Dear friends

Keri asked me to write a few thoughts to you all about our trip to Bangladesh and India. We (Ann and Tony) joined Keri's Mum, Dad and brother to visit Keri and see where he's been working for the last year, and also to visit India, especially the Himalayas. Having previously visited India (Dehli and Rajastan) and Bangkok, I thought I was prepared for Bangladesh. But believe me, it was a real shock. You should all be very proud of Keri, not only for his achievements as a management consultant, but for surviving in Bangladesh! We spent our first week in Dhaka, where we stayed in a hotel oasis, set amongst a sea of dirt, noise, pollution and poverty. As we set out on the first morning "for a stroll around town" as Keri's Mum, Viv put it, we realised that such an excursion was easier said than done. It must have taken us about 20 minutes to cross the first road, waiting as the hordes of rickshaws, tuk-tuk's (CNG's in Bangladesh), and totally clapped out busses roared past us, all claiming equal rights on the road. There are no road signs, no road markings, no lights or roundabouts, just total mayhem - all blasting away on their horns with no-one taking the slightest notice. And as we waited to cross, the usual crowd of curious faces stared at us. As Michael Palin says in his book "Himalaya", "you need help to understand Dhaka", and without Keri and Sarah, we would have been totally lost.

As Keri explained in his last Diary note, we were so disappointed not to be able to visit Saidpur but we did get to walk round some other villages, both in Bangladesh and India, which gave us an excellent idea of how Keri has been living. I think he has certainly got the better deal, living in the country rather than in Dhaka - more peaceful, quieter, cleaner, and definitely not breathing in the seriously polluted air in the city. How the girls manage to survive in that city is beyond me!! To be surrounded by such ugly buildings, filth and grime, with not a beautiful thing in sight is a real challenge. Even the few plants and trees were totally covered in dirt, gasping for air and water. So sad.

An interesting excursion Keri treated us to was a river trip. We emerged from the "bracing, nerve-shredding excitement of the Old City" (Michael Palin again), through a gap in a wall to what looked like a scene from hell. In front of us was a long stretch of black, stinking mud across which we tip-toed on slippery rocks, to reach a heaving mass of boats and people. Apologies for quoting Palin again, but he too said it reminded him of those paintings of the lagoon in Venice, or the pool of London, but if you paint in just greys and blacks, you get a better picture! Our boat was a low, gondaleer shaped affair, far too near the black, oily water for my liking. We sat nervously, quietly, staring up at the huge barges, which whipped past us, causing us to toss like corks. I knew that if we fell in, the foul, stinking water would kill us. So 10 minutes into our "cruise", we suggested to Keri that, okay, "bin there, done that", can we move on please.

One highlight of our week in Dhaka was the visit of the India cricket team to our hotel. All the guys had their eyes on stalks - but not as much as Viv's and mine as we lay on our sunbeds by the pool, watching them exercise in their swimming trunks!!

The day we were due to leave Dhaka, they called one of their frequent "hartals", a one day strike. Remember those? We were expecting a nice 6 hour drive south to Chittagong, gazing out at the countryside. Instead, we had to wait until 5pm, and we then rattled over what they call a main road, seeing absolutely nothing, and being shaken to pieces in a most uncomfortable mini bus. Obviously, Bangladesh has no concept of "tourism", no idea of decent roads, no road sense - oh dear, I could go on. And you know what else was missing? Women. Everywhere we looked, it was always men, both in Dhaka and in the countryside. Shops would be open until midnight, but it was always men hanging around, drinking tea, or working. We had many discussions with Keri about where the women were, and what they'd be doing. They are definitely hidden from view in Bangladesh society.

So, all you friends of Keri's, of course you knew that he was mad to go out there. But he did, and he's not only survived, but he's made a difference to some peoples' lives, and found happiness with Sarah. So I think he's achieved a great deal and we should all be very proud of him.