Dhaka

Dhaka is a capital you cannot "see" at a gallop: the city swallows you whole into a current of rickshaws, horns and human noise. There are almost no foreigners here, which means you will be looked at with genuine curiosity rather than as a walking wallet — a rare feeling in South Asia.

Is it worth coming, and what to expect

Dhaka is not about pretty postcards but about immersion. People come for a living, unretouched metropolis, for the Sundarbans within reach, and for the sense of a place mass tourism has not yet found. The essential thing is to accept the chaos in advance: traffic eats hours, there are barely any pavements, and the air is dusty. If that irritates you, two days will be plenty. If it excites you, you will fall for the place.

In two days you can realistically cover Old Dhaka (Lalbagh Fort, Ahsan Manzil, the Star Mosque, Sadarghat) in one and the modern central districts in the other. For the Sundarbans, set aside two or three days of their own; there is no sense in rushing it.

What is actually worth seeing

• Old Dhaka — the heart of it all. Do not try to work through a list: simply walk the narrow streets where metal is beaten, spices are sold and the famous muslin is traded. This is where the city is most itself.
• Lalbagh Fort — compact, an hour will do. Its value is not scale but the atmosphere of a Mughal fortress left unfinished, and the garden makes a good breather from the street.
• Ahsan Manzil (the Pink Palace) — worth going inside for the museum and the view of the river from the terrace.
• Sadarghat — a must-see even if you are not sailing anywhere. Come in the evening when the port boils: hundreds of ferries, porters, crowds. The spectacle beats any museum. For a token sum a boatman will take you out on the Buriganga.
• The Star Mosque — small, but the blue mosaic is worth it, and it sits close to the other points of the old city.
• Shaheed Minar — makes sense once you know the context: the monument to those killed for the right to speak Bengali in 1952. It is a national shrine rather than simply a monument.

Bara Katra and Chhota Katra are badly decayed — go in only if you are already nearby and like ruins.

Getting there and getting around

Hazrat Shahjalal Airport (DAC) is in the north of the city. Because of traffic the drive to the centre can take anything from an hour upwards — leave a buffer, especially for the flight home. Use Uber or the local equivalent Pathao through the app: that avoids the haggling and the foreigner's price.

Within the city:

• The rickshaw — transport and attraction at once. Ideal for short hops in the old city where a car cannot pass. Agree the fare before getting in.
• CNG (the gas-powered three-wheeler) — faster than a rickshaw over middling distances; ask for the meter or agree the price beforehand.
• Pathao and Uber — the most predictable option for money and nerves; there are motorcycle taxis too, which genuinely help in traffic.
• The metro — the new line is running and pleasantly clean; where it follows your route it is the fastest way to skip the jam.

The main trick: plan your day by geography, not by wishes. One crossing of the city at rush hour will kill half of it.

Food

Bengali cooking is underrated and very good. Do try biryani (kacchi, with mutton), hilsa fish, and for dessert mishti doi (thick sweet yoghurt in a clay pot) and roshogolla. Eat at local places, known as "hotels" — cheap, filling and authentic: a full lunch comes to a few dollars. Tea in a glass costs almost nothing; take one on every corner.

Prices feel very low even by Asian standards. Only the Western restaurants and hotels of Gulshan get expensive.

Where to stay

• Gulshan and Banani — the diplomatic and business north. Clean, safe, with good hotels and restaurants, but expensive and far from the old city.
• Old Dhaka — maximum character and close to the sights, but noisy and without comfort; an option for full immersion.
• For two days, the sensible compromise is somewhere between the centre and the old city, so you are not sitting in traffic twice a day.

Safety and practicalities

Dhaka is safer than the chaos suggests: violent crime against visitors is rare. The real risks are traffic (cross the road with great care, vehicles do not give way), pickpockets in crowds and small-scale overcharging. Friday is the day off and much runs differently. Dress modestly, especially near mosques. Drink only bottled water, and approach street food cautiously on the first day.

Common mistakes

• Underestimating the traffic and building an impossible plan for the day.
• Going to the Sundarbans "for a day" — you will not manage it and will only wear yourself out.
• Haggling aggressively over pennies — people here are genuinely friendly, and the relationship matters more than a couple of taka.
• Staying only in sterile Gulshan and never seeing the real Old Dhaka — which is what you came for.