Honestly, I was suffering from a lot of duplicity. I don't know how to swim, I can't have fun. A travel-loving big sister said, very nice place, just a bathroom problem! But I did not understand exactly what he meant. He did not want to leave the office again. But everything was overshadowed by the overflowing joy and excitement of traveling to an unknown new place. In order not to regret the indecision, I had already told the organizing group that my place should be confirmed. When I finally made the booking, the wait began to count. The destination is Tanguar Haor in Sunamganj district of Sylhet division.
So far I have had the opportunity to travel with a total of 5 groups from different tour operators in the country. So I was quite confident, the bag of experience will be filled this time too. August 3, 2018; When I finally managed to get out of the office at 7:30 pm on Thursday, I still couldn't believe that I was really going. The bus was scheduled to leave Fakirapul at 10:30 pm. The total number of members of the group is 72. Of these, I know only 4 people from a previous trip except myself. But everyone was somehow Chennai, because about 10 days before the start of the journey, in order to keep the passengers active, the organizers created a secret group on Facebook about this trip and one by one everyone got to know about themselves in short.
The journey of these 72 people started in two different buses and two different boats. And for the whole time of this trip, there was competition between the passengers of these two vehicles on almost everything, so the trip did not seem boring even for a moment. Many people are late to reach the bus stop due to rain and waterlogging throughout the day. As soon as I reached the bus stop, I met and befriended two fellow passengers and found out that they were friends of my rival vehicle on this ride.
The three of them were walking in the bus stop area for some time but when the time was not passing, I felt the twisting inside my stomach. And I remember that after lunch, I didn't have anything in my stomach until about midnight. The three of them then ate beef and roasted khichuri from an underground restaurant in Fakirapul. One of my beliefs (also called superstition) is that if the journey starts with khichuri at the beginning of the trip, then the trip will undoubtedly be quite fun. Anyway, at around 12:45 we started our journey. The journey continued through the drizzle all night. The bus stopped near a bridge in Sunamganj around 8 am. I got off the bus and started my journey to Tahirpur with Laguna. The condition of the road was very bad, but a part of the haor on one side carried the hardships of the road.
Needless to say, the bathroom problem is very common in this journey and as everyone knows, we, 62 people, took a lot of time to complete this work one by one in Tahirpur Bazar. There are several small and large hotels and restaurants in the market. There is also a bank and a small shopping mall. At the same time, the organizers were busy gathering raw materials for the next meal - rice, pulses, vegetables, chicken, oil, spices, cooking and all the necessary ingredients for breakfast in this Tahirpur market. At the same time, to strengthen the body, a group of tea is made here. And there were fresh fish brought from the haor.
When all the arrangements were made, our two barge type boats started their journey over the water of the haor. Going a little further, we stopped the boat at the edge of a house and had breakfast. It was about 10:30 in the morning and I was hungry, and for breakfast I had eggs, khichuri and mashed potatoes. I don't know about anyone else, but I was happy anyway. But beware, the boat's small bathroom is the only hope until the next destination is Tackerghat.
The boat bathroom is quite small - a house made of some planks, about two and a half feet wide and three or four feet long. Here you have to work by fetching water from the river. And the ‘bottom floor’ part of such a boat, in most cases, is so low that a man of average height has to crawl. The height is the same in the bathroom. So for those who have problems with knee or hip or back pain, this trip is not suitable.
After reaching Takerghat, there is a small kindergarten school near the ghat, at the very end of the market, on the hillside. By requesting this school night guard we get a chance to use the school bathroom. It is worth mentioning that the members of each group arrange to stay in the cottage at Takerghat as per their choice. These cottages are not commercially built hotels or resorts, but houses of locals, one or two of whom they rent for one or two nights. But if the purpose of your trip is to accumulate adventure and experience, then there is no alternative to spending the night on the boat.
As we walked over the haor, the beauty of the surroundings filled our minds. Really natural! As far as the eye can see the stream of clear water. The only obstacle between the sky and the water is the mountains. Sometimes the water was so clear that an aquatic plant about 20 feet deep could be seen very clearly. Occasionally there were small red lilies all over the vast area. In between, each group regularly stops at a special place. This part is basically a highway. But every year during the monsoon season the flood water mixes with the water of the haor and this road gets submerged. The combination of the big trees on the side of the road creates a different environment, which is not found anywhere else. This is not the case even in winter. In this place, everyone goes down into the water like that. If you do not know how to swim in this situation, you must use a life jacket. Even if you don't know how to swim, there is nothing to regret. During this time of school holidays, the little boys arrange for a small dinghy ride with their fathers.
