Experience in Dhaka, Bangladesh by Salman

What is it like to live in Dhaka? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Dhaka is a very beautiful city with a lot of places to see around specially the parks and the streets of the old Dhaka city. Mughal architecture seen there is truly amazing The people are very friendly but steer clear of the pickpockets in congested places.

Yeas, I would recommend Dhaka as a nice place to stay and visit.

The businesses, which are pretty easy to start because there is hardly any paper works needed. You can envision this country's picture as the America's past when people made a lot of hard cash and became rich just like the beginning of the Wall Street and Dhaka is the centre of all these activities followed by Chittagong.

What is the student lifestyle like in Dhaka?

Students have a lot of fun here. There's always something to do or somewhere to go for hanging out after the classes are over.

How much does it cost to live in Dhaka?

Housing price can be maximum 300 euro a month for a whole apartment of total 3 bed rooms including a living and a dining room.
Food prices a are cheap as compared to living in Europe. A single person's monthly expense can be 80 euros at maximum including eat-outs in weekends.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Dhaka? Is there any advice you can give?

No. In fact, it is very easy to find an accommodation in Dhaka. But you have to come and search for it in person as most of the time the landlords hang an advertisement on the gate of the building.

Then you can easily check out the house asking for permission from the building's security guard.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Our morning starts with breakfast which consist of Porata/Bread with combination of vegetables/mutton curry and poached egg.

Rice with piquant gravy curries and fried fish are eaten at lunch and dinner. But relief here is that Bangladeshis don't use too much spice like that of the Indians.

The foods consist of moderate spices(and not chili hot) but the taste of the foods here is divine.

I love what we eat. My two favourites are Biryani with Lamb chop and Rice with Chili Chicken and Butter paneer.

What places would you recommend visiting in Dhaka?

There's a lot of places to visit actually. I would recommend visiting the Red Fort, the New Market(don't take the name, it's one of the oldest market here!!), Ahsan Manjil, the Armenian Church etc.

The Parliament building of Bangladesh which is one of the best architectures in the world designed by Lui Kahn is half submerged and the hall falls into a magnificent lake surrounding it(oh no our politicians don't go fishing there every time, but trust me they do at times)

Is it good to eat out in Dhaka? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

A lot of first class new restaurants are coming up. Already we have like millions of fine eat out destinations in Dhaka. Almost all restaurants are cheap and comparatively hassle-free and the foods are excellent ranging from Oriental to Mexican cuisines.

Is the nightlife good in Dhaka? Where is good to go?

At night it's best to see around the Hatirjheel lake and walk over the bridge. The place is very beautiful and is recently completed as a part of the visitor attraction project.

What advice would you give future students heading to Dhaka?

Universities and colleges here are cheap for nationals and internationals as government invests heavily on these. A lot of traffic jam on the main roads but it doesn't matter if you know the alternative routes. So, it's something to remember before going to college in Dhaka "you start early to reach in time."