Welcome to Bangladesh Travel Guide by TripBD.com

Top 5 Chittagong Hotels to Stay
October 27th, 2010

Chittagong is the 2nd largest city of Bangladesh and it’s the business capital of Bangladesh too. It lies near the hill tracts and has a magnificent picturesque natural environment featuring hills, Foy’s lake and Potenga sea beach. As a result it’s a tourist heaven and so the number of tourists in this region is the greatest than any other region in Bangladesh. To accommodate tourists Chittagong has some of the best hotels of the country. Here are the list of Top 5 Chittagong hotels:-

Asian SR Hotel, Chittagong

Asian SR Hotel

Asian SR Hotel is a new Luxury Hotel in Chittagong city of Bangladesh with 65 exclusive, affordable and prestigious rooms. The Hotel is conveniently located on the heart of Chittagong City center. Only 100 meters from Chittagong Main railway station and main Bus Station and within easy reach of top shopping centers, entertainment and the attractive places of Chittagong city. Asian SR Hotel offers services and facilities to ensure that your stay is pleasant and that you experience the utmost in comforts at all times.

The Peninsula Chittagong, Chittagong

The Peninsula Chittagong

Situated in the prestigious GEC circle of the Port City, The Peninsula Chittagong provides superior services combining western sophistication and Chittgonian hospitality in a scenic and convenient location. Discover this unique retreat for business or pleasure just minutes from the commercial center surrounded by famous retail shops, restaurants and corporate offices.

Hotel Agrabad

Hotel-Agrabad

Hotel Agrabad is a spectaculary designed and added with traditional hospitality of courteous,attractive and personalised service and is conveniently located in the heart of commercial Area of picturesque city of Chittagong at a distance of 17 (Seventeen) kilometer from International Airport and 5 (Five) kilometer railway station.It offers magnificant facilities and distinctive amenities, such as, centrally air-conditioned rooms including 6 royal suites, restaurant, bar, swiming pool, conference hall, billiard and game room, shoeshine service, laundry and valet service, hair dressing saloon, illustrious indoor shopping complex with a good variety of rare collections, secretarial facilities, doctor on call, art gallery, business centre, travels agencies, airline offices, courtesy airport limosine and car rental service, roof garden,banquet facility, safe deposite lockers, distinctive lobby lounge, king size beds, individually controlled air-conditioner,wake up call system, concierge service and 24 hours room service. .The hotel has easy accessibility to major metropolitan areas along with the nearby golf course.
Hotel Tower Inn Ltd Chittagong

Hotel Tower Inn

Tower Inn Chittagong strategy is to establish a global hotel brand, composed of a critical mass of full-service, luxury hotels and resorts located in key primary and secondary cities in Bangladesh and internationally. The primary customer focus is on upscale leisure and corporate business travelers. Tower Inn Chittagong sets a spectacular standard of hospitality, service and value. More than just a first-class meeting facility, this 12-story hotel offers a highly-respected professional staff and outstanding accommodations. The Tower Inn Ltd Chittagong is an ideal headquarters hotel that caters to virtually every meeting need of groups from 10 to 300.00.

Hotel Saint Martin Ltd

Hotel Saint Martin Ltd

Saint Martin limited is the name of a luxurious category Hotel which is located at the heart of Agrabad Commercial Area in Chittagong by the side of Sheikh Mujib Road. It is 30 (Thirty) minutes & 10 (Ten) minutes driving distance from Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport and Railway Station respectively. It is just within the walking distance to CGO Building, Chittagong Port, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce, Modern Shopping Center, Important Banks, Chittagong Stock Exchange and Agrabad Shishu Park.

These hotels are not only best hotels of Chittagong, they are also among the best hotels of Bangladesh. So your stay in these hotels will be as comfortable and pleasant as your home.

Historical Boro Katra is in Danger of Extinction
January 29th, 2010

The cultural history of Bangladesh is very rich and the cultural lives of the local people always been very colorful. This can be seen in the many heritage sites across the country. But when I hear that these heritage sites which are the symbol of our rich culture are being demolished, my heart cries and my head start boiling in anger. Isn’t there anything we can do to save these magnificent heritage sites?

