Still holding off buying a GPS... Just cant take the leap.
We have survived this far without any maps or guides but Im getting a little concerned about our next destination, Bangladesh.
I have no information about this country at all and am considering purchasing a map so we can streamline our riding a bit. The vagueness of chasing the sun and getting lost on purpose may pose some problems there me thinks.

Any one recommend a good Map?
Other advice about Bangladesh will be warmly welcomed too...

__________________
Round the world on a Postie bike, 2-up
Bilingual Blog (japanese and English)
http://faster-than-walking.com

i just finished one month there. i had the (now out of print) lonely planet india/nepal/bangladesh route book. for most of india, this book is great. but now as i am in the northeast i am finding that it is out of date and many roads that look good on the map are in bad condition. and some roads are not listed at all as they are new.
this applied to bangladesh as well. i also bought a basic map at a bookstore in bangladesh. this was my most useful and between the 2 maps all was well. to a point. asking directions is the best way to know if you are on the right road.
the roads are in beautiful condition 90% of the time. low traffic on them too. lots of pedestrians and carts though.
getting lost is not a problem there and you can get back to where you need to be by just asking. in cities i would just pull up to the police standing on the roundabouts directing traffic and ask directions. greeting them with a big smile they were too glad to help me.they would even stop traffic sometimes to let me proceed and often with a salute! lol
you will find it a very nice place. low key...except for traffic in dhaka and chittagong.
so, get the best map you can. buy one there and youre good to go.
just dont go during or soonafter monsoon! some roads may disappear!
keep small notes of 5 and 10 taka handy to cross the rivers on ferries.
any further questions just ask or pm me.
later

Mitchell
Going on your advice and experience, we have decided to purchase a Lonely Planet Guide for Bangladesh. A first for us.

Apparently there is a new edition just printed. Cant find it at any of the bookshops in Bangkok so have ordered it online.

Did you enter NorthEast India (Sikkum, Assam...) from Bangladesh?

__________________
Round the world on a Postie bike, 2-up
Bilingual Blog (japanese and English)
http://faster-than-walking.com

use ''burimari'' border to visit assam. theres some special int'l bus from Dhaka to straight derjiling(u got to use that route for assam) u wont visit derjiling?

hi aussienat,
did you freight your postie bike to dhaka already??
we're now still on koh chang but will be heading for bangkok in 1-2 weeks.
can you give me some information about which company you used, how much it was and etc.?
failing to cross china, we'll have to freight the bike either to kathmandu or even dhaka, whatever is best...

thanks for your help

darius

actually, the map i was referring to was a LP road atlas. not the guide book. it was printed last (and only? in 2001)
although i hear the new guidebook is way better than the old one.
no, i went back to kolkata and came up through west bengal. had to recover from broken ribs...never trust a bamboo bridge!
just rode down the other day to the indian side of the border at dawki. it seems to be a very easy border to cross. you could get from sylhet to shillong in a day if you start out early. from dawki you just climb all the way along ridges and all. absolutely beautiful!
will be in tripura in a few days and will check out the border there. just to know. not planning to spend another us$130 for the bangla visa!!
later

$130 for the bangla visa??
Wow they went to town on you guys.
About $30 for Aussies... Free for Japanese!

Our guidebook arrives soon, should be sufficient.

I hope your ribs have healed well. Bridges on Bangla's main routes OK?

Am considering heading north out of Bangla into the Seven Sisters but am trying to work out what kind of altitudes will need to be crossed... Our little Postie struggles at altitudes over 2000m, haven't yet found a solution. Juggling jets at the moment, still no luck.

Hey Darius.
We are still in Bangkok. Will be here until around the 20th of Feb. Still havent bought our tickets.
Waiting to get some parts fitted to the bike. Another clutch has worn out.

Lets meet up for a bite to eat. PM me when you arrive.

We will probably go with Sita Cargo.
They seem the easiest.
Charging us about US$2 per Kg, with Thai Air.
Crate is a bit expensive.

Joy at

Sita Cargo
212 Chalermkhet 1 Road. Suan Mali
Bangkok Thailand 10100
Phone 2257717 -8
Phone 2265671

Its a bit difficult to find. Took us all morning riding around trying to find it.
If you want to go, we can show you there.

Nathan and Aki

__________________
Round the world on a Postie bike, 2-up
Bilingual Blog (japanese and English)
http://faster-than-walking.com

yes, americans pay through the nose. reciprocity. we pay what our country charges other countries' citizens to come over. so i cant really complain. i imagine its much worse for a bangladeshi to pay us$130! for uk, it was IR3200, about us$64.
the highest peaks, except for arunachal pradesh, are only around 1500 meters.
bamboo bridges are only in the boonies, where i got my ribs done up! middle of nowhere, for real.
as stated, all the roads are fine and the big bridges too.
i will be in the northeast till early may and then fly out to bkk for a trip to indonesia and beaches for the next 6 months after. without wheels
later

A postie! (Slightly modded)
Honda CT110 bike used by the Australian POSTal service

Good news about the altitudes. Maybe we will give the seven sisters a bash.
Did you need any permits to enter that region? Tripura, Meghalay, Assam???

Glad to hear the roads are OK, although I am not shy of a bit of dirt.

If we make it to the region, will meet up with you.
Thanks for the tips.

Indonesia on a bike is tops... You should consider it.
N

__________________
Round the world on a Postie bike, 2-up
Bilingual Blog (japanese and English)
http://faster-than-walking.com

so that is a postie. is that some road kill on the seat?!
for the 3 states you mention no permit is necessary. for the others yes.
i plan to be in the NE til the end of april and maybe the first couple of weeks of may. depends when the rains come.
btw, bangla has some military problems at the moment. a pay dispute has led to shots fired and a military mutiny; border guards vs army. dont think it will last long though. but maybe that is more hope than fact!
as for indonesia, i will be concentrating on lots of island hopping and diving and snorkelling. mostly out in the molukas from manado to papua and down to east timor. am thinking it would be too much of a hassle to be shipping a bike and all the other stuff associated with that.
all the best