Lonely Planet - Bangladesh is the best Value Destination for 2011

 Khagrachori

Lonely Planet - one of the leading travel guide company, now owned by BBC Worldwide has ranked Bangladesh as the best Value Destination in the world for 2011. It has listed nine other countries/cities for making the list of top ten. Behind Bangladesh stand Nicaragua, Washington D.C., Paris, Namibia,Philippines, Argentina, Naples, Ukraine and Syria.

As a turist destination Lonely Planet recomends Bangladesh, specially to that turist group those who want a beautiful and a cheap destination. Many other countries have and can offer cheap service. But one thing people say often and obviously they experience that cheap is not always good. Regarding this point Lonely planet says in their briefing that it should not be perceived as one containing only ''cheap''destination. Rather,the list is based on travellers ''getting their money's worth''. So within a economic budget when travellers in Bangladesh, they not only pay a small amount of money, but also get as return a high quality of service and commodity, see worthy places. They describe Bangladesh as a ''can-do country of open-hearted people, tigers, tea plantations and the world's longest sea beach''.

Tiger in Sundarbans

Lonely Planet is renowned for its first-hand approach, upto date maps and commitment to providing the best information for travellers. Their authors are experienced, insightful travel experts. They personally research the places they write about - both in the first and in subsequent editions - and provide essential travel details along with a wealth of insider information and first-hand tips.

For the year 2009 Bangladesh was named as one of the 10 Interesting Destinations by Lonely Planet.

Lonely Planet has their own tv channel, travel guide book publications, mobile phone apps, experienced staff, authors and 600,000 - strong online community to present the best places to go and things to do around the world to its readers.

Sitakunda eco park

Lonely Planet to its website as introduction to Bangladesh describes as a ''trend-setting breathtaking and hard working'' country that others can learn from.

Bangladesh is one of the few countries in the world that was not affected by the recent global recession. Today, Bangladesh boasts of shipbuilding capability and is looking forward to becoming a regional communication hub. Success can also be seen in many sectors in Bangladesh , like leather, pharmaceuticals and jute manufacturing. Agriculture is , of course, already a success in many ways. And human development is also noteworthy.

Lonely Planet says that a traveller will be rewarded most and get the maximum ''value for his   money'' if he visits Bangladesh. And Bangladesh is ready to offer  the visitors - the world's longest sea beach in Cox'sbazar, world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbon with tigers and spoted deer, a rare combination to watch sunrise and sunset from Kuakata sea beach, koral island ST.Martin, tea gardens, rain forest, hilly areas and many other exotic islands.
Bangladesh is waiting for you, those who want to discover and meet Bangladesh. Backpack and travel to Bangladesh. See you then some where in Bangladesh.

S: lonelyplanet.com/bangladesh;thedailystar.net(5 nov2010);defence.pk; thefinancialexpress-bd.com(3 jan2011)         

Read also: Jahaj Bari or boat house(Chistia Palace): amazing architecture on Dhanmondi lake side            

Night jasmine or coral jasmine(shiuli/shefali ful) of Bangladesh

           Night jasmine plant or shiuli/shefali ful gaash


         Night jasmine flower or shiuli/shefali ful

  Heap of night jasmine flower or shiuli/shefali ful

            

Night jasmine flower bud or shiuli/shefali ful er kuri 

Leaves of night jasmine flower(shiuli/shefali ful)

Heap of night jasmine flower or shiuli/shefali ful

Night jasmine flower or shiuli ful have fallen from the tree early in the morning

 Night jasmine flower's fruit or shiuli/shefali ful er fal

  

      

Coral jasmine commonly known as night jasmine is known in Bangladesh as shiuli ful.People call it as shefali ful also. Night jasmine or shiuli ful is a highly perfumed flower.The tree is sometimes called the ''tree of sorrow'',because the flowers lose their brightness during daytime. Its scientific name is Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. It belongs to Family:Oleaceae; Genus:Nyctanthes; Species: N. arbor-tristis.

 Night jasmine or shiuli ful is native to southern Asia. It grows in Bangladesh, as well as in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries. It is a tropical plant. The flower is the official flower of the state of West Bengal, India and for Kanchanaburi Province,Thailand.

