My Travel Diary: A Holiday Trip to Barabkunda and Akilpur Beach (01 June, 2026)

Hello friends, welcome to my entry for the travel diary contest. I am spending my holidays on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Azha, and the entire week will be off. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I now get the chance to go out traveling somewhere or the other every day. So, after having lunch in the afternoon, I received an invitation from my friends to visit Barabkunda Beach.

I got ready and set out around 3:00 PM. Accompanying me were two of my friends from our local area. We prefer traveling by bike more; since the travel destination is far from us, we also have to consider the time factor. After starting our journey and riding a short distance along the highway, my rider friend realized that the air pressure in the bike's tyre was a bit low.

We pulled over at a spot to check the vehicle's tyre and started looking for a nearby tyre-inflating shop ahead. After going a little further, we found a shop right by the highway, where we stopped to check the tyre pressure first. Then, the mechanic brother filled the tyre with air according to the required amount so that the vehicle could move forward comfortably.

Barabkunda Beach is about 15 kilometers away from our area, just up to the highway. Again, from the highway, one has to journey through a long path to reach the beach. Therefore, a sufficient amount of petrol was needed for the bike. Midway, we stopped at a petrol pump to get octane. The price of octane has now increased by another 5 Taka per liter compared to before.

This is the second time the price of octane has increased within a span of 2 months. The price of commodities depends heavily on transportation, so from this rise in petrol prices, it can be understood how much the prices of goods will increase in the future. Anyway, after a long journey, we finally reached our desired location.

Barabkunda Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches among those located in Sitakunda. There are 2 more beaches near this one. Actually, in our coastal area, the sea beach of every village is a beach in itself, and the beauty of one is greater than the other; every day, many tourists from far and wide come to visit here.

The unique thing about this beach is that alongside the shore, there is a very long, open green field. There is completely green grass on the field, and looking around, it felt as though everything was enveloped in green. The local people release their cattle—cows and goats—on the field to graze and roam around, which gives off a true village feeling.

The beach looks beautiful, and because of the sandy shore, walking barefoot here brings a sense of immense peace. There are many types of trees and plants around, and since the wind blows here all the time, it feels very comfortable. No matter how far you look, the surroundings appear so mesmerizing that it cannot be understood without seeing it with your own eyes.

When you go out traveling, the craving for food seems to increase even more. I noticed many local people setting up shops with various kinds of food around the beach. It is foolish to expect luxury food here. From a distance, I noticed a seller selling jhalmuri (spiced puffed rice), and many people were surrounding him.

Without delay, I went up to him and ordered 2 jhalmuri. The entire process of how the jhalmuri was being made was visible right in front of my eyes; although I sometimes make it at home myself, I cannot bring out the taste like the experts do. I carefully observed the seller making the jhalmuri, and once it was done, we friends enjoyed it together.

Daylight was almost coming to an end, so we started walking towards the northern side of the beach. The presence of tourists is low on the northern side of the beach because one has to walk a long way from the main beach to get there; and on this side, beautiful things like canals, marshes, and the agricultural lands of local people can be seen. We spent our afternoon time there, and after that, we left the beach area and headed towards the highway.

Since not many food stalls can be found in the beach area, we couldn't have our afternoon snack there. Having journeyed so far after lunch and walking along a long path to enjoy the beach area, we felt quite hungry, so we thought of eating at some food stall near the highway.

We spotted a tea stall which was perfect for having an afternoon snack. We ordered tea and porota (paratha). Actually, the combination of porota with tea for an afternoon snack is quite popular in our country. I found the porotas to be very delicious, and since they were served hot right after being made, they tasted wonderful.

After finishing our food, we decided to visit the neighboring Akilpur Beach to spend our evening time. Actually, Akilpur Beach is visited by us quite often, and it is one of our favorite beaches. We come here to hang out even late at night.

We went to the beach and sat on some wooden/tree-log seats available there. The high tide of the sea had receded by then; otherwise, water could have been seen right where we were sitting. At night, a little light from the shops and the clear light of the moon could be seen.

After that, we all returned home. My travel experience with friends on the holiday was extraordinary.