Dhaka International Trade Fair 2014

Dhaka International Trade Fair 2014 has started on January 11, a little delayed because of general election and political instability.
However, this big annual event could start!

I heard it was the big fair, and it was.

I bought ticket and went through the gate.

 

It was larger place than I expected.
There are 471 stalls and pavilions(28 is foreign stalls from 12 countries).
Electronic company, funiture, interior goods, cloth and shoes, carpet, food (ica cream, daily products, snacks, noodle....)...there were a lots of pavilions.
As for foreign country, I found Thailand, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India and so on. 

For example, there is a instant noodle company I often see...

Snack company I often see.....

The biggest NGO in the world, "Brac" has one.
They sell not only cloth and craft items, but also milk and frozen food products.

Of course, there is a lot of stalls for cloth.
It was easier for me to do shopping because I didn't need to ask staff to open and show clothes every time I am interested.
(At bazaar, clothes are piled and customer can't see by themselves)
In addition, price was written!
So much easier.

I got fabrics for 2 clothes.
One costs 350tk and one 700tk. Good price.

For men....suit?

I understand they sell fabrics, not pants........but still the manikin is too weird.
Isn't he?

I don't know why, but there is a post office.
Staffs sit and are bored with no customer.
However, you can get Bangladeshi stamps here.

 

There are some attractions for kids.

This train runs faster than we expected.
I am not sure if going around and around and around the small place can be much fun, but it seemed so.
"Dremon" , Japanese anime character is popular in Bangladesh.
The face seems something different.....but doesn't matter.
Kids seemed enjoying.

There was even 3D theater.

I entered with my friends.
The movie was something like the one I saw in Disney Land.
The most interesting was......Bangladeshi audience.
Kids tried to catch images, people cheered or screamed.
30tk is worth paying for this 15 minutes short theater 30tk, I think.

However, many of pavilion were still under construction.

I wonder.......
They must know when it starts.
Why didn't they prepare in advance to start in time?

Unfortunately, I know the answer.
Because this is Bangladesh.
So, I recommend visiting not right after fair starts, but a bit later.

We visited around noon, but more and more people were coming when we were leaving.
If you want to enjoy with less people, better to go in the morning.
 

Place:Bangabandhu International Conference Centre

Term:Jan.11, 2014- Feb.11, 2014
Time:10:00 a.m-10:00 p.m
Entrance fee：30tk(20tk for children)
Webpage：http://www.ditf-epb.gov.bd/

Local Bazaar

Where do I buy food?
There are some supermarkets in Dhaka.
However, I don't go there unless I need some imported food or minced meat.

I use local bazaar near my house.
So, vegetable is from vegetable shop.

 

Fruit from fruit shop.

Banana from Banana shop.

Chicken from chicken shop.

Fish from fish shop.

Shrimp from shrimp shop!

Different kinds of food come from different shops, but each is not necessarily fallen into their category.

For example, I bought cilantro leaf.

 

Then, carefully take out something different.....

 

I don't know what to do with unknown leaves which was tied with cilantro leaf.
Are they possible to eat?
Maybe I won't die.....but......

One day, I bought small shrimp.

 

Then, see this variety!!

I understand other small fishes can be taken together.
But there are so many water snails.
I can cook small fishes with shrimp, but not water snail!

However, shrimp was cooked with all the fishes except water snail.
They are mixed, so I can't tell who ate the strange fish on the left in above picture....but no one hasn't died yet.
Please be careful when you are invited to my home :)
Do you visit Bangladesh local market?
Don't look for organized orderly market, but look for something interesting.
Then, it will be one of the most exciting markets in the world.

Public Holidays in Bangladesh

January 5 was public holiday for general election.
Election is scheduled on Sunday in Japan, but holiday is set for election in Bangladesh.
 
Here is holidays for 2014.
Some irregulars can happen, so please check again if you plan the trip. 
In addition, be careful that some of holidays depend on phases of the moon.
 

<Holidays in 2014>

Jan.14  Eid Milad un-Nabi
Celebration for The Birth Day of Prophet Muhammad.

