Winter in our country is brief, but beautiful. Throughout the season, nature completely transforms itself and becomes ever so gorgeous. Winter offers a whole spectrum of activities and sights for us to see. We love to travel and enjoy winter delicacies, like traditional pithas (rice pies), during the winter months that last from December to February. People who live in towns often travel back to their villages to visit relatives, while students on winter break may prefer to go on holiday with classmates and friends.
Nowadays, many universities in our country have their own travel or adventure clubs. These clubs become more active during the winter season as they arrange various trips and recruit new members. For those of us who live in Dhaka city, winter may not appear that cold, while it only lasts for a couple of weeks or so. But once one gets away from the crowded capital, one can experience the thrill of winter with crisp weather, fresh produce, less traffic and vibrant nature of the countryside. Youths are the ones who truly love winter as they usually have their annual vacation during this time of year. This week, Y&I spoke with some youths and members of travel clubs about their travel plans for this winter.
Now, people’s choice differs from person to person when it comes to winter travel. One might like to visit the mountains or the seaside, some like to travel abroad, while some just like to arrange picnics in open spaces. Bangla Mountaineering & Trekking Club (BMTC) is one of those clubs whose members love to travel during winter. MA Mohit, president of BMTC, said: “It is true that every year during winter, we travel to different locations. Our members prefer adventure travel. For example, this year we are planning to travel to places like Amtali, Habiganj and some other places near Sylhet. When we go there, we will arrange for a two-day visit. On the first day, there will be sightseeing and trekking for 5-10 kilometres. The second day of the programme will not be so different. We will just have to walk a few more kilometres than the day before. It will cost our members Taka 3,500 for the entire two-day trip. After that trip, we will enroll new members and with them, we will travel to those same places. At the moment, we have 70 members in our club.”
Jamiul Adnan, a student of Dhaka University, has been associated with Dhaka University Photography Club for some time now. His knack for photography has taken him to many places at home and abroad. “Out of the six seasons that we have, winter is perhaps the most celebrated season in our country. This winter, I want to visit two specific locations. One is Cox’s Bazar, another is Delhi, India. I want to go to Cox’s Bazar because our domestic tourism is growing at a rapid speed and even in winter, many people visit the coastal resort town. I want to visit New Delhi because I want to see some heritage sites of the Mughal and British empires in India. Through my photography, I want to inspire other youths to travel more. The fact is the more you travel, the more you learn new and exciting things about life,” Adnan said.
Angel Nila, a private service holder who recently graduated from Northern University Bangladesh, said: “I recently got married. My husband and I were classmates, so together we have already travelled to some places in our country. This winter, I want to go back to our village in Comilla. Due to busy city life, we hardly get to breathe fresh air. I believe that when we think of travelling, the destination doesn’t have to be too far away. Of course, my husband has no clue yet that I have made this plan. I want to surprise him. Then again, he might get to know about my plan by reading my comments here!”
Dhaka University Tourist Society (DUTS) is the central tourism organisation of the University of Dhaka. They arrange both national and international tours. By paying a certain fee, anyone can join the tours. They do not only organise trips, but also focus on various social awareness programmes. The society, via email, informed Y&I: “We have around one thousand members. We observe many national days with fun events. We celebrate various cultural and traditional festivals all around the year. We have a vision of making tourism accessible to everyone. We are also trying to make progress in our tourism sector in accordance with the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). The tourism sector is a bright tool for economic and infrastructural development all over the world.”
Mohammad Imran Hossain, president of DUTS, added: “With a view to popularising tourism, Dhaka University Tourist Society was established on October 30, 1995. By arranging tours to several tourist spots of Bangladesh, DUTS is working to create public awareness on positive, accessible and sustainable eco-tourism. We have not decided on the date yet, but this winter we are planning to visit Kuakata and Keokradong peak (in Bandarban).”
The tourist club of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) started its journey on January 1, 1995. Shahed Rahman, general secretary of Tourist Club SUST, informed Y&I via email: “Our club is one of the first tourism related university clubs in Bangladesh. Through our adventure research wing, the main objective of our club is to promote new tourist spots and sites that are not yet that familiar. In 2014, we explored a place called Bisanakandi with 147 tourists, and now it is one of the most popular tourist spots in Sylhet. In 2015, the club’s research wing found a new site with a beautiful waterfall, named Songrampunji, which is located near Jaflong. Now many travellers visit the area not only to see Jaflong Zero Point, but also to see the Songrampunji waterfall.”
Tourist Club SUST arranges national and international tours every year. In 2002, they successfully organised a tour to seven South Asian countries for 40 days with 25 travellers. At the moment, they have 500 members. Anyone, students or professionals, can become a member of the club and join in different domestic tours. This winter, the club is going to arrange a tour to Kuakata beach town from January 18. They are also preparing for an upcoming trip to India, which is scheduled for February next year. “We want to promote our tourism sector as much as we can, and we want to encourage women to travel more. Of course, in order to do that, we first need to make sure that we have a safe environment for women travellers,” said Jamila Parvin, president of Tourist Club SUST.
BRAC University Adventure Club (BUAC) started its journey in 2011. The goal of the club is to promote eco-friendly adventure tourism. Activities like swimming, trekking, rock climbing, cycling, surfing and many other activities related to adventure tourism are promoted among the club members. Zarin Tasnim, president of BUAC, said: “In just five years, the club has been able to give the taste of adventure travel to its members through organising a number of indoor and outdoor activities. We have about 900 members; there are 200 to 250 regular members of the club who travel together.”
“For this winter season, we have a plan to distribute winter clothes among people who live on the streets. Most importantly, we are going to organise a ‘winter carnival’, which will be a combination of many activities together. At that event, we will be launching the 4th issue of BUAC magazine, titled Adventure Bangladesh, highlighting the theme of preserving nature for the sake of adventure. Additionally, there will be a photo exhibition with all the remarkable pictures taken by BUAC, and we also have a plan to invite five other universities, with their unique eco-friendly tourism business ideas to expand the tourism sector of the country. Last but not least, ‘base camp’ activity is another thing we will be doing this winter,” Tasnim added.
According to Mahfuz Munna, a third-year student of the Department of Marketing and founder of Rajshahi University Tourists Club, said: “We didn’t have a travel club before and the students from different departments used to go on tours all by themselves. Then in 2014, I took the decision to establish a travel club so that all our students could go on different tours together. Now, we have 40 to 50 members who actively participate in every tour we organise. We have already travelled to many historical places, including Mahasthangar in Bogra, Paharpur in Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Puthia Rajbari and other heritage sites in northern Bangladesh. Apart from that, we arranged a ‘Bijoy’ (victory) cycle rally on the campus and adjoining areas on December 22 last year to celebrate our Victory Day.”
Rajshahi University Adventure Club is an open club for adventure-loving students. TM Murshed, a third-year student of the finance department, took the first step to establish the club on June 26, 2014. “To break the monotony of our student life, we arrange many adventure tours. Last year, we organised a tour to Lawachara forest in Maulvi Bazar. This winter, we are planning to visit Bandarban,” Murshed said.
Both the clubs plan trips and take decisions by consulting each other on their Facebook groups. They also hold a monthly meeting on Facebook and decide their next step from there. The groups are open to their FB followers, and they already have around 800 followers each, and their number is increasing day by day.
Photos: Courtesy.