"The U.S. Embassy reminds everyone to responsibly use discretion in their decision to ride in a rickshaw...For security reasons, the Embassy recommends that U.S. citizens avoid riding in taxis, buses, and engine-powered rickshaws (CNGs)."
This is part of an email I received last night about purse snatchings from rickshaws. I wonder, if you didn't travel by rickshaw, baby taxi (CNG), bus, or taxi, how would you possibly get around? Traveling on foot certainly isn't any safer, not to mention every man, woman and child on the street asks if you need a rickshaw, and most of us don't have access to a private car. Like so many government recommendations, this seems a little ridiculous.
On the subject of rickshaws (the rickshaws here are cyclerickshaws, btw), while we were on the way to a kitchen garden yesterday to pretest the questionnaire, I saw a family of no less than 6 riding in one rickshaw (you can fit two somewhat comfortably). So far, that is a record. I have no idea how that scrawny rickshaw driver was moving all those people. Dr. Sobur informed me yesterday that rickshaw drivers make around $7-8 dollars a day - that's a lot of work for so little pay.
Dr. Sobur also informed me that there are something like 42 universities in Dhaka. I wasn't all that surprised because it seems like there is a university on every corner, and we were passing BRAC University at the time. Still it's pretty impressive that there are enough students to support that many universities, and to some extent also that there seems not to be much benefit to the surrounding communities. BRAC University, for example, faces a main road, but is surrounded by a dirty alleyway where I saw the family of six on a rickshaw and some rather questionable drinking water sources.
Short entry this time, but my dinner awaits...
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