Community projects: north-east

Ambitious eco-resorts are a clear sign of confidence in Bangladesh as a tourist destination. In Sylhet, the Shuktara Nature Retreat (shuktararesort.com, doubles from £34 B&B) is a group of brick and glass-walled buildings designed by a local architect amid rolling hills. In the Srimangal tea-growing area further south in Sylhet, DuSai (dusairesorts.com, rooms from $120) is a grand resort that claims to be the first five-star offering outside of Dhaka. No doubt both also have their eyes on the Bangladeshi diaspora.

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Yasmin also takes me to her ancestral village, Ali Nagor, close to where we started. It's surrounded by paddy fields and fishponds, and by the Surma river, on whose sandy banks children are playing cricket. It's where her father grew up and where, after founding a successful restaurant in the UK, he built a bungalow. It's shady and cool inside, with a wraparound veranda that receives a steady stream of visitors, from Yasmin's cousins to the local imam, who constantly flashes us big grins to reveal teeth stained from chewing paan (betel leaf combined with areca nut).