Top 10 cities I visited

10. Dhaka, Bangladesh

Obviously the only reason it’s on my list is because I was born, and lived a good part of my childhood there. Aside from the suicidal traffic, air and sound pollution, beggars, and mosques, the language and culture was unique in the old part of town where we lived. I can see why it’s called the city of mosques – the street where we lived, which stretched about 2 kms, was called (in translation) Seven Mosques. And these were all multi-storied ones we’re talking about, and during Friday prayers, the excess congregation flowed outside the masjids and into the streets.

We pretty much grew up at our grandparent’s house, which housed 4 generations of family. I was extremely close to my grandparents, especially my grandfather who was a very talented musician and artist, as well as a devout Muslim. Although I didn’t take Islam seriously until the later part of my life, I treasure the impact and diversity of Islam in those years – being exposed to Sufis, Shias and the Sunni majority. But the most important manifestation of true Muslim spirit was the relentless faith and perseverance of one of the world’s poorest society.

Other than scenes of slums and extreme poverty, it was common to find adults as well as children, with amputated arms and legs rolling around on the streets, begging for money. Although they can be severely depressing for many, scenes such as this only reinforced my faith and laid the foundation for a lifelong dream to help the marginalized and oppressed.

Of course, the best part of living in Dhaka was the friendships I developed in and outside of school, some of which I continue to this day. I still have plenty of relatives and loads of cousins who live in Dhaka, making it my 10th most favourite city.