There are nearly thousands of historical sites in various part of the country; Dhaka alone has more than hundred heritage sites. As a capital city Dhaka should have the capability to look after its precious sites which bear the old architectural tradition and important historical events. But in reality that isn’t the case. It was proved once again by the news of the demolishment of Bara Katra a historically important place, nearly 400 years old.

Bara Katra was built by Shah Shuja, the then subedar (governor) of Bengal and son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1644. The word Katra may have originated from Arabic word Katara which means colonnaded building.  In ancient architectural term Katra is a form of dormitory building around an oblong courtyard and used as a home for some of the rulers, members of the royal court and the nobility.

Bara Katra is placed on the south of Chawkbazaar near river Buriganga and is the most stunning construction built by Mughal’s in Dhaka. But due to negligence of the authorities to keep it safe, Bara Katra is falling apart. Only the southern gate and two of the turrets of the once a magnificent palatial building remains. But now the remains are in danger of complete destruction as a nearby madrasha named Jamia Hossainiya Ashraful Ulum Madrasa start demolishing Bara Katra to build urinals and washrooms which is illegal to say the least.

After  a general diary filed by the Urban Study Group with Chawkbazar Police Station, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) inspector stopped the demolition of the building. If the authorities did their duty earlier than it wouldn’t had happen in the first place. Not only is the Bara Katra, many other national heritages throughout Dhaka as well as all over Bangladesh are in danger of extinction due to lack of care by the authority. So government should look hard into this matter and have to take steps to prevent destruction of national heritages or our treasure of glorious past will be lost forever.

Boro Katra by Md.Kabirul IslamLeisure for madrasa kids by fahim_123752প্রাচীন by d_hossainMangalaloy : Dhaka's Heritage [ Farashgong , Old Dhaka, Bangladesh ] by Saud A FaisalMangalaloy : Dhaka's Heritage [ Farashgong , Old Dhaka, Bangladesh ] by Saud A FaisalMangalaloy : Dhaka's Heritage [ Farashgong , Old Dhaka, Bangladesh ] by Saud A Faisal

Nouka Baich(Boat Race) bearing the legacy of Bangladeshi rural culture
January 23rd, 2010

Rivers have covered Bangladesh like spider webs which are why Bangladesh is often known as the land of rivers. Also most of the areas of Bangladesh are rural areas. As rivers or some channels of rivers can be found in every rural area, the most important and traditional source of entertainment is boat race or locally known as Nouka Baich. There isn’t any restriction about what type of boat can participate in this kind of race except that boats with engine aren’t allowed.

The history of Nouka Baich is very rich and very unique in nature comparing with the other form of boat race anywhere in the world. There isn’t any rules about how long the boat can be or how many people will it carry. But the most unique feature about Nouka Baich is in every boat there is a leader who doesn’t row but he acts as an energizer for the whole team by singing songs and rhymes. Normally this race is held in big river channels and neighboring villages participate for the pride of their villages.

For the rapid urbanization and intrusion of foreign culture are making this glorious tradition disappear. Now a days this kind of race is hard to find, that is why some cultural and sports groups are trying to revive Nouka Baich. For the past few years in Khulna and Sylhet city Nouka Baich is held regularly in Rupsha and Surma rivers respectively. This year is no exception as Nouka Baich was held in 2nd October. As the day was Friday, this year sees the most turn out of the people in last two years. People came from distant places to observe this epic event of Bengali culture.

It’s nice to see people is taking interest in tradition and in own culture more and more. That means our culture still has hopes to recover from the attack of foreign culture. But to fully recover more effort in regional and national level is needed and government as well as private sector has to come forward to do that. If we remember that we had one of the richest and oldest cultures in the history of the world, we will feel the energy for doing whatever its need to be done. And someday we can tell the world again that we have the richest culture of all.

Please find some resources on Boat Race of Bangladesh.

Pictures of Boat Race or Nouka Baich from Flickr
Banglapedia Boat Race Article
The Daily Star feature Article on Boat Race of Bangladesh

Carrying the tradition with the blessings of nature in beautiful Dublar Char
January 22nd, 2010

The Bangladeshi people are always known to be very religious in nature whatever religious belief they follow. But there perfect harmony between every religious group in Bangladesh. Infect all people of every religion seems to enjoy every religious festival of every religion. As Bangladeshi people have a very colorful cultural life, every festival is celebrated in very colorful ways that attract people from all over the world.