After splashing in the water, we all went to see another regular spot-watch tower. From this high tower a full picture of the whole haor can be seen. Tanguar Haor covers an area of about 10,000 hectares and provides employment to 40,000 people in about 46 villages in the vicinity. This haor plays one of the most important role in the fishing industry of the country. By the time we returned from the Watch Tower, the sun was already moving westward. And our haor tour continues through that faded golden light. An hour after having lunch with fresh fish, we reached Takerghat.
This small village, situated in the foothills of the Indian border, was not well known at first sight, as it was almost evening to reach. Notable among the arrangements of the night were tea party at Takerghat Bazaar, breakfast with salted muri and chanachur, song festival on the boat, dinner with chicken broth and vegetables and finally flying lanterns. Sheets are spread on the upper part of the boat to sleep. Many go to sleep in the lower part. And several went to the local cottage. However, Sholana succeeded in sleeping on the deck of the boat due to the arrival of the thief in the middle of the night and the overnight drizzle. Not just sleeping. Above him was the desperate call of nature, so that it was not possible to respond until morning. Because boats are not allowed on the dock at night. We spent the night full of that adventure on the haor, quite a distance from the ghat. It is better to say, try to follow every instruction of BGB while traveling in this area.
It was not possible to stay still after 5 o'clock in the morning. So I went to that school in the market with a traveling companion. I was in doubt as to whether it would remain open. Was open. After completing the necessary work, for the first time in my eyes, in the morning light, the amazing look of Takerghat was caught. I'm not exaggerating, I fell in love. It's like picking up a story from a story book you read as a child or a small village that doesn't know the name of England - this is exactly what Takerghat looks like when it rains in the morning. Forgetting everything, I was busy swallowing that beauty and taking pictures with my mobile phone. However, not taking the raincoat with him wasted some time. When I finally realized that the rain was not going to stop, I wrapped a large polythene head around my head and went out to take pictures and walk around.
After a short walk, I came across the magnificent Niladri Lake, also known as Bengal Kashmir. However, if you want to swim in this lake, be careful - because as its clear green water draws, the possibility of loss of life and accidents is not less in its mysterious depth. This form of last evening did not catch the eye. But now the time at hand was not special. So I rented a small dinghy for a short time. Due to the delay in making breakfast due to rain, we had an episode of breakfast at Takerghat market ourselves. Back in the boat, in the middle of the rain, we sit under the umbrella and have breakfast with khichuri and eggs.
The rain subsided around eleven in the morning. By then our boat was sailing over the clear green waters of the magical river. Formed from the hills of Meghalaya, India, this magical river sandstone plays an important role in the country's mineral industry. The magnificent view of the river from Barikka Tila, situated at an altitude of about 150 feet, is breathtaking. This area has the largest Shimul garden in the country, although this time we did not go to see that garden. Winter is the ideal time to enjoy that view.
In the hot afternoon sun, we started our return journey after having lunch with duck meat in the water of Jadukata river. During the two days of the boat ride, there was a lively dance and song session on the moving boat. That day was full moon. As we returned to Tahirpur Bazaar, the moonlight enchanted our way back. Arriving at Tahirpur, we all sat down to have tea and breakfast with the newly made friends in a restaurant in the market. Then our return journey to Dhaka began.
Shortly before reaching that bridge in Sunamganj, a wheel of the Laguna designated for our team was punctured and it came to a standstill. The rest of the way is to cross the other way and catch the bus. I sat inside the bus and packed dinner. It started raining again before dinner was over. And after a sleepless night, when I opened my eyes at around 6 in the morning, we had just entered the border of Dhaka. It seemed as if the surroundings had changed overnight. I remembered that the short vacation was over. Now go back to daily life!
The average cost of this trip was less than 4 thousand rupees. It is to be noted that during this trip, both the boats had special arrangements for dumping garbage. We all tried not to throw any garbage in the river water.
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Niladri lake is the best lake in the world . I like to visit this place