Serene Sundabarns...not a bengal tiger in sight!

Some friends, mum and I headed to the Sundabarn mangroves south of Bangladesh on the Bay of Bengal. It was the most peaceful four days I have spent in Bangladesh so far. The only noises were the birds and the boats. We travelled by cruise boat complete with guide, cook, rangers who protected us from bandits and tigers. Fortunately we saw neither. There was a lot of birdwatching and looking for tigers. The closest we got to a tiger were the footprints below. There are only an estimated 300-400 wild tigers left in the Sundabarns. Some research has started but only one tiger has been tagged so far. We did manage to see a crocodile, dolphins, wild deer, wild monkeys and my first beach since leaving Oz. We also saw some human remains, most probably the result of the 1000 fisherman who went missing a few months ago as a result of a typhoon.