Brian McMorrow | profile | all galleries >> Asia >> Bangladesh বাংলাদেশ >> Dhaka - Saderghat & Buriganga River | tree view | thumbnails | slideshow |
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 |
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Guest | 12-Nov-2011 17:15 | |