-type vessel, Bangladesh
Large industrial buildings on R810 along the river in Dhaka-Shaympur	Minaret in Dhaka-Shyampur along the Buriganga River (N23 41.146/E090 26.012)	Another overloaded sand freighter coming up river riding as low in the water as the USS Monitor	BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority) Floating Dock, Dhaka-Shaympur
A pile of rubble in front of a pretty minaret, Dhaka-Shaympur (N23 40.859/E090 26.362)	River boat painted with scenes of Transport in Bangladesh (rail, water, road)	Sailor manning the pumps of an overloaded sand freighter on the Buriganga River, Bangladesh	Bangladeshi Coast Guard CGS Tanveer (P614) on the left, a former Chinese vessel of the Shanghai II class
Bangladesh Coast Guard CGS Rangamati P114 near Dhaka-built in Bangladesh	That's about the size of the boat I hopped on	An ugly industrial area downstream from Dhaka with another boat hauling dirt around Bangladesh	M.V. Prince of Kalam-7 and M.V. Prince of Shamol,
M.T. Madinah, a small tanker anchored in the Buriganga River downstream from Dhaka	A pair of black wooden freighters in front of a belching smokestack on the outskirts of Dhaka	River transport, Bangladesh	Riverside factory outside Dhaka
An English-speaking student who chatted with us on board	Leaving our ship at Fatulla after a short 45 minute cruise down the Buriganga River from Sandar Ghat	...not the most scenic cruise I'd been on but interesting...	A salute from the Captain
Naked boys playing on a loaded sand freighter, Fatulla