The night jasmine tree or shiuli ful tree can be tall up to 10 meters with a flaky grey bark. Leaves of the tree are opposite,simple,6-12 cm long and 2-6,5 cm wide, with an entire margin.Large attractive leaves are rough and hairy like sandpaper.Night jasmine or shiuli ful is a sweet scented flower and small in size, 2,5-5 cm, attractive shape, with white corolla and an orange-red tube in center; they are produced in clusters of two to seven together. The flowers bloom profusely, opening at night and casting off in the very early morning. The fruit is a flat brown heart-shaped to round capsule 2 cm diameter, with two sections each containing a singel seed.

Night jasmine or shiuli ful has a important place in Ayurvedic treatment.Even the flowers have been used as a source of yellow dye for clotning.Hindus and Buddhist use this flower for worship to God.In Bangladesh children use night jasmine or shiuli ful to make garlands.

This flower is more known for its important place in Hindu mythology and the romantic story behind it. According to mythology, this is a heavenly tree brought to earth by the god Krishna. A quarrel over it ensued between Satyabhama and Rukmini, Krishna's wives.But Krishna planted the tree in Satya bhama's courtyard in a way that when the tree flowered, the flowers fell in Rukmini's courtyard. Another romantic story woven around the tree is about Parijataka, a princess. She fell in love with the sun but when he deserted her she committed suicide and a tree sprung from the ashes. Unable to stand the sight of the lover who left her, the tree flowers only at night and sheds them like tear-drops before the sun rises.But these are apparently only flowers that Hindus offer to God picked from the ground instead of plucking from the tree.

S:en.wikipedia.org; rareflora.com; toptropicals.com; worldagroforestrycentre.org; flickr.com .

Read also: White water lily or Sada Shapla is the national flower of Bangladesh
                   Kadam/Kadambo is a rainy season flower in Bangladesh
                   Water hyacinth (Kochuripana) beauty and death
                   Silk Cotton tree - Shimul ful/ Shimul Tular Gash
                    

Floating garden-uses of water hyacinth (kochuripana) Bangladesh way to solve the problem

Mula river in Maharashtra,India full with water hyacinth

Water hyacinth known as Kochuripana in Bangladesh is a tropical free-floating aquatic plant. It grows all over the world-tropical,subtropical areas of the world. It is now found in more than 50 countries on five continents.

Water hyacinth is a very fast growing plant. Now a days it is known as a ''noxious weed''. Due to this plant many countries face a lot of problems.This plant is a threat to the water eco system.Fish cannot breath and boats can not travel when a pond or river is covered by the water hyacinth or kochuripana.The blooms of the hyacinth also provide a breeding place for insects and diseases.
Many people in different countries are now working to find new uses for water hyacinth(kochuripana).I mention here in very brief a number of possible uses for the plant, some which have been developed and others which are still in their infancy or remain as ideas only.


Furniture made of water hyacinth

There are all kinds of things the weed is good for after it is harvested.

Women in Fiji weave baskets with dried water hyacinth(kochuripana).Now people are making furniture from water hyacinth. Even in Philippine and India it is also used to make basket and goods for the tourist industry.Countries that export a lot of water hyacinth furniture include Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. A few examples (on the above) of how this material is used in making contemporary furniture.

The Mennonite Central Committee of Bangladesh has been experimenting with paper production from water hyacinth(kochuripana) for some years. But the result is not economically viable. Papers quality is not so good.In Uganda people use water hyacinth to make paper and mat.The quality of paper is low and is used for making folders, boxes etc.

Water hyacinth is used to make fiber board, yarn and rope in a small scale. To produce biogas from water hyacinth is also under experiment. The technology is not fully successful to operate like this project commercially.

In some parts of Bangladesh people use water hyacinth in different ways. We can call it ''floating garden''. People make heap with water hyacinth, when decayed, make wonderful fertiliser for cropping.Moreover,some crops and vegetables grow luxuriously on the dressed water hyacinth heaps. This has attracted many landless peasants to accumulate and heap water hyacinth(kochuripana) to make floating fields for agricultural production.

