Cox’s Bazar
by Nigel Hiller-Garvey

It’s been 11 years since I was last in Cox’s Bazar, one would think it would have changed a great deal…

Indeed, on the surface it seems to have. More hotels, guesthouses and restaurants, even Grameen Telecom have managed to hide an "internet café" in one of the ally ways, (basic though it may well be, so don’t expect to be able to print your emails there!) Despite having Asia’s longest "shark free"(sic) unbroken beach; Cox’s Bazar is somewhere I would hesitate to recommend for a beach holida, as there are far too many better serviced and less harassed resorts a short flight away.

However, it takes only a short while to find that little else had changed. And it’s what hasn’t changed that makes Cox’s Bazar a place well worth the time spent visiting. Apart from the Buddhist temples and Stuppa’s, which we covered those last month, there is the boat yard! "Fascinating", I hear you groan, but really it is! There you will find sea going wooden dhows that are being hand built with similar tools and technologies as were in use when Mohammed Bakhtiar conquered Bengal in 1199. The thing is, technology is still valid and it works, as do the boats, ask any of the local fishermen.

Talking of whom, the fish market is worth a visit, as are the numerous fishing villages just north of Cox’s Bazar, though you will need a car and potentially a guide to find some of them.

I was actually there to help my wife and a camera crew who were doing a short documentary, as the "manipulated" tranquil scenes shown here only prove "what the picture doesn’t show, still exists". Though more peaceful and quieter than Dhaka you can still expect to draw a good sized crowd, especially if you get out your camera, which you will as it is very photogenic out of the centre of town.

[Click to enlarge]