Being a smoker and staying in Dhaka has a real sense of irony attached to it, while you find ‘Cigarette-ala Mamas’ and ‘Tongs’ everywhere, it’s really tough to find a proper headshop that has all kinds of accessories to befit smokers (Cigarette, shisha, pipe tobacco, vapers or otherwise, if you can catch my drift). And while there are passionate smokers everywhere, most people do not seem to know where to find the most premium quality smoking supplements and accessories. And with all the ‘Smoking is bad’ propaganda, you will never find a list which sums up the ‘Where to go if you are a smoker’, but well, unlike other media, we simply do not care and we know that neither do you, cause you already know that smoking will lead you to your death and if you do not care about your death, why should we? Freedom of choice, right?
Here’s a where to go and find list for all types of smokers out there:
The Tobacco, Pipe, and Shisha Enthusiasts:
Mouchak Market: There are a few cigarette shops at the ground floor of the market, it’s right at the entrance and you wont be able to miss them if you are there. These shops contain many varieties of Pipe Tobaccos such as Flying Dutchman, Erinmore, Borkum Riff etc. while they also sell foreign cigarettes, many types of cigarette holders, pipes, personal shisha sets, etc.
New Market and Bolaka: There are plenty of cigarette shops in that region, but you will find the best one just adjacent to the entrance of Gate no.1 of the market (Gate no.1 is located adjacent to the road connecting nilkhet and ajimpur), you will find all kinds of smoking supplements at that shop while there are two shops situated right in front of the gates of the Bolaka Cinema Hall.
Gulshan DCC Market: If you walk around the perimeters of Gulshan DCC Market, you will find a few cigarette shops selling different types of pipes, tobaccos, foreign cigarettes, pipe and rolling tobaccos.
Dhanmondi Road#30, Adjacent to Sobhanbag Mosque: The cigarette shops at the end of that road do not have a variety of collections, the choices regarding everything is very limited, but when desperate times strike,these are the desperate measures Dhanmondi dwellers take.
These are not the only places in Dhaka with good smoking collections, but they are some of the major ones. If I have missed out on a few, please mention them in the comments sections, after all, smokers should help each other to find the treasures!
The Vaporizers, Rolling papers, and Bong Enthusiasts:
Aside from other smoking accessories and supplements, Dhaka’s smoking enthusiasts and potheads will find it extremely and especially difficult to obtain good quality bongs, vaporizers and rolling papers (A wide range of them, you will find Sanda, Stix and Rizla + in all the places mentioned above, but they are all poor or average quality rolling papers).
Rollin’:
Located in Unicorn plaza at North avenue, Gulshan-2, Rollin’ is Dhaka’s first premium tobacco shop and it contains a wide range of rolling papers, grinders, pipes, water pipes, mini and large bongs. Although you may find the price to be a tad bit expensive compared to online headshops, you will have the added luxury of being able to go through all their products and judge them physically before purchasing. They are open from 3PM-8PM everyday and you can click here to visit their official facebook page.
Rollers Republic:
This writer’s personal opinion would be that Rollers Republic is quite possibly the most punctual, responsible and efficient online head shop in Dhaka. Having personally purchased rolling papers from them on a couple of occasions, I was really surprised at their sense of professionalism and customer services. They offer a wide range of simply the best rolling papers and blunt rolls out there such as Raw, Elements, Bob Marley, etc at the cheapest rates. This is simply the best place in Dhaka to get your rolling papers. Their pickup points are at Dhanmondi and in North South University while home deliveries will cost you 60tk if you are within Dhaka or 100tk if you live outside Dhaka.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RollersRepublic
Magic Box Unlimited:
Although not solely a head shop, Magic Box Unlimited offers an appreciable range of rolling papers at a fairly reasonable rate. They also stand out to be one of the only people in Dhaka who offer good quality vaporizers. Although I do not have any personal experiences of buying from them, they have gained quite a reputation within a very short span of time.
You can find them at https://www.facebook.com/magicboxunlimited
