Bangladesh

Bangladesh and the Northeastern part of India is a fascinating place - would love to travel there someday. Over the past several years, I've gotten to know General Muniruzziman well - and he would show the area very well.

I'm reading "Crossing the Bay of Bengal" by Sunil Amrith right now - and he makes a very clear case of that region as being a cohesive whole unit, with significant history of cross-border traffic. He also clearly shows how the environment, particularly the success or failure of the monsoon, is such a critical part of the region's success and failure.

The great rivers of the region - the Brahmaputra, the Meghana, the Ganges - are the lifeblood of the region, but they also cross major militarized international borders.

Here's a great travelogue article in the Economist's Banyan blog about a trip up to a mine in northern Bangladesh. Oh to have a job like his. The Post's travel section had a great article this past weekend about a trip into Arunchal Pradesh.

One day, I'll convince someone to pay my way for a fact-finding mission over to that area of the world. I'm convinced that it will one day soon become a hinge around which much greater geopolitical forces play. I've written some about the water issues in the region, and I'd be keen to write more.