Hong Kong Nights

Hong Kong at night is transformed into an illuminating metropolis of lights. Every so often, I decide to put the backpack full of stickers, pictures and paste down and pick up a tripod to try and capture this.

On the Streets of Dhaka

Dhaka is a congested, polluted and chaotic maze of streets filled with colorful vehicles, rickshaws, animals and humans all trying to avoid each other and make it through this urban labyrinth. The city is a mind blowing experience that has earned it the title of Asia's Chaos Capital. The city itself is built to sustain a population of 2 million, but somehow 20 million people reside in and around Dhaka. 

Most of the vehicles in Dhaka communicate by honking, so there is a constant buzz of horns, gridlocked traffic and frustrated drivers on the road at all hours of the day. 

 The side streets are always filled with rickshaws, animals, humans and CNG's or tuk-tuks all trying to navigate their way through the streets.

While walking through Dhaka's largest slum (which is located across a lake facing one of Dhaka's most expensive neighborhoods) I found this curious girl poking her head out of her family's corrugated metal shack. 

Cops on duty, working hard. Papers and guns.

A typical scene in Bangladesh. I walked through this door, took a few photos, turned around 2 minutes later to this crowd watching my every move with keen interest.

Walking around the slums.

On the roof of an unfinished building in Old Dhaka. It was barely 8 in the morning and the streets were teeming with activity and the temperature was already 33.

CHAOS

Many structures in the city such as the one in focus (as well as the one I am standing on) remain incomplete.  

Meat District

Part of the traffic police. Im not sure that a paper thin mask is helping to prevent any of the toxic fumes that are inhaled in a 10 hour shift on the congested streets, but with little to no budget provided from the government, you have to do the best you can with the resources at hand.

Local Hustla

The Mosque (still being built)

Deep in the heart of Dhaka's biggest slum, I found myself at a dead end. Before I could think, I was invited into the home of a family.

The owner of the home explained to me that this toilet is used by multiple families that live in the slum. There was little to no smell and zero flies. Again, making use of the resources at hand, which the Bangladeshi people seem to have mastered.

Nature to the City Streets: Bangladesh Paste

The stark contrast between nature and city that was lacking for my photographs in Sri Lanka was found on the streets of Dhaka and Chittagong. No matter where I went in the country huge crowds would gather to lend a helping hand. 

It took a good 20 minutes for the crowd to disperse in order to get a photograph with no one in it.

While walking through the Dhaka train yards to catch the train to Chittagong, I noticed this car parked on the tracks. I asked someone who seemed like he had the authority to grant me permission to paste if it would be alright to put my photograph on the train. He told me to wait around for 20 minutes while he asked. Since my train left in 20 minutes, and lacking the patience to wait for a yes, I took my chances, jumped down on the tracks (avoiding multiple pieces of human feces) and started to paste the photo.

Next thing I know I had multiple hands helping me and hundreds of curious eyes watching it all go down.

When I was finished pasting the photograph, I turned around to this crowd of people watching my every move. 

At the brick yards outside of Chittagong.

On the streets of Dhaka.

The Faces of Bangladesh

Bangladesh, the only country in the world that the people took more pictures of me than I did of them. 

The Bangladeshi people were very friendly, outgoing and very curious about, well everything. Since not to many foreigners come to the country the people are very interested in why someone would go and what their deal is. 

Caught this pre cricket swing, he stroked one out of the park soon after this.

 This was at the end of the day as he finished carrying massive sacks of concrete mix across a field to a river to be picked up by a boat. He is 16 years old and works 7 days a week doing heavy manual labor.

The bakers. The temperatures outside were +35, inside it was extremely hot. Smiles and attitude all around.

He is standing in the bottom of the trench that he and his brother dug by hand to collect water for his crops.