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jas
I am Nigeria and live in Nigeria, Africa. I would love to travel to India and Bangladesh for a vacation, I would spend about three weeks. So I would love to know when to go, how i can go about getting visas, where exactly should i go to get the experience. How much should i budget, travel arrangements. what i should take. All the neccessary details.
Answer
The best time to visit Bangladesh is in the winter when the weather is dry and fresh.
Therefore, it is advisable to visit Bangladesh from mid-October to the end of February.
VISAS: Bangladesh visas are valid for six months from the date of issue and are good for stays of one to three months. The country adheres to 'reciprocal' arrangements, which means the government generally charge visitors whatever their respective country charges for Bangladesh nationals. It is recommended you obtain your visa before departing; they may be difficult to get upon arrival at the airport. It may often be more efficient to write 'business' than 'tourist' for some strange reason.
Places To Check Out
a) SUNDARBAN MANGROVES: The Sundarbans are the largest mangrove forest in the world, stretching 80km into the Bangladeshi hinterland from the coast. The Sundarbans cover an area of 38,500 sq. km, of which about one-third is water. It is optimistically estimated that there are around 400 Royal Bengal tigers (of which you'll never see one -- and be grateful for it) and several thousand spotted deer in the area. Realistically don't expect to see much other than a few crocs sunbathing in the mud and a few species of migratory birds in the winter. Either to or from Dhaka, the 'Rocket' or colonial paddle-wheeler is the most exciting way to arrive at or depart from Khulna city. To get deep enough into the mangroves takes several days of river journey each way.
b) COX'S BAZAR: Bangladesh's main beach resort is near the Myanmar border in an area where Rohingya refugees have settled to escape persecution in Myanmar over the centuries. It has a slight Burmese Buddhist flavor and has basic amenities to service the visitors attracted by its enormous expanse of shark-free beach. Get out of the 'hotel district' and wander around the tribal and residential areas. South of Cox's Bazar are secluded beaches where having a swim can still be a private experience. A short speed boat journey away is Maheskhali Island, where there is an ancient Hindu temple (during February there is a huge gathering for Siva Ratri) and Buddhist shrines in the tribal area where you can see and purchase beautiful handloom cloth directly from the tribal women weavers. You can also observe sea salt production and shrimp farming.
c) RANGAMATI: A lush and verdant rural area belonging to the Chakma tribe, is open to visitors, as is Kaptai Lake. The lake, ringed by thick tropical and semi-evergreen forests, looks like nothing else in Bangladesh. While the lake itself is beautiful, the thatched fishing villages located on the lake shore are what make a visit really special. Boats which visit the villages leave from Rangamati. Bring your swimming gear because you can take a plunge anywhere. The town itself is crowded with baby taxis and becoming increasingly polluted. Avoid holidays and Fridays when hundreds of Bengali 'picnickers' converge in crowded buses, each competing with the loudest cinema music screaming tape systems mounted on the roofs.
Budget (US$50 per day basis):
a) You can stay in hotel with room-rent as low as US$20 to 30 per night with. There are some cheaper hotels too where US$10 may also do the job, but not with many amenities.
b) Food would cost somewhere from US$10 to 20.
c) Please try to travel light, since you would find very cheap clothing of international brand-names, thanks to our flourishing garments industries.
d) Keep routine medication available though we have most of the medicines available in Bangladesh with adequate number of physicians to attend any emergency.
Note of caution: There were a few cases here where some people from Africa were arrested for carrying contraband items. This is not to undermine anybody, but it was reported that the travelers were lured or mislead to carry such items by unscrupulous people of the racket.
Wish you nice stay in Bangladesh.
The best time to visit Bangladesh is in the winter when the weather is dry and fresh.
Therefore, it is advisable to visit Bangladesh from mid-October to the end of February.
VISAS: Bangladesh visas are valid for six months from the date of issue and are good for stays of one to three months. The country adheres to 'reciprocal' arrangements, which means the government generally charge visitors whatever their respective country charges for Bangladesh nationals. It is recommended you obtain your visa before departing; they may be difficult to get upon arrival at the airport. It may often be more efficient to write 'business' than 'tourist' for some strange reason.
