Orientation
For most travellers, three neighbourhoods of Dhaka are worth noting and visiting. The first is Puran Dhaka (Old Dhaka),
the hub of Dhaka’s 400-year history. The thronging, nostril-filling
city dock of Sadarghat is an awesome and unforgettable sight to behold,
for all of the activity it contains floating on the water.
Dhanmondi
is the home of the city’s intellectual classes, with Dhaka’s best
galleries, exhibitions and literary events held from the venues
scattered around the neighbourhood. Most of Bangladesh’s younger set
hangs out in Dhanmondi, and so there is something of an avant-garde
culture that is regrettably absent in the upmarket neighbourhoods.
Speaking of upmarket, Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara
are where the wealthiest cats on the block like to live. The ‘expat
bubble’ as it is sometimes referred to, has everything that a long-term
guest might like to have in a place like Dhaka, including the best
shopping, restaurants and social scene. But Dhanmondi is much more
interesting to those who want to experience the real Bangladesh and may
not have time to get out of the city during their stay.
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