Overview

Once the former capital of Mughal Bengal and the centre of the historic, flourishing, South Asian Muslin trade - Dhaka (the name is said to originate from the goddess Dhakeshwari) today, with a population of c14 million in 2014, is the capital of Bangladesh, is classified as a 'megacity', and one of the most densely populated cities in the world! It's a 'mishmash' of vibrant colour, massive noise, many issues such as pollution, and filled to the brim with extremely busy, enterprising characters...as well as rickshaws giving rise to its label as the 'rickshaw capital of the world'. Dhaka has survived many empires and rulers, near extinction during the British Raj, and revival following independence; Dhaka is a city with deep rooted history. The nation's capital is anything but dull and it would be a 'crime' not to see and experience it for yourself!

Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban (Bangladesh Parliament)

Given that my time in Bangladesh was relatively short, I only had enough time for two days in the capital: one day to 'acclimatise' to my Bangladeshi surroundings (always worth factoring in); and one day to explore. So I wanted to be as productive as possible with the little time I had. I had originally planned a full day of exploring around Puran Dhaka (old Dhaka) for my day of exploring the capital. However, unfortunately there was a demonstration planned on that day and it was strongly advisable to avoid Puran Dhaka in its entirety. This slight annoyance actually worked out well for me and gave me a chance (and the required push) to visit the Parliament building which I had never seen on my previous visits.

The tour

I took a CNG from my hotel (with Google Maps reassuring me of my driver's chosen route) which dropped me straight outside the the gates of Parliament. It's a bit of a walk to the entrance of the building, but it was a pleasant walk nonetheless. I arrived at the entrance, not sure of what I wanted to see or where to start. Luckily there were sign boards in English (my written Bengali is infantile to say the least) and I decided to go for the 2 hour tour. I handed over the stated amount of Thakas and met with my tour guide, Irfan. It's worth noting that cameras and mobile phones are prohibited and stored away for later pick up, after the tour.

According to Irfan, there was parliamentary business underway when I arrived and he reassured me in English that "It will only take two minutes". I know that in reality, this probably meant one hour. But I was in no rush and looked forward to my tour. Irfan directed me to his office where his two assistants sat and he kindly offered me a seat. Irfan's colleagues were quite interested in comparing UK working life to theirs and they were quite taken aback when I explained that a large proportion of office workers would eat a sandwich and a packet of crisps, for lunch, at their desks whilst finishing off a report to meet an 'important' deadline and that this was a regular occurrence in many industries and professions. Irfan's colleague exclaimed: "working life in the UK sounds exhausting".

An hour later, the tour commenced. During the tour, Irfan explained that I was very lucky as I visited during the quiet period and that we could take more than the allocated 2 hours if I wished. I was a bit skeptical that it would take more than 2 hours to explore the entire building, but - little did I know how much there was to see. Our stops included:

• Highlights and background of the building's architectural accomplishments - an impressive feat of architecture and engineering.

• The Parliament Chamber - the hall from which parliamentary debates are conducted.

• The Library - a wealth of books on Bangladesh's history, constitution, and laws.

• Lunch at the Parliament Canteen.

The Building's architecture

The parliamentary building was designed by the American architect Louis I. Kahn and is an impressive feat of architecture and engineering. Its height and sense of space is inspiring and a welcome 'oasis' from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets of Dhaka. The 'intelligent' design of the building achieves what appears to be incredible airflow keeping the busy working folk cool inside whilst the outside air temperature hits well above 30 degrees celsius. But what's properly impressive about this building is how it was developed amidst Bangladesh's liberation war. The Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban is considered Louis' magnum opus and there's even a documentary about it:

The Parliament Chamber

The inspiring sense of height continues into the Parliament Chamber as you look up at the distant roof of the chamber which seems to reach high into the sky; and this is where Bangladesh's colours become integrated into the design of the room with the green of the Bangladeshi flag used as the colour theme for the seating arrangements. Irfan explained that the acoustics are excellent in the chamber, although I did notice a significant number of microphones, but I didn’t want to mention it at the time. In any case, It was quite incredible to be in the room where legislatures debate and put into action their policies, for better or for worse; you could feel the power this room has over a nation and its peoples.

The Library

If I had it my way, I could have probably stayed in the library for a good few hours. There were so many books to reference and so much knowledge of history to attempt to soak up. A book that caught my eye was a book called: A History of Bangladesh by Willem Van Schendel (which I later purchased for my own collection) and traces the history of the land that now forms the frontiers of Bangladesh all the way back to 1500 BCE, and inevitably built Bangladesh's contemporary cultural identity.

Parliament Canteen

Nothing much to report here, but was interesting to eat traditional rice and fish curry with dahl here amongst Bangladeshi MPs and their advisers and staff.

I would definitely recommend a trip to Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban!

Dhakeshwari Mandir

After the revelation that was the Bangladesh Parliament building, I decided to grab a, what turned out to be an extremely bumpy and hair raising, Rickshaw ride to the nearby Dhakeshwari Mandir ('the Mandir'), a Bengali Hindu temple, which was approx. 4 miles away. The actual age of the Mandir (temple) complex is unknown - but many claim that the Mandir has served the Bengali Hindu community for over 300 years. The building has undergone many renovations, especially after the atrocities of the Liberation war - and since the destruction of the Ramna Kali Mandir during Operation Searchlight - the Mandir has become an extremely important place of worship for Bengali Hindus; the Mandir also holds national status.

The complex is nice and pleasant, away from the hustle and bustle of the busy Dhaka streets - and away from festival season, namely Durga Puja, the Mandir can be a good place to seek quiet reflection.

The complex consists of the main Dhakeshwari temple, five Shiva temples, and a permanent structure which forms the Durga Puja pandal during the Durga Puja festival.

If you’re looking for a spot of history, culture, and peaceful reflection (outside festival season) - Dhakeshwari Mandir is definitely a great spot and worth a visit.

Next stop: Chittagong.