beaches and mangroves

here are some more photos from our trip to cox's bazar. by sunrise each morning, there were groups of boys playing cricket by the ocean.

the children were very friendly. in bangladesh, whites are still rare enough that most children are fascinated by seeing a white person. and most adults stare at you. here are some kids we met on a walk along the beach.

during one of the days in cox's bazar, we took a boat over to a small island just off the coast, called maheshkhali. we rode around in rickshaws, ate fish in a local restaurant, and visited some hindu and buddhist temples.

we also ran into some local kids jumping off a bridge into a mangrove swamp. they welcomed us to join in their fun.

later the kids from the swimming joined us for a walk in hills. there was a group of boys that reminded me of the three brothers in "the tree of life" - the way they would run together like a pack, and hang on one another without being self-conscious, and take delight in the trees and water and sky and their arms and legs and each other