Feature

Shahidul Islam (Bachchu)

COX'S Bazar is always an inviting city. No matter how many times you have been there in your lifetime, it appears refreshing and riveting all the time.

A stride along the sandy, silky beach gives visitors scent of unlimited fresh air. Another gentle walk thru' the cluster of lean, long 'Jhauban' (the Pine wood) instil extra thrill and excitement alongside the whispering sound of the swinging leaves. And, not to mention the affluence of romanticism the city offers after the sunset or during full moon for the young couples especially the honeymoon travellers.

But all these early fascination may come to an abrupt end by the stroke of a one bitter experience. That's the unbelievable charge for everything. You can bet that no service spanning from rickshaw fare to breakfast to meal is as costly and sky-high anywhere in Bangladesh as is here.

A sojourn of just 24-hour (calculating the check-in and check-out time at your hotel) in Cox's Bazar may ultimately prove fatal and suicidal for a person, couple or family having meagre, limited income or salary. He, she or they had to compromise a lot to their living and lifestyle at the cost of a tour in this picturesque city. And above all, one shouldn't dare a trip to this Southern tip of Bangladesh in winter and early spring (December to March), called peak season. There are however very few options for you to avoid this saga but for that you need to have a perfect planning in advance plus good, accommodating acquaintances there.

Example is better than precept. As the old adage goes, this writer would like to share with the readers the bitter experiences from a recent visit to the city.

I have been visiting Cox's Bazar since 1975 and the socio-economic changes there during this period were fast and many-faceted, with a rapid boom of hotel, motel, restaurant, and guesthouse in the later years. You may argue that this robust growth of this once quiet beach city is good for our economy as far as tourism is concerned. As rush of blood is not a healthy sign for human body, so does the rush of growth for a nation's economy, and it can no way be encouraging when that growth completely ignores vital factors like future urbanisation, planned expansion of a city, environmental issues and security concerns.

The main beach area, known as Kolatali, is abuzz with hotel, motel, restaurant, shop and guesthouse in such an abysmal fashion that gives impression of a city littered with some unplanned concrete structures. The freestyle growth of hotel or motel in every available space blocks the normal views of the natural beauty and attraction of Cox's Bazar. Some of the structures are sprawled so close to the beach that one may easily touch the sand in front of his hotel or motel premises. Is this the growth you asked for? Or, should you call it the expansion of tourism?

Once you dump yourself along with backpack into the hotel room, be ready to encounter every now and then bitter experience in Cox's Bazar, where it may turn from bad to worse in peak season. And don't get puzzled with the popular saying “first impression is the best (or, lasting) impression.”

The rooms of the hotels at the hotel-motel zone in Kolatali are all exquisite and lavishly decorated.

And here begins the real test of your nerve (your purse indeed...).

Let's begin your day in Cox's Bazar with a breakfast. Suppose, you're a family of four including your two wards and you've chosen eight pieces of porota (2 x 4), dim bhaji (fried egg), saabji (vegetable), two cups of tea (for you and your spouse) and two cans of juice (for your children) sitting in a restaurant in or around hotel-motel zone. Should you mind to encounter a bill in-between Tk 250 to Tk 350 for that? If yes, then, how would you react in lunch or dinner, which of each may rob you of Tk 800 to Tk 1,000? Annoyed, flabbergasted, speechless or angry?

Add to this Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,500 as room tariff for one night stay and Tk 2,000 as bus conveyance (Chittagong-Cox's Bazar-Chittagong). The rickshaw and auto-rickshaw (environment-enemy two-stroke off course) deserves special mention, which is not only obnoxious feature but also most unpredictable a thing in the beach city. A brief ride from the beach to your hotel with distance less than half kilometre would cost you Tk 15 to Tk 20 (rickshaw) and Tk 40 to Tk 50 (auto-rickshaw) respectively.

Last but not the least, your children may ask for the excitement of a 'joy' ride on horse or on mini jeep along the sea beach. Be ready to spare Tk 50 for each of the ride that covers a distance of merely 100 metres. And if I'm not wrong, you won't love to return empty-handed, without a peep into the pompous array of traditional 'Burmese' stores.

You're on the verge of winding up a memorable tour to Cox's Bazar and now you're tallying the monetary involvement in it. If you were a mediocre executive of a corporate house or bank or a private firm, having salary range between Tk 20,000 to Tk 25,000, what would be the figure? Any simple person can give perfect speculation to this. It would be Tk 7,000 to Tk 10,000 at the expense of a 24-hour stay in Cox's Bazar.

Now, its up to you (the Tk 20,000-Tk 25,000-executive) to decide whether to go for such a thrilling venture for Tk 7,000-Tk 10,000 or not...!

Nevertheless, we would be obliged to see Cox's Bazar atop the natural wonders of the world and urge all to vote for this beautiful beach city of Bangladesh. After all, my country is 'my country,' right or wrong. And remember, Cox's Bazar is one of our exotic cities for which we really can boast of.

Shahidul Islam (Bachchu) is a Chittagong-based journalist.
Photos : Zobaer Hossain Sikder