Things to Do in Dhaka in April

April mornings are good for exploring Shankhari Bazaar and the Armenian Church - temperatures stay below 80°F until 9am, and the narrow lanes provide natural shade. The metal-workers start hammering copper bowls around 7am, creating this rhythmic echo that bounces off the 300-year-old buildings. By 11am you're done before the heat becomes unbearable.

Low pre-monsoon water levels mean the wooden rowboats can navigate under the smaller bridges - something impossible during July floods. You'll smell the wood-smoke from riverside brick factories mixing with diesel from the larger ferries, and watch fishermen cast nets in water that's surprisingly clear before the monsoon mud arrives.

The three-hour drive northeast takes you to rolling hills that feel 5°C cooler than Dhaka proper. April is when the first flush of new growth appears on the bushes - bright lime-green against the darker mature leaves. The estates near Lawachara National Park stay open, and you'll have the tasting rooms mostly to yourself before summer tourist groups arrive.

The 1920s British colonial buildings - Curzon Hall with its Mughal-European fusion design - stay cooler than concrete modern blocks. Students are prepping for exams so campus feels quieter, and the banyan trees provide actual shade. The archaeology museum inside Shahidullah Hall usually has the skeleton of a 400-year-old crocodile that most visitors miss entirely.