Phuentsholing - Bhutan

A road less travelled. A country less visited. Bhutan is a beautiful part of Asia. This is my first time to reach the border and enter the county through Phuentsholing. To get to the border and the only entrance to the country that foreigners are allowed is to get a bus from the Siliguri Junction Bus station. There are 2 government buses that runs from here daily which is at 7 AM and 12.30 Afternoon. The last bus leaves at 2.40 PM and is privately run. The cost o ticket is RS 81. The bus goes to Jaigaon, the border town of India. From Jaigaon to enter Phuentsholing, it is a 5 minutes walk.

Important information: Phuentsholing is only accessible by road for Indians, Nepalese and Bangladeshis without a Visa. Other nationalities need to go through the proper process of getting the permits and Visa for Bhutan and through travel agencies. Generally the trip is arranged at a fixed cost of USD per night, which includes meals, transportation and visits to permitted areas. Then the foreigners can opt to access through Phuentsholing (Only one way, either entry or exit). So another entry or exit must be done by Government owned Druk Air. The flight tickets are expensive and the whole visiting process must be done as early as possible and at least 3 months in advance. Check online and you may find many options and travel agents.

From the Jaigaon bus station, take a shared auto to the town centre, and probably to the crossing gate. It should not cost more than RS 5 to 10. The hotels in Jaigoon are really bad. Some in total unacceptable conditions. Smelly, bad walls and baths, bed bugs and more like hotels for brothels! So do you homework and I suggest not to stay in Jaigoon. Some of the worst hotels includes Hill View, Kasturi and Sivam. For locals, these hotels are excellent so if you ask around they will probably tell you these are the great hotels. Basically nothing much to see in Jaigaon. Quick walk through the town will take about 1-2 hours, and off you go.

The crossing is interesting. There are separate entry points for pedestrians and vehicles. There are no checking done for pedestrian on Indian side. But there will be army personals all over the gate area. At the entry point of Bhutan, there will be Bhutan Police and will check the passport/id cards when they suspect that you are not from any of the 3 countries. Locals will easily get away. They are strict and they speak professional english. If you managed to cross that, then you are in the soil of Bhutan. No passport stamping needed. My PIO somehow helped me to cross that border!

You will see a vast difference between Jaigaon and Phuentsholing, mainly in cleanliness. Phutsholing is 20 times cleaner and neater than Jaigaon. There are many Hotels within few minutes from the gate. I checked into Hotel Central at RS 1000. Great service and very good hotel indeed, where for the same price you will get a lousy room filled with urine smell in Jaigaon. The people are friendly and they look similar like Nepalese. Most of then can speak Bhutanese, Hindi, Nepalese, English and even Bengali.

Phuentsholing town is quite small and you can take a walk around the town and see the place within 2-3 hours. Many nice cafe's and restaurants. I saw many locals wearing the traditional clothes. Even their police and customs personal's dresses are very different and has their traditional dress elements. From here to go to Paro or Thimphu, it is a 6 hour journey by mini-bus. But will first need to get a permit with passport copy and photo id. This is for the Indians, Nepalese and Bangladeshis. I did not try this.

I was happy to visit Phuentsholing and in someway very happy that I have stepped into Bhutan.