Feb.21  Shahid Dibash(Language Martyrs' Day)
The day is for the remembrance of the martyrs' of Language Movement of 1952.
The Shahid Minar in Dhaka is the symbol of the sacrifice for the mother tongue.

Mar.17 Bangabandhu Birthday
The birthday of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman(Bangabandhu) who is founder of the country and the first president.

Mar.26 Independence Day
On this day in 1971 was the beginning of a 9 month long war for liberation that resulted into the independence of Bangladesh.

Apr.14 Bangla New Year's Day
The day also called Poyela Boishakh, is the first day of the Bengali calendar. People celebrates the day wearing red and white color of traditional dresses.

May.1 May Day
This day celebrated to establish the rights of workers.Worker organisations are hosting various programmes.

May.13 Buddha Purnima*
It is a celebration that commemorates the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death, and his passing into nirvana.

Jun.14  Shab-e-barat*
It is the special night of seeking forgiveness and repenting to Allah.
Usually 15 days after of the day Ramadan starts.

Jul.25  Jumatul Wida*
The last Friday of Ramadan. Muslims gather at the mosque and pray.

Jul.26  Shab-e-Qadar*
27th days of Ramadan. The night is highly virtuous since the Holy Quran was transferred on the holy heart of the Holy Prophet in this night.

Jul.28-30  Eid Ul Fitr (Rojar Eid)*
The day marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. People wear the new dresses and greet "Eid Mubulak".

Aug.15  National Mourning Day
It is the day for rememberance that Bangabandhu and most of his family members at his house were assassinated.

Aug.17  Krishna Janmashtami
It is an annual commemoration of the birth of the Hindu deity Krishna.

Oct.4 Durga Puja
It is an annual festival that celebrates worship of Hindu goddess Durga. Thousands of Puja Mandaps are set up across the country. Festival at Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka is one of the biggest.

Oct.5-7  Eid Ul Azha (Korbani Eid)*
"Feast of Sacrifice" is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims as a commemoration of the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah. Following the story, people buy cow(or goat) to sacrifice n the day and share the meat with themselves, their relatives, and the poors.

Nov.4  Muharram(Ashura)*
Also called 'sacred month' is the first month of the Islamic or Hijri calendar. The tenth day of Muharram is called Ashura. Imam Husain, the grandson of the Holy Prophet was killed on this day at the hands of the troops of Yazid.

Dec.16  Victory Day(Bijoy Dibosh)
In the year 1971, the 9 month-long Bangladesh liberation war had ended.  The national flag is hosted in all important offices, buildings, institutions and shops.

Dec.25  Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christmas ceremony can be seen in northern area like Mymensingh where Garo tribe lives. 

*The day can be changed due to phases of the moon.

Happy New Year, in Bangladesh

Happy New Year!
I spent the first New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Bangladesh.
 
December 31 nor January 1st isn't the special day in Bangladesh though young generation does count down these days, and some hotels have New Year's event.
I spent the 2 days with my sister who brought Soba for the Eve from Japan.
 
In Japan, December 31 is the day for a big cleaning.
We clean all the house for New Year.
Then, we have soba(Japanese noodle) for hoping long life(noodle is long).
 
December 31, 2013
I got up 4 p.m, so we had busy evening.
(I wasn't lazy.....was sick.)
We went to market to get shrimp for "Tempra" to top on soba.

See these?
It was very good shrimps though it looks a bit scary.(300tk for 6 pieces)
 
We started cleaning from 8 p.m!
Prepared "Osechi"(New Year's meal) for tomorrow,
prepared Soba for the night.
 
We could finally sit down around 10:30 p.m with Soba & Tempura!!

Soba is available at super market.
So, Japanese style New Year's Eve is available in Bangladesh.
We enjoyed Soba, waited for 0:00.
 
"A Happy New Year!!"
 
January 1, 2014
There was no fancy New Year's meal, but we cooked Bangladeshi national fish, "Irish" instead of porgy.
The fish had to try hard to fit in the pan. 

