Travellogue

A Journey to Remember….

Moon Moon Hossain

Days before our H.S.C exams started, we have been planning about spending our holidays after the exams in a grand way. After the hectic exams, Alifa, Tushi, Peony, Riddhi, Ananya and myself went to Chittagong. One of our best friends Meghla could not join us due to her mother's operation. Peony's father was the Additional District Commissioner of Chittagong and he had invited us a couple of years ago to the beautiful port city. Tushi's mother also went with us as Tushi has a habit of falling sick whenever she is out of home for a few days.

We decided to go by train, as it was more fun than going by bus. Our journey started at 4 pm. It was full of fun and we were very excited. The panorama of the sun set view from the running train kept us spellbound. We also enjoyed the landscape running against us in the distance. Finally after about seven hours of journey we reached Chittagong Railway Station at 11:15 pm.

Peony's father came to receive us at the station. As it was quite late already, we took our dinner and went to sleep. Next morning, we started on a tour of the city. We observed that the city was comparatively cleaner than the Dhaka city. At first, we went to the War Symmetry. Uncle told us how the brave soldiers gave their lives in the 2nd World War. Then we went to the Shaheed Zia Museum. We saw the pictures; his personal belongings etc there. From there, we went to the Batali Hill. A road went right up to the top of the hill and it was fun go up in a car. From the peak of the Batali Hill, we saw the whole of Chittagong city. During lunch time we went to the Chittagong Club to have our meal.

In the evening, we went to the Patenga Sea Beach. In the semi-darkness it felt as if the elusive sea waves were beckoning us to ride them. We jumped over the wave and sprinkled water on each other. We went to the sea-side stores and bought some curios. We returned home at about 9 pm from the beach. One thing we learnt in one day and that was our respected uncle's one favourite habit of feeding us various kinds of fruits all the time!! Yes, All the Time... all the time, he was trying to feed us orange, apple, malta, banana, mango, jackfruit etc... We really became afraid of spending 3 more days with Uncle (hee… hee..hee)!! But he is so adorable.

Next morning, on 23 June, we got up at 6 am as we had to start for Rangmatii early in the morning. Peony's father hired a 9-seater micro for us. On the way to Rangamati, I felt that the trees and hills beside the roads were giving us an enthusiastic welcome. We got the chance to stay in the Rangamati Circuit House. After seeing the circuit house, we all dreamt to be Additional District Commissioner someday in our life!!

On the same day we visited the Tribal Museum, Kaptai Lake and the enchanting Shuvolong waterfall. I was surprised to discover the hidden beauty of our country. I don't know why people of our country go abroad for their honeymoon, why directors or producers do the shooting of their play or cinema going out of our own country. The hills, the caves on the hills, the trees surrounding the hills and last but not the least, the monkeys - all made the Kaptai Lake awesome. We roamed around on the water body by speed boats. In the afternoon, we visited the most popular Buddha Bihar of Rangamatii which is known as Bonovanter Ashram. There is a small waterfall there. It is believed that if someone throws a coin in the waterfall and makes a wish, the wish comes true. Beside these, we saw the Shopto Shorgo which is deeply respected and honored by the Buddhists. In the evening we visited the Hanging Bridge which is known as Jhulonto Bridge. At night we had an invitation at Rangamatii District Commissioner's bungalow. In the meanwhile Tushi became sick (as usual) and we all became worried. But as Tushi's mother was there, our anxiety did not last long.

Next day, we went to visit the Kaptai Paper Mill. There, practically we learnt how the papers were made. Then we went to the Kaptai Hydroelectric Plant. It was amazing to see the whole process of making electricity from water. Unfortunately, Tushi was not able to walk with us. So, she waited in the microbus. As we felt tired, we went to the nearby rest house. Peony and I went to the roof of the rest house and saw the beauty of Rangamati from there. Next morning, it was the time for returning to Dhaka. It was painful to say goodbye to Chittagong. All of us enjoyed the journey a lot. We will cherish the memories of this journey whole life... We are planning again to visit some other place of our beloved country...Let's see what happens...

(Student of BBA, 3rd Semester, North South University)