Sylhet: Tea Fields, Fog, and the Smell of Wet Earth
okay so i just spent a week in sylhet and honestly... i didn't expect to fall for it this hard. the first thing that hit me wasn't the heat (though yeah, it's a sauna out there) but the smell-wet soil, fresh tea leaves, and something sweet i couldn't place. i checked the weather earlier and it's hovering around 16.48°c right now with 40% humidity, which is basically perfect if you ask me. just don't expect sunshine all day-fog rolls in like it owns the place.
i stayed near the tea gardens, which was both magical and mildly terrifying at night. someone told me that the locals believe the hills are haunted by old plantation workers. i didn't see any ghosts, but i did hear some weird rustling that made me sprint back to my guesthouse. worth it for the views though.
if you get bored, dhaka and chittagong are just a short drive away, but honestly? i'd rather stay here and sip seven-layer tea at *nilkantha tea cabin. it's one of those places you hear about through drunk advice at a roadside stall, and yeah, it lives up to the hype. the layers actually taste different. no idea how they do it.
food-wise, don't sleep on the shatkora beef. i found it through a yelp review that said "tastes like nostalgia and regret," which... yeah, that's accurate. spicy, tangy, and weirdly comforting. also tried pithas from a street vendor who warned me they'd "ruin all other desserts for me." he wasn't wrong.
"the best time to visit is right after the rains," a local told me while we shared a rickshaw. "the fog is thicker, and the tea tastes sweeter."
i also took a day trip to jaflong, which is basically a dream if you're into weird rock collections and border vibes. you can see the indian side from there, and the piyain river is shockingly clear. someone said it's because of all the limestone-i believe them because i have no idea how rivers work.
random tip: bring a good rain jacket. the weather app lied to me twice, and i ended up buying a flimsy poncho from a guy who laughed at my optimism. also, download maps.me before you go-google maps is about as useful as a chocolate teapot in the smaller villages.
overall, sylhet feels like that friend who's a little chaotic but always knows where the good food is. i'm already planning my next trip back, mostly to figure out what that sweet smell was.
tags:* #sylhet #bangladesh #tea #fog #traveldiaries #budgettravel
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