So what was it like living in Bangladesh
15 years ago? Was it cleaner or dirtier, more interesting or more boring, safer or more dangerous?

Barbara Schulz first came to Dhaka in 1986 and stayed until 1991. The second time, she arrived in 2000. Her husband works for the German Government’s aid agency, GTZ.

"To me, the most startling change was the appearance of all these high rise buildings. When I was here first, there were large houses with big gardens," she said. And, unbelievable as it may sound now, there were hardly any cars on the road, just cycle rickshaws and a few baby taxis. It took Barbara just 15 minutes to reach New Market.

"So obviously, today the roads are worse and much more crowded and there is much more pollution," she pointed out. "In 1986 we visited Bangkok and while stuck in a traffic jam, I thought how lucky I was to be living in Dhaka, for my children’s sake!" Another change was the appearance of Bangladeshi women clad in burkas. Fifteen years ago, all the women wore saris and the young girls wore shalwar kameez.

Today, there are more restaurants to go to and more shops to visit, with much more of a choice of goods to buy, including a whole range of Western products. "Things like whole grain bread and Movenpick ice cream were not available but then, they are luxuries rather than necessities. We had what we needed to survive and all the delicious local vegetables and fruit," Barbara said.

"The telephone system has become worse but the electricity situation is the same. There are more services such as travel agents and organised tours but because of the traffic, places are more difficult to get to."

Another major change was that corruption has increased dramatically, permeating down to even the lowliest levels.

With the expanded population has come an increased crime rate including kidnapping, robbery and acid-throwing that was not so prevalent when Barbara first came to Dhaka with her two children aged 7 and 5.

"My children used to walk to school and cycle to their friends’ houses, which, admittedly, was not approved of by the head of the school. Today it is not safe to do that because violence has increased," she said. "I don’t think I would have come to Bangladesh if I had two small children now."

Since the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11 last year and the subsequent US bombardment of Afghanistan, Barbara felt that there has been an increased animosity to foreigners in Bangladesh. "There is an awkward feeling," she said.