Asia
River deltas, mangrove forests and some of Asia's warmest welcomes.
Bangladesh is a green, water-laced country shaped by the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers. Dhaka is dense and energetic, with the ferry bustle of Sadarghat and the pink Ahsan Manzil palace. Further afield are the Sundarbans mangroves, home to the Bengal tiger, the tea gardens around Sreemangal, the hills of Bandarban and the long beach at Cox's Bazar.
Travel here is slow, busy and rarely dull: rickshaws, river launches and crowded trains, with meals of rice, fish curries, biryani and sweets such as rasgulla. Foreign visitors are still relatively rare, so expect curiosity and generous hospitality. November to February is the time to go, with dry, mild days; the monsoon from June to September brings heavy rain and flooding.
January, February, November, December.