080 - Dhaka, Bangladesh
080 - Dhaka, Bangladesh 
We travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh and have a quick travel destination tour of the city We look at transport problems What hotel do I stay at? What can I do?
Podsafe music this week is "Song for Free " which is a free download for you from Todd Lerner.
Bangladesh (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ), is officially the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and is country in South Asia. Dhaka (Bengali: ঢাকা) is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka District. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, has a population in excess of 11 million, making it the largest city in Bangladesh and one of the most populous in the world.
How to get around: Cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws are the main mode of transport for the inhabitants of the city, with close to 400,000 rickshaws running each day and almost all of them were on the roads when PodAsia visited! However, only about 80,000 rickshaws are licensed by the city government. Relatively low-cost and non-polluting, cycle rickshaws nevertheless cause traffic congestion and have supposedly been banned from many parts of the city. Public buses are operated by the state-run Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and by private companies and operators.
Dhaka has scooters, taxis and privately-owned automobiles are becoming increasingly popular with the city’s growing middle-class. The government has overseen the replacement of two-stroke engine taxis with "Green taxis", which run on compressed natural gas.
One of the challenges for Bangladesh will be when motorcycles become more popular!
Where to stay: Places to stay include Dhaka Sheraton Hotel -
1 Minto Road · P.O. Box 504 · Dhaka 1000 · Bangladesh
Phone: +880 (2) 8330001. 272 rooms - downtown business district and close to Dhaka’s famous Ramna Park, the Prime Minister’s office, National Art Museum, and the Kurmitola Golf Course.
Also try The Westin Dhaka Main Gulshan Avenue · Plot-01, Road 45, Gulshan-2 · Dhaka 1212 · Bangladesh · Phone: +880 (2) 9891988. 235 rooms - The Westin Dhaka is a new five-star hotel, conveniently located within the prime diplomatic and commercial zone of Gulshan. The embassies, high commissions, multinationals offices, and shopping malls are within easy walking distance.
Music in this episode is from the podsafemusicnetwork.com and features a rather interesting fellow, Todd Lerner, who is giving away one song from his album for free. You can get a copy here.
November 30th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
wow 2 years and still going strong. Sounding as fresh and vital as day one. How many miles have you clocked up now in Asia alone Professor Poddy!