S: en.wikipedia.org; farmradio.org/english; ehow.com; practicalaction.org/search;

forums.permaculture.org.au/showthread.php?5544-Possible-practical-applications-of-Water-Hyacinth

Read also: Water hyacinth(kochuripana) beauty and death

Water hyacinth(kochuripana) beauty and death

 Kenyan govt. spends 290 million Ksh to destroy water hyacinth from Lake Victoria-2011

           Lake Okeechobee in Florida in USA

          One part of Lake victoria in Africa full with water hyacinth  
   
Water hyacinth in Bangladeshis known as Kochuripana. It is a tropical floating aquatic plant. Its scientific name is Eichornia crassipes. Of its Genus has seven variant species. Its origin in Latin America. Then it spread out gradually all over the world. Water hyacinth grows and spreads rapidly in fresh water. Just imagine, a singel plant under ideal conditions can produce 3000 others in 50 days and can cover an area of 600 sq meters in a year.
Water hyacinth or Kachuripana was introduced from its native home South America to various countries as well as in the USA in the 1880's, in Australia in 1890's, in Africa in 1950's and in Bangladesh sometime in the latter part of the 19th century.
Water hyacinth(Kachuripana) plant is a free-floating aquatic plant that sends down a large bunch of long fibrous roots from a leafy main stem. Its dark green leaves are 10-20 cm across and float above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. Water hyacinth(Kochuripana) plant size ranges from a few cm to a meter in hight. The flower of this plant develop on a spike and have six individual petals that join at the bottom to produce a tube-like bloom. The colour of these flowers vary from a lighter shade of blue to violet with a yellow marking-like eyr or spot on the petals.
Still now water hyacinth(Kochuripana) is a problem in the USA. In the beginning they used arsenic to destroy and wipe out this plant and could partially clear the weeds but poisoned the ecosystem. They tried also with fire and explosives. In Africa lake Victoria's many areas are now paralyzed due to this plant.
In Bangladesh water hyacinth(Kochuripana) was also a very big problem. Water ways were blocked and nevigation were almost impossible. In the provincial election in 1937 all the major political parties promised to eradicate the water hyacinth. After the election the politicians kept their words and that worked. Now in Bangladesh water hyacinth(Kochuripana) is not seen as a problem, it still exists in haors and beels.
If you make a heap of water hyacinth(Kochuripana), when decayed, make wonderful fertilizer for cropping.Moreover, some crops and vegetables grow luxuriously on the dressed water hyacinth (Kochuripana) heaps. This has attracted many landless peasants to accumulate and heap water hyacinth(Kochuripana) to make floating fields for agricultural production.
S:en.wikipedia.org; water-hyacinth.com; banglapedia.org; aquaticcommunity.com; naturia.per.sg/buloh/; wiki.bugwood.org/archive:bcipeus/eichhornia_crassipes; environment.go.ke .

Read also: Floating garden-uses of water hyacinth(kochuripana)Bangladesh way to solv the problem

ICC Trophy Final '97- after that day Bangladesh cricket entered to a new era

Its really hard to understand today that the ICC Trophy Final Match in 1997 how much important was for the Bangladesh cricket. After that final match Bangladesh cricket entered to a new era and cricket world saw that tournament gave birth to a tiger cub. That win led to Bangladesh to their first ever World Cup and the eventual ascension as a Test playing nation.
Match was played at Tenaga National Sports Complex, Kuala Lampur in Malayasia on the 12,13 April 1997. Bangladesh played against Kenya and it was 50 overs match. Bangladesh won toss and chose to field first. Kenya played 50 overs and made 241 runs with 7 wickets. Torrential rain began before Bangladesh innings. Umpires decided that match could be played on the next reserve day. But the outfield was not fit for the match. Groundsmen and Bangladeshi players all together worked hard to make the outfield fit for the match. At last umpires decided to continue the match in cartel overs. Bangladesh target was reduced to 166 in 25 overs(that is 332 runs in 50 overs) under the Duckworth - Lewis calculation.
Bangladesh squad was Naimur Rahman Durjoy, Mohammed Rafique, Minhajul Abedin Nannu, Aminul Islam Bulbul, Akram Khan, Enamul Haque Moni, Saiful Islam, Khaled Masud Pilot, Khaled Mahmud Sujon, Hasibul Hossain Santo and Athar Ali Khan. Naimur Rahman and Mohammad Rafique oppend the innings.But unfortunately Naimur Rahman was bold facing the first ball. It was very hard for the players to collect runs because of wet outfield. There were tremendous pressers on the players. Everybody tried to hit hard. Then in the last over Khaled Masud Pilot and Hasibul Hossain Santo were batting. Bangladesh needed 11 runs from that last over. Watch this exciting video clip how it became possible and Bangladesh won the match.

S: espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66792.html