People will stare, stare and staaaaare... and other Bangladesh Local Custom Tips

Just face it, you as a traveller, will be the happening of the day, nearly wherever you go.
I once ordered two curried eggs in a small roadside stall on Maheskhali Island. A whole assembly showed up to witness my eating the two eggs. I counted over two hundred people watching, and I was decently clad and all that cultural appropriateness thing.
People are just very curious and do not have any sense of shame or intrusion when it comes to staring at the odd (or whatever they perceive as odd, then). So, just let them stare. Tourism with the table turned! Just try to cope with it, even if it can be somewhat ennerving.

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Unlike the Haimlich Grip the Bangldeshi crotch grip doesn't seem to have an immediate purpose.
However, any idle man in pants or longy with a hand free will ascertain somehow that the valuables are in place. A nice and perhaps daringly dressed (no hijab?) and thus apparently eligible lady passing will be met with the same handshake. Is there a connection?The men do not seem to think of it as anything special. For visitors it is viewed in a spectre from amusing via confusing to disgusting. Take your ... pick.

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Ok, ok, ok, for men, too - just see the longyi tip and avoid shorts and outrageous behaviour.
For women, however, it is different. Life is generally though for local women, and not made easier by fairly strict dress and behavioural codes.
As a visitor one needs to follow some stated, unstated and unsaid rules. If you do not observe such rules you will essentially be looked upon as very strange and perhaps even obscene. If you are careful to observe these rules and try to adopt local customs (within your comfort zone) you will be much more appreciated as a visitor and much more likely to be taken in as a confidance. In essence, you will be taken seriously.
Essentially no bare shoulders, no shorts, no bare legs much above the ancles, and cover (or be prepaired to cover) your hair. No body-hugging clothes, except for the sari, which nearly always has a loose end to cover bust and one shoulder. The perfect dress for visitng women is the shalwar kameez. Go buy one!

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