Passport/Visa Requirements: Passports, visas (sometimes available on arrival), proof of sufficient funds and onward passage needed by citizens of Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. Reconfirm travel document requirements with carrier before departure.
Population: 147,365,352.
Languages: Bengali (Bangla), some English..
Predominant Religions: Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist..
Time Zone: 6 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (+6 GMT). Daylight Saving Time is not observed.
Voltage Requirements: 220 volts.
Telephone Codes: 880, country code; 2,city code for Dhaka; 31,city code for Chittagong;
For More Information
Bangladesh Parjatan Corp., 233 Airport Road, Tejgaon, Dhaka 1215, Bangladesh. Phone 8802-811-7855 or 8802-811-9192. Fax 8802-812-6501. http://www.bangladeshtourism.org. E-mail bpcho@bangla.net.
Bangladesh does not have tourist offices in Canada or the U.S.
Bangladeshi Embassies
Canada: Bangladesh High Commission, 275 Bank St., Suite 302, Ottawa, ON K2P 2L6. Phone 613-236-0138. Fax 613-567-3213.
U.S.: Embassy of Bangladesh, 3510 International Dr., N.W., Washington, DC 20008. Phone 202-244-0183. Fax 202-244-5366
Foreign Embassies in Bangladesh
Canadian High Commission, House CWN No. 16-A, Road 48, Gulshan, Dhaka. Phone 8802-988-7091. Fax 8802-882-3043.
U.S. Embassy, Diplomatic Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka. Phone 8802-885-5500. Fax 8802-882-3744. http://www.dhaka.usembassy.org.
Additional ReadingShame (a novel) and The Game in Reverse (poems) by Taslima Nasrin (Prometheus Books). The novel deals with issues of religious tolerance in Bangladesh. The poetry collection addresses the oppression of women in Bangladesh. It is best to read these books before arrival. Like Salman Rushdie, Nasarin has outraged fundamentalist Muslim clerics, and her books have been banned by the government.
All the Trouble in the World by P. J. O'Rourke (Atlantic Monthly Press). Several chapters are devoted to the author's impression of a trip to Bangladesh.
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (Penguin). Includes a fictional, surrealistic account of the 1971 war of independence—another book that is best read before arrival.
