I had taken a long break from fishing because of my personal commitments. My friend Omar Haider had been saying for quite some time, “Come on, let’s go fishing somewhere.” We had fished in various places around the country. But recreational fishing has also become quite commercialised here. I thought that instead of spending that money fishing in Bangladesh, we could go abroad and have a new experience.

We decided to go to Thailand. I knew there were many places there for fishing. After looking into it, we learned about the packages at the 42-year-old Bungsamran Fishing Park. Everything worked out, so we made a booking. Bungsamran also hosts fishing competitions at various times, but we were going for recreational fishing.

We arrived in Bangkok on 5 August. After spending the night there, we travelled by car for about an hour and a half the next day and reached the fishing park. After registration, we were taken to a bungalow and assigned a guide.

The packages here include fishing rods, reels and other necessary equipment, a guide, a bungalow and various other facilities. The daily cost ranges from 5,000 to 7,000 baht. The two of us shared one fishing rod, which cost 6,000 baht, or around Tk 22,000. We also had to obtain fishing licences. The one-day licence cost 2,000 baht per person, or around Tk 7,500.

Bungsamran is a lake covering nearly 138,000 square metres. It is home to more than 40 species of fish. The Mekong giant catfish can weigh up to 200kg, while giant Siamese carp can weigh up to 100kg.