点评:American visitor here. I've been to various countries in Asia about 20+ times, and I can honestly say the tour with Mostafizur Rahman Jewel and Royal Bengal Tours was among the best of the best. It was my first time to Bangladesh, and I came exclusively for architectural site visits and photography. The trip was in late March/early April. I had a very limited amount of time--only about 5 and a half days, but Jewel was incredibly patient and proactive in helping me curate the most efficient itinerary to take advantage of the light, the traffic, the weather, etc. I expected maybe to end up visiting 80% or so of the places on my list, but with Jewel, we managed to make it 110%, as he not only fulfilled every site I requested, he also went *above and beyond* by recommending some additional sites to stop at along the way, which was incredibly helpful.
Though no fault of Jewel's, the trip had a few hazards, but Jewel didn't let those stop us. There were significant fuel shortages due to the Iran war, but Jewel and our driver spent time after-hours waiting in line (for hours), queuing for fuel, while I rested in the hotel at night, ensuring that my daytime tour was completely unaffected. He did not ask for or demand any additional money for this--he simply and kindly accepted the additional burdens and maintained a universally cheerful and engaging demeanor.
I also loved his genuine interest in Bangladesh. It was enthusiastic. Without asking, he brought me some books on Bangladeshi architecture for me to read while driving from site to site, and impressed me with his deep knowledge of the country's history, architecture, and traditions. At no time or place did I feel concerned about anything, as Jewel had everything in hand, and all contingencies prepared for.
If there was any downside, the availability of good food options was limited in some of the rural areas we visited, but that was to be expected and is not something that's controllable. There was also (due to the season) a lot of haze and construction dust (you can kind of tell some sample photos, attached, which required some post-processing to reduce the haze). Despite the infrastructure and climate difficulties, I hope that the Bangladeshi government will recognize and support the growth of tourism as the country has so much to offer, but it is so barely known among travel circles internationally, which is quite unfortunate.
I will surely be back again to Bangladesh. I covered a lot of ground, but there is much more to see. I will definitely rebook with Royal Bengal and Jewel!
翻译:我是一名来自美国的游客。我曾20多次前往亚洲各国,可以坦率地说,由Mostafizur Rahman Jewel和Royal Bengal Tours安排的这次旅行堪称最顶级的体验。这是我第一次到孟加拉国,此行的目的纯粹是为了参观各类建筑遗迹以及摄影。行程安排在3月底/4月初。我的时间非常有限——只有5天半左右。不过,Jewel展现出了极强的耐心与主动性,帮我规划出最合理的行程安排,从而充分利用好光线、交通状况以及天气等各种因素。我原本预计最多只能参观到清单上约80%的景点,但在Jewel的协助下,我们最终参观的景点比例竟达到了110%——他不仅逐一安排了我希望参观的所有地点,还额外推荐了一些沿途值得一去的景点,这真的帮了大忙。
虽然这并非Jewel的错……这次行程虽然有些险阻,但Jewel并未让这些阻碍我们。由于伊朗战争的影响,当时燃油严重短缺,Jewel和我们的司机在下班后花好几个小时排队等候,只为买到燃油;而我则在酒店里休息,确保白天的行程不受任何影响。他并未为此索要或要求任何额外报酬——只是默默而友善地承担起了这些额外的负担,始终保持着开朗且热情的态度。我也很欣赏他对孟加拉国那份真挚的兴趣。他满怀热忱。没等我开口,他就给我带了几本关于孟加拉国建筑的书籍,让我在往返各施工点的路上阅读。他对该国历史、建筑及传统的深厚了解也令我钦佩不已。无论何时何地,我都毫无后顾之忧,因为Jewel把一切都安排得井然有序,各种突发情况也都有应对预案。
如果说有什么不足之处的话……在我们走访的一些农村地区,可供选择的好食物相当有限,但这也在预料之中,且并非我们能够控制的。此外,由于季节因素,当地雾霾和建筑施工产生的灰尘也很多(从附上的示例照片中多少能看出来,这些照片需要经过后期处理才能减轻雾霾的影响)。尽管存在基础设施与气候方面的种种困难,我希望孟加拉国政府能够认识到旅游业的重要性并予以支持,因为这个国家有太多值得一看的景致,只是目前在国际旅游界鲜为人知,这实在令人遗憾。
我一定会再次造访孟加拉国。虽然我已经游览了许多地方,但还有更多美景等待我去发现。我肯定还会再次预订Royal Bengal和Jewel提供的服务!