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From Dhaka Gabtoli bus station our bus station we left at 11.30. The road goes through Tangail, Sirajganj, Natore to all the way to Rajshahi. We reached our hotel at Green City International late in the evening. Next day we took a local bus to Puthia . From main road Puthia village is accessible by rickshaw, this is the largest temple complex in Bangladesh. These temples were built by hindu Zamindars of Puthia . Notable temples are Govinda Temple, Shiva Temple and there are some others in dissipated state.
We spent few hours in Puthia and then came back to our hotel to pack my bags and left for Bogra. We reached Bogra in afternoon and checked in to Annex suite. This is by far the most luxurious hotel stay in Bangladesh for me.
There are few places of historical significance around Bogra .
Next morning I left very early morning towards Paharpur for Sompur Mahavihara. It is one of the most important archaeological site of Bangladesh and categorised as UNESCO world heritage site. This forms part of monastery network of eastern India during Gupta and Pal dynasties .
Travelling by public transport is painful as there is no direct bus, nevertheless first I had to reach Joypurhat from Charmatha bus stand. There is 1 bus every hour and it took more than 2 hours . From Joypurhat I got bus to Paharpur after almost another 1 hr and the bus took 45 mins. From main road I took a rickshaw which took me to the Sompur Mahavihara. It took almost 5 hrs to reach there . Roads also pretty bad and the buses are hardly maintained. The morning bus to Joypurhat which I was supposed to be on (got delayed in the morning) had an accident and skidded and toppled in a water body next to the road.
Latter that day I visited Mahasthangarh. Mahasthangarh was the ancient capital of Poundravardhan situated on the bank of Karatoya river. There is reminiscent of ancient citadel and boundary wall . The excavation sites are scattered . It was also pretty late , I visited Govinda Bhitta and the museum before the site is closed ate 6 PM. Next morning I visited Gokul Medh also known as Behular Basar Ghar or Lakshindarer Medh which is associated with famous folklore of Behula Lakhindar .
Later in the afternoon we left for Dhaka by bus. On the way there was a breakdown and we were given a replacement bus. We reached Dhaka very late in the night. Our hotel was near Airport. Next morning we took the flight to Kolkata. I was prepared for questioning at immigration as my mother’s visa has already expired but luckily nothing happened. It was a nice trip and only country in the world which share my mother tongue . The tourist infrastructure is non existent but for me that is the part of the fun.
