Best Mexican...?

I started meeting some other foreigners (my name for myself has changed since coming to BD- in Qatar I was a 'Westerner' and in BD I'm a 'foreigner'- as there are also Japanese here!) in the hotel- essentially all interns with the Grameen family in some way. Many are with Grameen Bank, although I've met a few with Grameen Trust. Most are undergraduates, mainly American, but there are folks from Japan, France, Canada and Great Britain. There are some grad students- law, policy, social studies. I have no idea how many interns Grameen brings in or when (mainly summer? year-round? unknown) but they seem to be in the lobby each time I'm there. Funny- I've never actually seen another intern at the office building. And I haven't met any other interns other than Atsu at GC.

Last night eight (8=৮ or আট 'aat' in Bengali) of us headed up to the 'posh' Gulshan District of Dhaka to have Mexican food. Yep- Mexican food in Dhaka, at 'El Toro'- the only place in Dhaka and apparently the best in Indian subcontinent. It was a 200 taka ($2.90) no-AC 30-40 minute taxi ride. The distance is only about 5 km- that shows you how crazy traffic can be. The place was dark with mainly table candles for lighting, with Native Americans (Navajo and Lakota...?) pictures and sombreros on the walls. Drinks were 'mocktails' (like Qatar) but they let you spike your own drink if you'd like (good knowledge for next time!) My mocktail of lime, tonic and lemon was refreshing. Chips and salsa weren't free (and there were exactly 16 chips to a basket) but they were decent. My Dos Amigos Enchiladas (one chicken, one beef) came with what they called a 'cream-cheese' sauce and rice/beans were extra. The refried beans were close enough, the rice had a faint sweet taste to it (cinnamon?) and the enchiladas were somewhat dry and microwave tasting/looking.  And the Fried Ice Cream wasn't available. Total- 535 taka ($7.60)- an expensive meal in Dhaka. Add another 100 taka ($1.45) for the taxis and we're talking a little pricey- especially compared to the 20 taka ($.29) for lunch at Grameen Cafeteria. (But still cheap compared to the Westin Hotel- an alcoholic drink would be 800 taka ($11.59) but still cheap compared to Doha...)

Would I go back to El Toro? Sure- if others are going. Otherwise, I'll wait for my Mexican from the family favorite- Las Palmas- when I get back to the States.

Ein Prosit! Oktoberfest in Doha

Wait- Oktoberfest? In a Muslim country? Come again?

Yep- you read right. As far as I can gather, there are two major expat entertainment events here in Doha- Dunestock (an open air music festival and party) and Oktoberfest at the Intercontinetal Hotel. I didn't attend Dunestock last April because of a sand storm and I hadn't arrived in Doha yet for Oktoberfest last year, so I jumped at the chance to attend Oktoberfest this year. Darbi managed to snag the last two tickets for last night's festival. And what a party.

600 expats, crammed into the tent that the Intercontinetal had used for their Ramadan events (little ironic), complete with Bavarian blue and white, an Oompah band, and lots of beer. There was plenty of good German food (all beef sausage of course) to be enjoyed on long communal tables. And when the band and crowd wasn't cheering 'Tony' along to drink 12 litres of beer (we think it was water/beer or apple juice), there was dancing on the benches. And there was a lot of dancing. We partied from 8 pm to around 12:30 am. And for Doha- that's huge. The evening would be considered a lot of fun anywhere in the world, but for it to happen in Doha, where all this was certainly 'haraam' (forbidden), it somehow made it even more fun. Happy October everyone!