Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [214]
India
TO/FROM PHUENTSHOLING
If you are travelling to or from Bhutan by land, all roads lead through Siliguri, West Bengal, the major transport hub in northeast India. Heading into India, you can make road connections from Phuentsholing or Jaigaon (just across the border) to the train station in Siliguri (169km, six hours) or the airport in Bagdogra. From Siliguri there are convenient connections to Kolkata, Delhi or the Nepali border at Kakarbhitta. You can also travel on to the Indian hill stations of Kalimpong, Gangtok and Darjeeling. Bhutanese vehicles may travel freely in India and a Bhutanese tour operator can easily arrange a vehicle to any of these destinations. There are also taxis and shared hire cars available in both Phuentsholing and Siliguri.
The best places to stay in Jaigaon are these air-conditioned hotels:
Hotel Anand ( 03566-63783, 03566-263290, 263990; ashokagarwall@hotmail.com; M.G. Rd; s/d Rs 300/375-1000) You can get a double with air-con for Rs 1000.
Hotel Kasturi ( 03566-363035; fax 263254; N.S. Rd; s/d Rs 300/375-1000) Next to the immigration checkpoint.
Several Bhutanese transport companies operate a direct bus service twice a day between Siliguri and Phuentsholing; buses leave at 8am and 2pm and cost Rs 60 for the 3½-hour journey. In Siliguri the booking office is on Tenzing Norgay Rd (also known as Hill Cart Rd), opposite the Shree Punjab Hotel. You can sometimes find Bhutanese taxis (yellow-roofed minivans with numberplates beginning with ‘BT’) looking for a return fare; you might buy a seat for Rs 200, but usually you will have to charter the whole taxi for about Rs 750. Indian bus companies also operate services between Siliguri and Jaigaon on the Indian side of the Bhutanese border.
The gate between Phuentsholing and Jaigaon closes at 9pm for vehicles, but people can cross on foot until 10pm.
Foreigners
Don’t forget to get your passport stamped when leaving India. The Indian immigration office, open 24 hours, is in a compound on the east side of the main road in the centre of Jaigaon, next door to the Hotel Kasturi and about 400m south of the Bhutan entrance gate. (There is a plan to relocate the office.) If your transport has already deposited you in Bhutan, you can simply walk back across the border to complete the paperwork.
To obtain a Bhutanese visa, foreigners need to present their passport, two photos and a US$20 fee to the visa officer in the drungkhag (subdistrict) office near the east end of town. The visa is issued here, but the arrival details will be stamped in your passport when you pass the immigration checkpoint at Rinchending, 5km away.
Foreigners may cross back and forth across the border during the day but are required to leave by 10pm unless staying in a hotel – a useful facility in case you neglected to complete Indian departure formalities before you crossed into Bhutan.
Indian Nationals
At the time of research Indian nationals needed a total of five photos, to fill in two copies of a form and present two photographs and photocopies of an identification document such as a driving licence or voter card to the office of the Indian embassy ( 05-252635, 252992; India House, Zhung Lam; 9.30-11.30am & 3.30-5pm Mon-Fri), near the post office in Phuentsholing. You then receive a request form to be presented to the Rinchending immigration officer along with three photographs. On weekends and holidays when the office is closed, Indian nationals who have either a voter registration card or a passport may go directly to the entry station in Rinchending.
Indian nationals may wander freely into Phuentsholing during the day, but are required to leave by 10pm unless staying in a hotel.
TO/FROM DELHI & KOLKATA
The nearest main-line Indian train station to Phuentsholing is in New Jalpaiguri. From there it’s a 12-hour rail journey to Kolkata and a 33-hour trip to Delhi. You can travel by road direct to New Jalpaiguri from Phuentsholing or drive to Siliguri where you can connect to a local train to New Jalpaiguri.
From Siliguri it’s easy to arrange a