Places To Check Out
a) SUNDARBAN MANGROVES: The Sundarbans are the largest mangrove forest in the world, stretching 80km into the Bangladeshi hinterland from the coast. The Sundarbans cover an area of 38,500 sq. km, of which about one-third is water. It is optimistically estimated that there are around 400 Royal Bengal tigers (of which you'll never see one -- and be grateful for it) and several thousand spotted deer in the area. Realistically don't expect to see much other than a few crocs sunbathing in the mud and a few species of migratory birds in the winter. Either to or from Dhaka, the 'Rocket' or colonial paddle-wheeler is the most exciting way to arrive at or depart from Khulna city. To get deep enough into the mangroves takes several days of river journey each way.
b) COX'S BAZAR: Bangladesh's main beach resort is near the Myanmar border in an area where Rohingya refugees have settled to escape persecution in Myanmar over the centuries. It has a slight Burmese Buddhist flavor and has basic amenities to service the visitors attracted by its enormous expanse of shark-free beach. Get out of the 'hotel district' and wander around the tribal and residential areas. South of Cox's Bazar are secluded beaches where having a swim can still be a private experience. A short speed boat journey away is Maheskhali Island, where there is an ancient Hindu temple (during February there is a huge gathering for Siva Ratri) and Buddhist shrines in the tribal area where you can see and purchase beautiful handloom cloth directly from the tribal women weavers. You can also observe sea salt production and shrimp farming.
c) RANGAMATI: A lush and verdant rural area belonging to the Chakma tribe, is open to visitors, as is Kaptai Lake. The lake, ringed by thick tropical and semi-evergreen forests, looks like nothing else in Bangladesh. While the lake itself is beautiful, the thatched fishing villages located on the lake shore are what make a visit really special. Boats which visit the villages leave from Rangamati. Bring your swimming gear because you can take a plunge anywhere. The town itself is crowded with baby taxis and becoming increasingly polluted. Avoid holidays and Fridays when hundreds of Bengali 'picnickers' converge in crowded buses, each competing with the loudest cinema music screaming tape systems mounted on the roofs.
Budget (US$50 per day basis):
a) You can stay in hotel with room-rent as low as US$20 to 30 per night with. There are some cheaper hotels too where US$10 may also do the job, but not with many amenities.
b) Food would cost somewhere from US$10 to 20.
c) Please try to travel light, since you would find very cheap clothing of international brand-names, thanks to our flourishing garments industries.
d) Keep routine medication available though we have most of the medicines available in Bangladesh with adequate number of physicians to attend any emergency.
Note of caution: There were a few cases here where some people from Africa were arrested for carrying contraband items. This is not to undermine anybody, but it was reported that the travelers were lured or mislead to carry such items by unscrupulous people of the racket.
Wish you nice stay in Bangladesh.
What are some characteristics of naked mole rats that allow them to live in harsh environments?
BG
How do these unique characteristics evolve from ancestors who did not posses these traits?
Answer
Naked mole rats (Heterocehalus glaber) are native to arid regions of East Africa, predominantly south Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. Unique characteristics of :
(1) Eusociality. They have a complex social structure in which only one female (the queen) and one to three males reproduce, while the rest of the members of the colony function as workers. As in certain bee species, the workers are divided along a continuum of different worker-caste behaviors instead of discrete groups. Some function primarily as tunnelers, expanding the burrow system, and some primarily as soldiers, protecting the group from outside predators. The typical colony contains 75-80 members. The Damaraland Mole Rat (Coetomys damarensis) is the only other eusocial mammal currently known.
(2) A single tuber or root can provide a colony with a long-term source of foodâlasting for months, or even years, since they eat the inside but leave the outside, allowing the tuber to regenerate.
(3) They have by far the greatest longevity of any rodent, living for up to 28 years, because of their ability to shut down their metabolism.
(4) Because they live completely underground, they develop extremely long tunnel networks, often extending two to three miles.
(5) Their underground existence does not require keen vision, so their eyes are just narrow slits, and their eyesight is poor.
(6) They are so well-adapted to traveling underground that they can move equally rapidly backward and forward.
(7) Their blood has a strong affinity for oxygen, enabling them to live in the oxygen-poor underground.
(8) They have unusually low metabolic and respiratory rates, and can reduce their metabolism by 25% when hungry.
(9) They are effectively cold-blooded, or poikilothermic, unlike any other mammals. They lack sweat glands and fat layers, and cannot regulate their body temperatures, so they must huddle together when cold, and descend to colder tunnels when hot. Because their tunnels are well-insulated, temperature and humidity are kept nearly constant at 30º - 32ºC and 90% respectively, enabling their body temperatures to stay at 32ºC.
(10) They lack Substance P, a pain neurotransmitter, and consequently feel no skin pain. This adaptation is probably due to the high levels of carbon dioxide in their tunnels, and the likelihood that carbonic acid would cause skin pain.
(11) Their cylindrical bodies enable them to move more rapidly in burrows.
(12) Their short, spindly limbs are sufficient for mobility, since they use their teeth for digging.
(13) They are able to position their lips behind their teeth to prevent dirt from entering their mouth.
