After waking up and finishing my journal and French study, I walked up the stairs to have breakfast. There were fewer people, and it was very calm. The food was decent, so I enjoyed it a lot. I also ate too much.
After I went back to my room, I started editing videos, but I could not really focus for some reason. I felt anxious from time to time since the job opportunity in Italy had been postponed. Since I started traveling in Phuket, Thailand, I had not really felt anxious because I had the security of having a source of income. But now I do not have that. I still have opportunities to make an income, but it depends on how much the financial situation improves on the owner’s side. Maybe because of that, I could not focus 100%.
Since the checkout time was 12 PM, I packed everything and went downstairs. I gave my key back to the front desk and relaxed on the ground floor, where there was a relaxing space as well as a small coffee shop. I spent a couple of hours there until I left for judo practice.
I was told that the kids’ class would start at 3 PM, so I made sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before that. I struggled to get a ride through Grab. I arrived at the Dhaka University Physical Education Center, where I was told that the training would take place. I asked the security guard, who gave me directions with his gestures.
I entered the building, and some young guys were playing basketball. Since I was still having a difficult time finding the dojo, I asked one of them where it was. I found out that the dojo was right next to the basketball court.
Although it was about 10 minutes before 3 PM, there were only young people who looked like they were in their 20s, not kids, on the mat. The kids eventually did not show up, and the senior practice started at 4 PM. There were only six judokas, who I found out were members of the national team.
I was asked to run the training, so I told them what we were going to do during the training. The same thing happened in Malaysia. It is difficult to run a class when you do not know what they usually do.
Since the practice started, I felt like I was being looked down on by them. But as the practice went on, their attitude toward me started to change. I ended up being asked a lot of questions about techniques after the sparring practice. I was always happy to help, so I taught them as much as I could.
Their attitude toward me was definitely different between the beginning and the end, which reminded me that it is important to prove my capabilities to judokas, especially strong ones. I eventually had a great time.
After the training, I took a Grab, which also took me a while to get. I came back to the hostel where I had left my large backpack. Since I had plenty of time until the night train, which was scheduled to depart at 11:30 PM and take me to Benapole to cross the border into India, I relaxed again in the lobby.
At about 10:30 PM, I left the hotel and started walking to the Dhaka railway station. Just 15 minutes later, I arrived at the station. Surprisingly, there were many platforms, so I asked some people at the station where the Benapole Express would depart from.
I walked in the direction I was told to go. I ended up at the right platform, and the train was already there. I got into the designated car.
The train looked like a Japanese bullet train and some of the trains I took in Indonesia, but this train was much dirtier. I was surprised by the fact that many passengers got into the car at the last minute.
I felt comfortable because the air conditioner was working and there was nobody sitting right next to me. The lights on the ceiling could be turned on and off by the passengers using buttons attached to the wall.
Since I was tired, I turned off the light and tried to sleep. However, many passengers kept the lights on and talked a lot, so I could not sleep. I think I eventually fell asleep at around 1 AM.
Until then, a young guy who had been told to sit next to me by the train conductor bothered me a bit with the sound of the snacks he was eating. I was pretty sure that he was sitting in a different seat from the one assigned to him.
