An off-beaten photography journey through Old Dhaka, Barisal floating markets, otter fishing, hill-tract tribes and the river port of Sadarghat.
Meet your guide at the airport and transfer to the hotel to relax. In the afternoon explore the busy lanes of Old Dhaka, once a city of 52 markets and 53 lanes, walking into the colorful Chawk Bazar. Take a rickshaw ride and join an organized rickshaw-painting session, visiting a rickshaw garage to meet the pullers and hear their stories.
Drive towards the land of rivers, Barisal, crossing the Padma. Take a photo walk along an everyday train-track market, board a four-storey ferry boat full of trucks and buses, and stop at roadside cultivation or harvesting scenes. On the way visit a village still practising the hundred-year-old technique of fishing with wild otters before overnight in Barisal.
Start early at the Banaripara boat station, where your engine boat takes the narrow canals of the Swarupkati region to capture everyday water-borne life. Visit the 200-year-old floating markets trading vegetables, rice and fruit, see a traditional manual brick factory with over 100 workers, and explore the innovative floating gardens. Return to the river port at dusk as the boats depart between 7:00 and 8:30 pm.
Set out before sunrise to photograph the pink water lily village, best until 8:00 am and only flowering from September to mid-November. Drive towards Chittagong crossing several ferries, photographing gypsy fisherman families who live and fish on boats for generations, and enjoy the beautiful river and floodplain landscapes. Overnight in Feni.
Drive to Rangamati via Chittagong. Take a boat ride to view the massive Shitakunda ship breaking yard, where old ships from around the world are dismantled by hand. Stop at roadside local markets and complete the military checkpoint permission for the hill tracts. In the afternoon stroll to a Chakma village to enjoy the sunset, with overnight in Rangamati.
Visit the Banarupa weekly market, where tribal people travel 4-6 hours by boat with their crops, making it the biggest market in Rangamati. Take a day-long boat trip across the manmade Kaptai Lake to remote shores, stopping at fishing spots, and cruise to a Chakma island village for a photo session of villagers and their handloom weaving. On the way back stop at a Tipra village and enjoy the sunset.
Drive to Bandarban along a panoramic hill road with two checkpoints, stopping at lakeside viewpoints with tribal huts, temples and villages. Cross a large Tuesday market where both states' tribes and Bengalis come to shop. After checking in, drive to the Sangu river for a brief afternoon boat ride as villagers come to bathe and do household work.
Spend time in Bandarban visiting a Bawm tribal village, famous for making blankets and handkerchiefs. On the way to Chittagong, stop at the fish harbor where boats anchor, walk to meet fishermen, see traditional boats and net work, and take an afternoon boat ride in the harbor for photographs. Overnight in Chittagong.
Take an early 5-6 hour train ride from Chittagong to Dhaka, passing cities, villages, riversides and green fields, with window seats for capturing moving subjects and fellow passengers. The busy station itself is a photogenic place. In the afternoon explore Karail slum near an affluent area, meeting locals and seeing their resourceful efforts to improve their lives. Overnight in Dhaka.
Visit the early-morning flower market that distributes flowers across the capital, then Karwan Bazar with its endless photography options of colorful vegetables, crowds, slaughter and a train-track-side market. See the New Market block printing with hundreds of workers using wooden stamps, then finish at Sadarghat river port as the big boats depart, with the ship building and repairing yard on the far bank.
After breakfast and some free time, transfer to the airport for your international flight onward to end the tour.
