Safety First - and a bunch of pictures as well

There are many things that we have been instructed to do to remain safe here in Bangladesh.

Don't ride on a motorcycle on any major road.

Don't ride on a motorcycle without a helmet.

Don't eat roadside food - or be prepared to pay the price!

Don't take the local buses as they often break down and are extremely unsafe (especially if you take the cheaper price and ride on top!)

Don't be out alone after dark in the city or in our village

Do travel in pairs

Don't leave your residence if a hartel is in effect

What is a hartel you might ask?  Well, here it is considered an organized strike and generally they have them for many reasons.  Sometimes to protest low wages or unsafe conditions for workers (garment factories are certainly one group that has hartels) or sometimes it can be about political unrest that causes a hartel to be organized.  The good news is that they usually give the media a heads up about it, the bad news is that it can really cripple the area as they often turn violent.

So this week we have had 3 hartels - two to protest comments made in the media about a political leader (Saturday and Sunday we were not allowed to leave our residence) and now Wednesday so we are back at the hostel now instead of at the host homes.  This protest is potentially going to be about the sentencing of a war criminal from the 1971 war that created Bangladesh as an independent country.  I had heard that last November there were political hartel's for everyday of the month except for 5 days!

So with that little story, I leave you with some of my pictures from this week and last during my early morning walks in the village.

Early morning smoke coming from the kitchen of my host home.