Saturday, February 6, 2016

Bloody popular

For the first time in my life I am immensely popular. Almost anywhere and any time.
Fans come in hundreds and thousands, all of them want a part of me.



Winter in Bangladesh is the mosquito season. Actually, the mosquitoes are with us all the time, but they are especially numerous during the winter.
The Bangla species are very hungry and they seem to prefer foreign blood and appreciate vintage. The older the better, and I am definitely the better.


From home I am used to bloodsuckers that make life miserable outdoors. 
In Dhaka, mosquitoes reside inside. One meets them in large quantities at homes, offices, bathrooms, restaurants, cars, airports, stores.


Consequently, there is no need for perfumes in this country. I literally smell intoxicating since I bathe in repellents. I use sprays, lotions, cremes - probably not very beneficial for skin.




On a more serious note, mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals here. The bite of a bloodsucking female mosquito can transmit many diseases, not only the "trendy" zika virus but also dengue fever. 
The dengue season is usually from June to September but cases have been reported even outside the high season.






Spring here starts officially at the end of next week. Last days of the winter have been very pleasant. The temperature is like on a good Scandinavian summer day and the humidity is low. Winter flowers bloom and the sun is shining. 






But there is always a but: the air quality in Dhaka is very poor, trees are covered with a heavy layer of dust, many people wear pollution masks.















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