Today, the show travels to Bangladesh. It's the first of two specials, as we visit India too in the coming weeks. Bangladesh is roughly the size of England, with a population of between 170 and 200 million people. Dhaka is one of the busiest, loudest, most relentlessly alive cities you are ever likely to walk through. The city runs on noise, an orchestra of car, bus, rickshaw and tuk-tuk horns and beeps that never quite stops, layers of sound that, after a while, start to feel almost normal. We walk the riverbanks of the Buriganga, explore the shipyards of Keraniganj, lose ourselves in the markets of Old Dhaka, and find ourselves unexpectedly invited through a wall into a Krishna festival in full swing. Along the way, we photograph the sand carriers of the river and spend time in a city that rewards anyone willing to look past the surface. Into all of this walked my travel partner, Lynn Fraser, and I, with cameras and the great fortune of having GMB Akash as our guide, a World Press Photo winner who has spent his career photographing lives on the margins in a way that gives people back their dignity rather than reducing them to their hardships. This isn't a formal interview with him, more time spent together in his city, with his people. You'll get a very clear sense of who he is. We certainly did. Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond. Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week and Arthelper.ai, giving photographers smart tools to plan, promote, and manage your creative projects more easily. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.
