Says Russian bloggers after their 8-day tour of Bangladesh
Dhaka, Oct 6 – Bangladesh has a lot of unique things to offer foreign tourists. But the simple, friendly and hospitable people are the biggest assets for the development of tourism in the country, according to Oleg Cricket, the most popular Russian travel blogger at the moment with almost one million followers on the Instagram.After an eight-day visit with an objective to project Bangladesh’s tourism potentials in Russia and to impart a new dimension in bilateral relations, a group of four top Russian bloggers left Dhaka on October 3, 2018. ASE Group of Companies, an engineering division of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, responsible for the construction of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant organised the trip for the bloggers.
Sharing his experience Oleg said, ‘I have travelled almost 70 countries. In Bangladesh, I had the opportunity to see various regions and at the same time mingled with the local people. It was a fantastic experience for me. People here are hard working. Various on-going socio-economic development projects drew our attention. I firmly believe that a bright future awaits Bangladesh. Natural beauty is really mind-blowing.’
The visiting bloggers were Oleg Cricket (Instagram:@olegcricket), Dmitry Lazykin (Instagram:@dimalazykin), Irina Goldman (Instagram:@veryire) and Nikita Teterev (Instagram:@nikita_teterev) together they have more than 16 lakh followers on the Instagram.
The tour programme included the visit of Dhaka, Tangail, Bogura, Rajshahi, Pabna, Khulna, Bagerhat, among other places. The bloggers travelled around various tourist attractions and got acquainted with the people and their traditional lifestyle, culture, heritage and shared their first-hand experience in their respective blogs. Besides, they visited the under construction Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant at Ishwardi, which has become a symbol of Bangladesh-Russia friendship.
Irina Goldman was the only female blogger in the group. She is the former Editor of the popular fashion magazine – Cosmopolitan. She travelled to Bangladesh with her pet dog- Space. While expressing her experience she said, ‘I have visited over 40 countries but fell in love with Bangladesh. I will not miss the opportunity to visit Bangladesh again. This is my second visit to Asia. I found the Bangladeshis very friendly and helpful. The serene nature is beyond my imagination. While travelling on a boat through Sundarbans, I had the feeling that I was in the shooting spot of the movie- Anaconda.
Talking about the attitude of Russian people, about nuclear power after her visit to the under-construction Rooppur Nuclear Power Project Irina said, ‘There is a nuclear power plant in the city I live. People are quite positive towards nuclear power as it ensures a stable supply of quality electricity and at the same time not harming the surrounding environment.’
Dmitry Lazykin is a fashion blogger. Sharing his experience about fashion trend in Bangladesh he said, ‘As elsewhere village people are less conscious about fashion. But the traditional dress of Bangladesh has drawn my special attention. Dresses are bright and colourful. The skirts (loongi) worn by the men folk was something unique for me. The quality of fabric produced here is of a high standard and there are a number of high-quality fashion houses.”
‘I was amazed to know that dresses of many world famous brands are produced here in Bangladesh.’
Professional videographer Nikita Teterev while sharing his experience said, ‘In Bangladesh, I found a lot of interesting places for still and video shooting. Road condition is not bad though traffic jam is a big problem. It takes a lot of time to travel from one place to other. So my advice to the Russian tourists is to plan their visit with enough time in hand if they want to see in details and shoot the amazing nature and exciting lifestyle of the local people.’
The Russian Bloggers met Md. Jahangir Hossain, CEO of Bangladesh Tourism Board before their departure and shared their experience with him. Talking to bloggers CEO of Tourism Board called upon to extend assistance in promoting Bangladesh Tourism among the Russians through their positive writing in their respective blogs. – Triune Group press release.
