One Day on Melancholy Hill

by Taiaba Binte Amin (Bangladesh)

I didn't expect to find Bangladesh

It was my second time trekking in Bandarban. We, a group of 13 had reached the town the previous morning, walked consistently for 9 hours to go to a remote area of the aborigines so we could stay the night. And, the hard part hadn’t even started yet. The next day when we started towards our destinations (We had 3 destinations in mind) we realized that we had to climb two quite steep hills, and then go down another hill, which is roughly about 80 stories tall if we wanted to see the waterfalls. After climbing the first hill, two of ours friends gave up and went back, saying they would rather drink and watch the mountains from far away. And I could feel my feet did not want to go forward, but I kept thinking, “There is no way I am going back.” So, the rest of us, we climbed the second hill, quite hopeful about journey. When we did see the mountain we had to go down though, every one of us just stood there for a second. I felt my soul leaving my body. It was clear why this mountain was called the “Mountain of God” in our language. The soil was red, there was nothing to hold on to as you go down, you have to keep leaning backwards a little as you walk to not fall, and there was no sign of where this ended. And the worst part of it all was that my trekking sandals betrayed me the moment I took my first step. The trek from the last day had left them wounded. For a while, every slippery step I took made me sure that I was not going to survive this. But I quickly realized that my socks were a better support than the sandals, so I took them off. I could hear my friends laughing and screaming to keep each other distracted from the obvious fear. After about 45 minutes of intense descending, our feet touch the ground. We went to edge, and there was a bamboo raft waiting for us in the river. The feeling of riding a raft made out of bamboo is incredibly raw, as your weight slightly pushes the bamboos in the water and you get wet, but the bamboos keep themselves afloat, and so, you are just moving through the river that has touched the mountains forever. The most beautiful place was still waiting for us quite silently. I never thought in my lifetime I would be able to see what I had seen then. The bamboo raft took us to a huge stone wall. You cannot see anything from the outside. But there is a little space, like an open mouth between the stones you can go through (The name of the place can be translated to ‘Mouth of Naikkhong). As I went through, and I could not believe what I was seeing. The entire place was made out of huge white stones and cascades. I looked up and saw the mountain peaks all around us, and then here was this place; completely white, crystal clear cascades, and no sign of humans other than us. The surface of the stones was warm to walk on, and the water was as cold as ice. I stepped into every cascade I found to feel one with nature. There was one in particular which had some space behind. It was kind of a little standing place. As I stood there with half of my body in water and half in air, and I couldn’t see anything else except the water falling, and I couldn’t hear anything else except the water falling. We stayed there a couple of hours and moved to see other places, and there were mesmerizing scenes everywhere, but, to this day, that place has stayed within me. I think it will stay with me forever. I can’t wait to go back.