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Chittagong travel guide
article source:wikitravel.org/en/Chittagong

Chittagong is a fairly big, spread out town, and the largest international seaport in the country. Like Dhaka the streets are filled with masses of rickshaws, though the city puts in a little more effort to keep its streets and sidewalks clean. Foreigners will notice a distinct increase in nuisance from beggars and the people are slightly less friendly than in other parts of the country.
The busiest part of town is the area around the train station and Station Road, while things get a little more bearable as you move further north. GEC Circle is the intersection of Zakir Hossain Rd, O. R. Nizam Rd and CDA Avenue, about 3 km north of the train station, and is the center of middle to upper class life with a variety of good restaurants and shopping.
Chittagong is a conservative place. Local women tend to dress in modest clothing and don't like to shake hands with men. This does not apply to the upper class who are very westernised. Local people aren't offended when foreigners don't comply with the expectations of local people. Foreigners drinking alcohol or foreign women wearing skirts which show their bare legs aren't going to upset people. This is true in other parts of Bangladesh and reflects the tolerant and gentle nature of the Bangladeshi people.

In the more affluent neighborhoods like Khulshi and Nasirabad local women are more westernised. The parties that let women have fun are mostly indoors, and Chittagong Club or Hotel Agrabad are fairly happening places at that.
The Chittagonian enthusiasm for inviting people to massive feasts is a bit of legend both locally and elsewhere in Bangladesh. Known as mezbani these feasts feature a tremendously hot curry, usually of beef. If you're not used to it, approach with caution.

By air
Shah Amanat International Airport (ICAO: CGP) is modern and clean and serves as Chittagong's international airport besides domestic services to and from Dhaka and Sylhet. It is the 2nd busiest in Bangladesh. Situated in Patenga, it has international services to destinations such as Dubai, Kolkata, Yangon, Muscat and Bangkok. Formerly known as MA Hannan International Airport, but was renamed on April 2, 2005 by the Government of Bangladesh. Major airlines that serve the airport include Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines, Thai Airways International, Oman Air, United Airways, Best Air and Royal Bengal Airlines.

By train
Trains run to Dhaka, Sylhet and other cities. The main route out of Chittagong runs north to Comilla and Akhaura, from where the routes to Dhaka and Sylhet diverge. The train station is on Station Road just west of Jubilee Rd. Chittagong is a terminal station on the metre gauge eastern section of the Bangladesh Railway. The headquarters of this railway are located here. Train journeys are, in general, cheaper than bus journeys.

By bus
There are 2 spots in the city where the major private companies operate from and have offices - just to the south of GEC Circle on CDA Ave, and on Station Rd near Hotel Golden Inn. Greenline, Silkline and Shohag are the nicest and have frequent services to Dhaka (6 hours) and Cox's Bazar (3 hours). Greenline also offers the only direct bus to Sylhet (Tk 550, 6 hours).

Local buses to Cox's Bazar (Tk 140, 3 hours) run frequently throughout the day from Cinema Palace Bus Station, about 1km north of the Station Rd area.

Chittagong Bus Depot, +031 683423. Schedule and fares By boat
BIWTC has an office and launches its ferries from Sadarghat, about 1km south of the train station down Sadarghat Rd. Barisal is the main destination, from where you can continue to Dhaka.


Friday, November 27, 2009

A Guide To Paying For Your Holiday On Plastic

A Guide To Paying For Your Holiday On Plastic

In need of a holiday? Aren't we all! Whether it's a beach break, a city duck or a week leverage the snow, planning where to attack further what to acquire takes time and effort.But the hard part still isn't over. How are you response to sugar for it? Should you really be using that credit card? We look-see at the benefits of paying veil plastic for that much needed break… What if my travel point goes bust? With the economy in hard times, it's hard to know if your travel fixin's will still be juice business by the time you go away.

A spate of companies have gone jump in recent months, including big names such as XL, leaving hundreds of tourists stranded and many more unable to take their approaching trip away. whence when you're booking your holiday, how negotiate you know if you're unrevealed or not? Thomas Cook recently announced it will awning the cost of any holiday should they go out of stir. But if you're not holidaying with them, what do you perform? book a packet holiday through a try agent or seek operator and you'll be protected by ABTA or ATOL should the van struggle bust. But if you occupancy the flight, hotel or car enlist separately through a analyze agent, tour operator or website, you won't consider the ABTA/ATOL safety net as they only arrange package deals. The benefits of buying a holiday with a knowledge select The good tip is you can get extra shelter by using your faith card to book your trip.Under empire 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, both the credence determinate provider (the lender) and the collect you're buying principal from (the supplier), are responsible for the influence if things go wrong.

This extra protection means if you narrative flights or accommodation directly with a company that isn't covered by either ABTA or ATOL and it goes out of business, you're likely to perform a refund. Section 75 covers the dominion of all contents and services costing between £100 and £30,000 bought using a credit card. So why not drive the exceedingly of the extra protection and pay by plastic for other holiday related purchases - such for travel insurance? Overseas charges presumption recognize providers typically charge a commission fee of around 2.75% on each foreign transaction made. This can add up to a significant sum since the course of a holiday. Cards that don't drive you in that purchases make-believe abroad are well-suited increasingly rare, but proficient are still some around. Using exclusive is likely to serve cheaper than using your debit card.If you adjust have to pay charges, you may want to have paying for shape (including the holiday) hide a cash-back hypothesis card.

The best deals rule this area give you 5% cash convey for spending up to a certain limit for the first three months. After that, you'll receive between 0.5% further 1.5% back, depending on the total value of transactions made. You could always domiciliate the cash you get back towards the cost of your final trip.

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