Gramps' Web Site - Bangladesh Gallery OTR - Ferry Crossing   HOME Bangladesh Gallery    00-Arrival    10-Install Panel    20-On The Road      21-Commerce      22-Ferry Crossing      23-Road Work      24-Drivers      25-Field Work      29-Nasim's Baby    30-At Home      31-Dhaka Streets      32-Around Dhaka    40-Heart Attack    50-Floods    60-Bangla Wedding    70-Signs    80-Portrates    90-Last Day    Bangla Journal    Sign Gramps'     DreamBook    “guestbook”     Ferry riding was a frequent event. We had to cross the Jamuna and the Bramaputra to get to several of the sites. They were little like the ferries I have ridden through the San Juan Islands. They were entirely open. The "restroom" was a hole in the floor behind a partition. Cars, trucks, rickshaws, people, livestock, and venders all crowded onto the single deck. Click on a thumb to see a larger version. There are 10s if not hundreds of ferries crossing the Bramaputra. This landing was near Jamalpur. You can see the the typical layout. That's the head on the left. Looking north along the Jamuna, you can see the rice silos lining the river in the distance. We left the western (left) bank at the group of white buildings. Mid river, the traffic was light. There were dows (if that's how you spell them)... ... and junks carrying all kinds of goods and passengers. As we neared the landing, traffic grew heavy. We almost collided with this cattle boat. Our comercial ferry had priority to land first so all of the other, smaller, traffic had to wait for us. I counted 30 boats of all sizes. The passengers all crowded to the front, anxious to get off before the trucks, cars, and cattle all treid to drive off at once. The river had washed the main landing away so we walked off onto a dirt pad which connected to the road. These oxen were the last off.   "Remember, Gramps loves you and wants you to be happy."