But it turned out good.
We had also prepared
・Namasu (red and white color for celebration. Carrot and raddish are available every market this time)
・Kinton(made from sweet potato and apple)
・Nimono

We planned to cook a little more, but didn't because our stomach wasn't in good condition.
Of course, we didn't miss mandarin orange which is necessary for winter in Japan. 
My New Year's Eve and Day turned out to be like New Year's Eve and the Day.

 

I will spend whole 2014 in Bangladesh.
Hoping I can deliver interesting stories for you in and out of the country!

Weight Scale

There are many interesting things on the street of Bangladesh.
One of them is "Weight Scale".

Weight scale on the street......

on the crossover bridge....

And, on the street.......

 So I tried.

I didn't intent to cut my face off from the picture.
I asked a Bengali boy to take a picture of me.
At first, he took picture of only me.
I told him to take one more "with scale".
Somehow.....my head was out of picture.
OK, doesn't matter.

I told him scale on the street was not found in Japan.
"Oh, you don't have digital scale in your country?"
"No, we have digital, but not ON THE STREET."

People gathered as usual to see foreigner.
Or, to see foreigner on the weight scale on the street.

People stopped as they see people gathered.
Me on the scale was surrounded by Bengali guys.
"How much weight?"
"What? How much?"
People even started sharing my weight.

It costs only 2tk.
For 2tk, you can get interesting experience.
No way to miss it.

Street Food (2)

Street food, the second part.

Start with my favorite winter snack.
This is the scenery of winter......stone oven for "Bhapa Peetha".
Working outside is basically men's job, but comparatively many women seem working for Bhapa peetha.

This is sweet rice cake with coconut.
It is not super sweet! Slightly sweet, very simple taste.
It's only 5tk.

Can you see white round stuff a guy is making?
That is another kind of Peetha.
It doesn't have any taste, so you add mustard or spicy paste.



 

This is "Churi".
Beans, potato and boiled egg will be mixed together, sauce added.
What kinds of taste?
You would no longer ask, curry taste.

My memory isn't clear......but maybe 20tk.

Egg Cake isn't very popular, but my favorite.
You will find whole egg in the cake.
It is 20tk for a piece.

As it looks like, it is very simple taste of egg, flower, and sugar.
When you are tired of curry taste, this egg cake calls you.

 

If you want to eat only egg....
Boiled egg is available (though there wasn't owner at the time)

Any other things?
There must be more, but they are enough to keep your stomach full for a while.

Street food (1)

Trying street food is one of the main attractions in Bangladesh.
Especially from evening, many stands open.
It's time for "nasta", evening snacks!

One the way to home from office, I pass many kinds of stands along the main road.
When I don't feel like to cook, one of them becomes my dinner.


Start with typical street food, "Fuchka".

Inside something like chips, you will find potato & bean paste with spices.
Sour sauce will be added as you like.

This one plate is 10tk.
One of my friends eats Fuchka 6 days a week.
I can't, but she can tell where and which stand serves the best Fuchka.
 
"Chotopoti" is my favorite.

Ingredient is similar with Fuchka, but more gorgeous :)
Bean soup is poured to the plate, potato paste and some spices are added.
Mixed well, and Fuchka(chips part) & sliced boiled egg are added. 

One plate costs 20tk.
You can't leave Bangladesh without trying this.

"Halim" is also found in the evening. 
It's soup curry.

Beef is often used for Halim.
However, on the street innards is used instead of meat.
If you like innards, that will be very tasty.....but unfortunately, I don't.

I like Halim at restaurant.
You will get beef meat and some toppings though it costs more.
One bowl of Halim is 20tk on the street, around 40tk at restaurant.

Can you see what he is selling?
Noodle called "chow mein".

Fried noodle as you see.

It was good, but I can only say "it was noodle"......
I wonder noodle can be still called as "snack" even though people take it before dinner...
Belly of Bengali people tells the answer.
The plate is half size, 20tk.

There are still more kinds, but I stop writing here.
I will introduce the left next time........so now, I'm going out to find Fuchka.
I haven't had it for a while.