The Longest Beach in the World: Cox’s Bazar
After crisscrossing Bangladesh by boat and bus, Johan Smits concludes his Bengal travel saga in Cox’s Bazar and gets away from it all on the longest beach in the world….
Into the Chittagong Hill Tracts: Rangamati
Johan Smits visits Rangamati Bangladesh in the travel-restricted Chittagong Hill Tracts – the country’s highlands and home of the Jumma people. I’m on my way from Chittagong, Bangladesh’s largest port…
Bangladesh Travel: Rivers, Relics and Wrecks
After visiting the capital Dhaka and taking a voyage to the Sundarbans mangrove forest, Johan Smits continues his Bangladesh travel by road, river and rail, encountering ancient relics and huge,…
Bengal Cyclone Bulbul: Half a Million Evacuated
A tropical storm named Cyclone Bulbul has made landfall in Indian West Bengal and prompted the evacuation of up to half a million people in India and Bangladesh. Two people…
Bangladesh Rickshaw Art : Photo Journey
Travel Begins at 40’s Johan Smits shares his love of the brilliant rickshaw art in Bangladesh with a series of colourful photos. To foreign visitors in Bangladesh, the ubiquitous and…
5 Wonderful Asia Off-The-Beaten-Track Destinations
Travel Begins at 40 spills the beans about five themed and truly off-the-beaten-track destinations in different parts of Asia. When travelling in Asia, you may feel it’s getting increasingly hard…
Durga Puja Festival 2022, India
Durga Puja, one of the most important festivals for Hindu Bengalis, is the biggest yearly event in Kolkata and known as the Carnival of the East. Usually taking place in…
Voyage to the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest
Taking an old paddlewheel steamer from Dhaka to the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest in Bangladesh, Johan Smits finds poetry, a lost city and a vast water forest. “What beauty, what shades,…
Dhaka, Bangladesh – the World’s Most Crowded City
Johan Smits takes a deep breath before plunging into the world’s most crowded city, Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. I’m a fan of Sci-Fi films. And often it’s the atmospheric, non-tech parts…