Initiative:
We all friends were overloaded with work and our lives were getting unbearable in overheat and traffic jam at Dhaka. Walking anywhere was no pleasure in fume and red sun. One of my friends just told us to take a break from everything and have a trip to Nijhum Dip. We all agreed. But the time was of storm and thunder here. In April we experience a storm called ‘Kal-Boishakhi’. It’s dangerous to cross rivers then. The port is declared closed now and then. And to reach Nijhum Dip, we had to go over the water in speed boats. So we changed our destination (after we agreed to go to Nijhum Dip!) to Saint Martin’s (Narikel Jinjira), the northest part of the Bay of Bengal, a great tour spot. We didn’t contact any travel agency to buy travel packages because we had a smart guy called Bahar with us. He was our manager and travel guide!
The route:
Saint Martin’s is behind Cox’s Bazar. To go there, you have to first go to Teknaf crossing Cox’s Bazar and cross the river of Naf. There are trawlers and small ships which carries people to Saint Martins. So we bought tickets from Dhaka to Teknaf from Motijheel. It’s a 11 hour journey. Our bus started the engine at 10 pm and stopped at 9 am on the following day at a port in Teknaf where a small ship was ready to take us to Saint Martin. We had a quick breakfast at the port. Some of us felt a bit sick. Unfortunately, there were a very few medical stores and we had to find them out. So it’s better to take any medicine you need before starting the journey.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The port was very tiny. We walked over a bridge made of wood and bamboo to the ship. The ship, Keary-Sindbad, was two storied. First floor was made to secure people from storms. It was made water-proof. The top floor is open on the sides and was accommodated with comfortable benches. Obviously we were on the top! Some of us slept for some time, some took pictures under mild wind-blow in the center, heavy on the sides. It was a 3 hour journey along the river Naf and a half hour journey through the sea. We reached a small but concrete port at the saint martins then.
At the Saint Martin’s:
There were a lot of kids at the port waiting for the ship. No, they were not boarding on; they were expecting tourists because they were legally appointed as travel guides! Their ages ranged from 8 to 15. They didn’t carry bags, simply because they were guides, not coolies.
We got off the ship, took pictures of the team, and started to look for the best location for us to sleep. We rented two cottages. They were colorful, very very clean, had little ponds and gardens around them. The entrance was facing the sea. There was a small shop at the entrance where we passed a lot of time only sitting and looking at the beach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The only transport in the village of Saint Martin’s is a special type of van made of wood. We walked through the village streets for some time after leaving our luggage at the cottages. We saw a pond at a mosque whose bed was made of rounded rocks (check the last photo below). I don’t know why it was made in such a way, probably to keep the water cold or make it sweet. Most of the buildings were made of bamboo, wood, and tin-roofs. But they were colored! Probably it’s due to the weather, not for art. But they made buildings look beautiful anyway 
…
|
|
|
We had the lunch at some hotel near the port. All the restaurants were at the port, and the only market was at the port. It was off-season. Very few fishes were available. Fish businesses were closed. So we only had a few types of fish to eat. Most of them were about 50-70grams in weight and costed 60tk per piece roasted or fried. We had rice and pulses with it. Then we bought sandals which were comfortable to walk on the sands. Some of us bought caps to hide from the sun. It was very hot there. But the weather was soothing….
After the dinner we got ready for the playing in the sea. We walked along the beach, found big boats used for fishing in the sea. We got on them, and took pictures. Then we left our belongings in a boat and dived into the sea. I am sorry for not having any picture at this point because every one was busy playing with water and the tides. No one cared to get off and take pictures 
…
|
|
|
|
|
|
After taking the bath, we just roamed around. Took pictures of rocks, coral, fishes on the beach, sands, trees, and drank young coconut water; What more a tourist can expect? The coconuts were very big, and some contained more than a liter of water in it, and costed only 15tk each at Saint Martin Beach!
|
|
|
After sunset the idea of having a BBQ night on the beach of Saint Martin’s came into our minds. We went the the market, and looked for plates, cooking tools, dishes, spices, and fish. Ok, we ended up soon with nothing. Some guy wanted to lent us the places and dishes for tk.300. It was not okey because we were in a tight budget. Failed, we gathered in a food place selling ‘PURI’, ordered some PURI’s with vegetable curry. Then we inquired the waiters there about renting the things we need for BBQ. They pointed us to the owner of another restaurant called ‘Daruchini Dipp Hotel’. I forgot his name. We called him ‘Chacha’. We talked to him. He was a pleasing guy. He wanted to lend everything for free. We invited him to join us, he declined that modestly, too. Then we promised to send him whatever we cook at his home. We planned to have the BBQ on next night
Nothing more happened after the sunset because there is no electricity in the Saint Martin’s. The hotels and restaurants are run by their own power generators. The villages lives on fire. We had the dinner quickly and went to bed early and thinking of how we can get our mobiles and camera batteries recharged (indeed we are not expert travellers). Because without them, we would not be able to get the Saint Martin to you….