Not only the people of Bangladesh are colorful but the nature here is much more colorful. Especially in the south western part of the country has the most vibrant natural and wild life than any other part of the country. Dublar char is a small island on the mouth of the Bay of Bengal in the south western part of Bangladesh at Shundarban of Satkhira district. It’s a magnificent place which a lot of importance to the Hindu pilgrims and every year staged a four day long fair during the Rash Purnima.

As everything has a dark side, the fair has one too. Although the fair has a very important place in life of the local people but the dark side it brings with it has a long term consequence too. Every year thousands of people came here for attending the fair but all are not pilgrim seekers, some of them are enemy of the nature and wild life. These thugs kill hundreds of deer and destroy valuable natural life of the only mangrove forest of the country.

As the fair has religious importance, it can’t be banned but destroying the jungle and its wild life must be stopped. So what can be done in this matter? I think there should be some rules & regulations imposed into the people come here in Dublar char about what can they bring with them and where they can stay. And strong inspection should be monitored by the authority whether there is any threat to the natural life of the place. Moreover people should be made aware about the effects of the destruction of the natural life.

We should all participate in protecting the country’s wild life and environment. We should take mental pleasure and satisfaction by observing and protecting the gorgeous natural life that our country possessed, and do whatever we can do to prevent the destruction. So in that way we will be able to carry our tradition of colorful cultural life to the next generation with a beautiful environment for them to live in.

You can find some exciting photos of Dublar Char on Flickr.

Best Hotels of Bangladesh
January 22nd, 2010

Bangladesh has always fascinated foreigners for its rich historical background, colorful cultural life style, foods, spices, sweetmeats and foremost for the warm hospitality of the local people. That’s why Bangladesh is a prime spot for tourists and to accommodate these tourists many world class hotels have established. Of those hotels here are some of the best hotels in Bangladesh:-

Radisson Water Garden Hotel, Dhaka is now ranked highest in world hotels among the Bangladeshi hotels. It’s placed near the Zia international airport adjacent to the most aristocrat zone of Bangladesh, Gulshan in Dhaka. It’s also the most luxurious hotels of Bangladesh in present days and they also try to put Bengali cultural touch in their services.

Dhaka Radisson Water Garden Hotel

Dhaka Radisson Water Garden Hotel

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel is the first five star standard hotel of Bangladesh and is the most renowned hotel to the foreign tourists. It has the best restaurants among the other best hotels of Bangladesh especially in Bengali cuisine.

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel

The Peninsula, Chittagong it’s situated in the heart of the business capital of Bangladesh, Chittagong. It has a very good fusion of western sophistication and Chittgonian hospitality in their services. The surrounding environment is very unique as the hotel is surrounded by the lush green hills and the best place for relaxation after hefty business work.

The Peninsula Hotel Chittagong

The Peninsula Hotel Chittagong

Rose View Hotel, Sylhet is the only five star standard hotel in the north-eastern part of Bangladesh. Rose view hotel is best known for its outstanding surroundings with array of world class facilities and cordial hospitality. As Sylhet is known as the beauty queen of Bangladesh, this hotel would be the prince of Sylhet.

Rose View Hotel Sylhet

Rose View Hotel Sylhet

Seagull Hotel, Cox’s Bazar is best place for anyone who wants world class facilities in every step of his/her stay at Cox’s Bazar. It’s the only hotel which has a private sea beach in Cox’s Bazar. It’s the only true five star hotel in this natural wonder Cox’s Bazar.  The hotel has the perfect location to feel the enchantment of Cox’s Bazar and that’s why it’s the most popular hotel of Cox’s Bazar among the foreigners.

Seagull Hotel, Cox's bazar

Seagull Hotel, Cox's bazar

These are some of the best hotels of Bangladesh. As the advancement of technology helping Bangladesh to publicize Bangladesh tourism for which the country is getting more attention in this area to the tourists. And so Bangladesh is seeing a steady growth to hotel industry, that’s why Bangladesh has some of the best hotels in south Asia.

WE ARE THANKFUL TO ALL THE HOTELS FOR THEIR COOPERATION TO MAKE TRIPBD A SUCCESS! Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape
  • TripBD
  • ebizzsol
2009 TripBD - Branding Bangladesh in Tourism. All rights reserved. design, develop
& maintain by