Different shades of Cox’s Bazar

The most visited tourist hub in Bangladesh, the 150 kilometres of the longest uninterrupted natural sea beach in the world, Cox's Bazar needs a no bigger introduction. The natural beauty of Cox's Bazar is endless; no one will ever be tired of visiting this place.

After a very hectic schedule of continuous exams throughout October, this writer, along with his friends from the Department of Economics at the University of Dhaka, decided to go on a batch trip to Cox's Bazar after the semester final.

The 14-member tour was planned within a short time, hastily, but it didn't take much effort since everything about Cox's Bazar touring is available online.

We started the journey on the night of November 7th. We were busy cracking inside jokes and bantering throughout the first leg of the road trip.

Although we didn't notice when we fell asleep, we woke up by the first ray of sunshine in Chattogram. The sunrise and the scenery around our bus were breathtaking. The scene of the red sun rising through the morning mist was memorable, to say the least.

After a long trip of almost 10 hours, we reached Cox's Bazar. The captivating sight of the Bay of Bengal was visible from the highway, but first thing first, we needed to check into our hotel. We went to the Hotel Bay Marina, which some of our touring friends had booked for us earlier. We freshened up, had our breakfast, and got ready to hit the beach.

We started from Sugondha Beach, which was bustling with tourists and hawkers. We got soaked in sandy and salty sea water splashed by sea waves, and that fun alone was worth the whole hectic journey.

One of Cox's Bazar trip's main attractions is the food - numerous fishes, fries, kebabs, dried fish and other items. We had our lunch with rice, loitta fry, daal, and various types of bhorta at Coral Restaurant. To say that the lunch was fulfilling without any of those fancy restaurant foods would be an understatement.

After lunch, we roamed around the city, tasted various seafood, bought achars and dried fish in Burmese markets, and called it a day. Well, we couldn't have missed the full moon on the beach, could we?

 Witnessing the full moon on the beach would be the highlight of our tour. We knew about the total lunar eclipse, so we had plans to wake up at night to enjoy its beauty. We visited the beach past 1 a.m. and expected fewer people there. But to our surprise, the beach was full of people who came to enjoy the full moon just like us.

The moon shining gracefully on the chilly waves of the sea will be one of the most memorable natural scenarios in our memories. The roaring tide of the sea during the full moon on a silent night gave surreal, melancholic, and haunting feelings that are unforgettable.

 Sacrificing our night's sleep for this scenic view was worth it, but on the other hand, our plans for the next day got postponed for a few hours. Instead of starting in the morning, our trip started at noon, after lunch. We hired a Chander Gari to roam us around the Marine Drive for the day. We visited multiple beach spots such as Patuartek, Inani, Sonapara, etc., and Sonapara beach was the most beautiful of them all.

 Though the corals were absent from the beach, unlike Patuartek and Inani, there was no absence of elements of natural beauty. There were plenty of Sandy beaches, fishing boats, red crabs, and crab holes. Local children were playing beach football, perhaps inspired by the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Overall, Sonapara Beach is the most photogenic beach we have ever visited.

Our marine drive trip ended with a visit to Darianagar Beach near Himchari. The sunset was near, so we decided to watch it from this beach instead of climbing the Himchari hill. Sunsets in Cox's Bazar are always beautiful, and the one at Darianagar Beach is no less so.

The sun was going down under the sea on the far horizon, surrounded by the backdrop of tamarisk trees and hills—the view was scenic. Our trip ended there, and we returned to the city for dinner and made preparations to return to Dhaka.

 Cox's Bazar is always mesmerising, and no matter how long you stay, the natural beauties will never satisfy your heart. We watched the sun and the moon at different times on the sea beaches of Cox's Bazar, providing different colours to the sky and a lifetime experience of witnessing different shades of this beautiful place.

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