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I'm actually in Yangon (Myanmar) now having flown from Dhaka today. Bangladesh didn't work out as planned for a couple of reasons. Firstly the trip I tried to organise with a Bangladeshi tour company fell through because they couldn't get enough people possibly because of reason two which is the security situation in the country. There have been a couple of incidents which some reports have linked with IS. I knew that before I came but decided to come anyway as I generally think there's always a certain amount of risk wherever you are. Let's face it London's not the safest place in the world.
So I came anyway and went to Sylhet to see what that's like as so many Bangladeshis in London come from there. To be honest it's not the most interesting place but I did have some very good food there. So after a couple of nights there I went to Dhaka to see what I could do there. Unfortunately the evening I arrived there was a bomb blast in Old Dhaka aimed at a Shia celebration which killed one person. Again this has been attributed to IS. So not a great situation. I was warned against going to Old Dhaka and whilst I think it's highly unlikely anything untoward would have happened it didn't seem worth the risk.
So I spent my time in Dhaka in a good hotel in a safe neighbourhood reading, swimming, eating and drinking (not alcohol!). Not my normal holiday but ok for a few days and there's something very enjoyable about lazing in a rooftop pool with kites circling overhead (birds not kids' toys). I did get to watch a lot of football and cricket as well. There's more premier league on TV in Bangladesh than in England.
So that's why there was no blog for a while, I didn't want to post this until I was out of the country so people weren't worrying unduly. Hopefully now I'm in Myanmar and the guys get here on Saturday the rest of the trip will be just fine.
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Pauline Ridges Glad to know you didn't come to harm - and glad you waited to tell us! Hope the guys have arrived safely - have a good trip