Dhaka, a city of wild (1)

10 years have passed since the last blog! While facing tough situation of COVID-19 all around the world, some blogs of my friends inspires me to revive my blog hoping our everyday life get back to normal soon.

Last year, I have traveled on business in Dhaka, Bangladesh for about two months total. Dhaka houses “millions of people” and contains noisy but very vivid stories. Every time I come back from the hustle and bustle of Dhaka, I feel Tokyo is too quiet like dying. Although Bangladesh has serious urban and social problems such as poverty and sanitation, I think the human scenery in Dhaka has “life”. Based on the hypothesis that the current “vivid” urban phenomenon of Dhaka is the landscape of “Wild Mind” of “La Pensee Sauvage” by Claude Lévi-Strauss, I would like to share some interesting experiences in Dhaka. I am worried about the current situation of Bangladesh, but I’m sure such a robust country will overcome it.

On most of the streets in Dhaka, you can find many “rickshaws”, commonly seen around Southeast Asian countries. But the numbers are incredible. You will encounter “rickshaws” no matter where you walk in the city. In English it pronounces as “rickshaw”, but originally derived from Japanese, JINRIKISHA or man-power-vehicle. In Southeast Asia, “rickshaw” normally indicates “auto-rickshaw” or taxi using natural gas as a fuel, but in Dhaka “cycle-rickshaws” of manpowered shows much presence.


“Cycle” rickshaw flooding around the city.     Photo in Sep, 2019

Cycle-rickshaw is cheaper than auto-rickshaw and you can pick up anywhere in the city, so local people very frequently use cycle-rickshaws on their daily moves, such as for work and shopping. Though very primitive transportation method, some drivers (?) carry smartphones or mobile phones and make some money effectively using modern communication technology. Some local users directly call their favorite cycle-rickshaws on their smartphones. When I was about to check out, I couldn’t pay by my credit card because the reader at the hotel didn’t work, so I had to go to ATM to withdraw cash about 10 blocks away. The hotel man called for me was not a cab driver but a cycle-rickshaw man neatly dressed out.


Our rickshaw driver wearing cool printed dress shirt!     Photo in Jul, 2019

Cycle-rickshaws are not limited to two-seaters, but there are various types even including something not of school BUS but of school RICKSHAW. People who own cars are complaining that rickshaws cause persistent traffic congestion, but our cycle-rickshaw is more friendly, easy, and eco-friendly than automobile.


School Rickshaw.     Photo in March, 2019

Although the rickshaw in Dhaka looks enjoyable, please refrain from riding both of auto-type or cycle-type alone.

Hiroyuki Niino

Dhaka, a city of wild (2)

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