Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [212]
Thai International can issue tickets on Druk Air; the Bangkok offices know how to do this, but most of the overseas offices are not familiar with the procedures. Once your Bhutanese agent has confirmed the flight and the visa authority has been issued, allow another week for the reservation information to make its way to Thai International’s computers. You’ll probably still have to communicate several times with your agent in Thimphu to get Druk Air to send a confirmation message to Thai.
Many overseas agents that arrange groups to Bhutan have the tickets issued in Kathmandu, Bangkok or Delhi. A local representative waits at the Druk Air counter to deliver the tickets and check you in for your flight. If you have booked directly with a Bhutanese tour operator, you can send payment for the air fare directly to the agent in Thimphu as a separate bank transfer, not as part of the payment for the tour. The agent can then issue the Paro ticket and mail or courier it to you.
You will need to buy a ticket to and from the place where you will connect to Druk Air. Bangkok is the best place to connect if you are coming from North America, Australia or Asia. Delhi is the best place to connect if you are coming from Europe or the Middle East. A connection via Kathmandu will give you a taste of the Himalaya and of Tibetan Buddhism before you fly to Bhutan (but you might find all the window seats taken by passengers who embarked in Delhi). Other connections via Kolkata or Dhaka are possible, but these are off the routes of direct flights for major airlines, and few discounted air fares are available to these places. The airport tax on departure from Paro is Nu 500, which is included in the price of the ticket.
Africa
There are plenty of flights between East Africa and Mumbai. From Mumbai you can make your way to Delhi or Kathmandu to connect to Paro with either Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, Air India or Pakistan International Airlines (PIA; via Karachi). STA Travel (www.statravel.co.za) and Rennies Travel (www.renniestravel.com) have offices throughout southern Africa.
Asia
Bangkok and Hong Kong are discount-ticket capitals of the region. Be wary of bucket shops and ask the advice of other travellers before buying a ticket. STA Travel (Bangkok 02-236 0262; www.statravel.co.th; Hong Kong 27361618; www.statravel.com.hk; Singapore 67377188; www.statravel.com.sg) has branches throughout Asia. In Japan try No 1 Travel ( 03-32056073; www.no1-travel.com).
Australia
Two well-known agencies for cheap fares are STA Travel ( 1300 7333 035; www.statravel.com.au) and Flight Centre ( 133133; www.flightcentre.com.au), both with offices throughout Australia. Quite a few agents specialise in discount air tickets, some advertise cheap air fares in the travel sections of the major weekend newspapers. For online bookings, try www.travel.com.au.
Canada
From Canada most flights to Delhi are via Europe but reasonable fares to Asia are also available from Vancouver. Canadian consolidators’ air fares tend to be about 10% higher than those sold in the USA. Travel CUTS ( 800-667 2887; www.travelcuts.com) is Canada’s national student travel agency and has offices in all major cities.
Continental Europe
From Europe, travellers will need to get to Delhi where they can connect with flights up to Bhutan. Although London is the best for good fare deals, most major European cities have fairly competitive deals via the Middle East.
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THE FLIGHT FROM KATHMANDU TO PARO
The Druk Air flight from Kathmandu to Paro provides the most dramatic view of Himalayan scenery of any scheduled flight. (Get a window seat on the left if you can.) After the plane climbs out of the Kathmandu valley a continual chain of peaks appears just off the left wing. The captain usually points out Everest (a black pyramid), Makalu (a grey chair-shaped peak) and Kanchenjunga (a huge massif), but if you have