(14) They have long, prominent fossorial incisors, external to the mouth, which maximize their digging capabilities.
(15) What little hair they have is touch-sensitive, enabling them to navigate and communicate with other colony members.
(16) The queen uses reproductive suppression, which may involve pheromones, to prevent other females from breeding.
(17) They often eat their own feces (coprophagia).
(18) Babies are reared by the entire colony, and food is shared among all colony members.
(19) They have broom-like hairs on their feet for sweeping tunnels.
(20) They form chains to move dirt more rapidly when tunneling.
(21) They follow many established protocols. For instance, a smaller individual will crouch down to allow a larger one to pass when they meet.
(22) To change direction when traversing a tunnel, they will go to a junction, where a three-point turn is performed.
(23) They communicate via at least 17 distinct vocalizations, as well as by touch and smell.
(24) The queen is morphologically distinct from the rest of the colony, several times larger than other females, enabling it to carry huge litters of up to 28 pups several times annually.
The unique characteristics of mole rats evolved over the course of millions of years, so that they could optimally adapt to an arid environment by living exclusively underground. Their eusociality may be an inevitable result of their avoidance of terra firma, since a colony or communal existence is more likely to succeed than smaller groupings.
Naked mole rats (Heterocehalus glaber) are native to arid regions of East Africa, predominantly south Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. Unique characteristics of :
(1) Eusociality. They have a complex social structure in which only one female (the queen) and one to three males reproduce, while the rest of the members of the colony function as workers. As in certain bee species, the workers are divided along a continuum of different worker-caste behaviors instead of discrete groups. Some function primarily as tunnelers, expanding the burrow system, and some primarily as soldiers, protecting the group from outside predators. The typical colony contains 75-80 members. The Damaraland Mole Rat (Coetomys damarensis) is the only other eusocial mammal currently known.
(2) A single tuber or root can provide a colony with a long-term source of foodâlasting for months, or even years, since they eat the inside but leave the outside, allowing the tuber to regenerate.
(3) They have by far the greatest longevity of any rodent, living for up to 28 years, because of their ability to shut down their metabolism.
(4) Because they live completely underground, they develop extremely long tunnel networks, often extending two to three miles.
(5) Their underground existence does not require keen vision, so their eyes are just narrow slits, and their eyesight is poor.
(6) They are so well-adapted to traveling underground that they can move equally rapidly backward and forward.
(7) Their blood has a strong affinity for oxygen, enabling them to live in the oxygen-poor underground.
(8) They have unusually low metabolic and respiratory rates, and can reduce their metabolism by 25% when hungry.
(9) They are effectively cold-blooded, or poikilothermic, unlike any other mammals. They lack sweat glands and fat layers, and cannot regulate their body temperatures, so they must huddle together when cold, and descend to colder tunnels when hot. Because their tunnels are well-insulated, temperature and humidity are kept nearly constant at 30º - 32ºC and 90% respectively, enabling their body temperatures to stay at 32ºC.
(10) They lack Substance P, a pain neurotransmitter, and consequently feel no skin pain. This adaptation is probably due to the high levels of carbon dioxide in their tunnels, and the likelihood that carbonic acid would cause skin pain.
(11) Their cylindrical bodies enable them to move more rapidly in burrows.
(12) Their short, spindly limbs are sufficient for mobility, since they use their teeth for digging.
(13) They are able to position their lips behind their teeth to prevent dirt from entering their mouth.
(14) They have long, prominent fossorial incisors, external to the mouth, which maximize their digging capabilities.
(15) What little hair they have is touch-sensitive, enabling them to navigate and communicate with other colony members.
(16) The queen uses reproductive suppression, which may involve pheromones, to prevent other females from breeding.
(17) They often eat their own feces (coprophagia).
(18) Babies are reared by the entire colony, and food is shared among all colony members.
(19) They have broom-like hairs on their feet for sweeping tunnels.
(20) They form chains to move dirt more rapidly when tunneling.
(21) They follow many established protocols. For instance, a smaller individual will crouch down to allow a larger one to pass when they meet.
(22) To change direction when traversing a tunnel, they will go to a junction, where a three-point turn is performed.
(23) They communicate via at least 17 distinct vocalizations, as well as by touch and smell.
(24) The queen is morphologically distinct from the rest of the colony, several times larger than other females, enabling it to carry huge litters of up to 28 pups several times annually.
The unique characteristics of mole rats evolved over the course of millions of years, so that they could optimally adapt to an arid environment by living exclusively underground. Their eusociality may be an inevitable result of their avoidance of terra firma, since a colony or communal existence is more likely to succeed than smaller groupings.
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