3 days, 3 countries, 3 hours in Bhutan...

• Nalddo's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Bogra

Trip Start Jan 01, 2010 Previous
Entry Trip End Jun 30, 2012 Next
Entry

  Bogra, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Finally I stayed only half-day in Bhutan. When I arrived in Jalgaon, the border city, facing Phuentsholing, in Bhutan, I realised that it would not be as easy as I had expected. As a matter of fact, there was a wall separating the 2 cities. It was the first time I was seeing something like this. It looked like Berlin in the 1980's !

Since it looked like everybody could cross freely between the few gateways, including the photogenic "Bhutan Gateway", the only cross for vehicles, I tried my luck by simply walking across the border. But a guard kindly prevented me from crossing. Indians can freely go to Phuentsholing and even travel in Bhutan after a few formalities, not foreigners, he reminded me... For a few hours, I walked around the city, trying to find a way, a hole in the wall, an unguarded gateway but nothing... At every gateway, I was turned-out, and every time very kindly. Since vehicles were barely checked, I offered half dollar to a taxi driver to drive me through the border. I hide as much as I can inside the vehicle, but the same guard that had turned-me out the first time caught me and sent me back to Bhutan.... It was definitely impossible to cross inside the city.

But, I would not give-up. Phuentsholing is situated at the foot of the Himalayas. When arriving from India, there are lowlands and the hills start at the border. Just after Phuentsholing, the road to Bhutan climbs quickly and it was possible to see it from the Indian side. It was also possible to see a network of fences and walls all around the hill, but from a far distance, it appeared there were some points where it might be possible to cross, jumping over the bridge. There were even some trails that could be seen, and I supposed there were leading to this gaps.

I decided to wait for the night, before starting the climb. There were some watchtowers and I feared I would be flagged if walking in plain light. Actually, it was a very bad idea. Just at the beginning of the ascent, I lost my way quite quickly and had to use my torch to find the trail. It was the best way to be caught. And I had been caught ; after some minutes, when it became clear I would not make it that night, I climbed down, only to see that a Bhutanese guard was waiting for me. But I still was in indian territory and he was watching me from the top of the wall. So, he could not do anything. I told him I was looking for a place to camp, and he advised me to find a hotel in town because it was far too dangerous to stay here for the night. I am sure he understood I wanted to cross illegally but said nothing. Back to zero.

I needed to find a new strategy, so I went to a cheap guest-house in town for a good night, before another try. The next day, I walked farther South of the city, far from the guards. There were an easy-to-follow trail climbing the mountain, and I suspected it would lead me somewhere. So I climbed it. With my previous experience, I imagined nothing serious would happen if I were caught again, and I could see locals up the hill. After an easy climb of 20 minutes, I reached the wall. I was just meters away from Bhutan, and there were nobody around. The top of the hill was just a hundred meters further and I could see something that looked like a watchtower. It there were somebody inside, he had already seen me, for sure. I could have climbed the wall here, but I preferred march along it for a few meters. At the edge of a ravine, the wall stopped and it was possible to go around it (there was a path). Knowing that if I had been seen, people would be waiting for me, I waited for a few minutes, but there were no suspect movements. So, I crossed the border. I was now in Bhu-fucking-tan !!!

I walked some minutes more, but just before reaching the road, I saw cops looking at me. Too late, I was caught... Useless to try running away, so I walked to them, preparing my apologizes. There spoke nothing of English, and a man nearby had to translate. They asked me where I were from, asked to see my passport, gave it back to me and let me go. without a word ! U.N.B.E.L.I.E.V.A.B.L.E ! It gave me good hope for the future, and i was already seeing me reaching in Paro, almost 200km away, before the night.

So, I went on, following the road. I had downloaded the Lonely Planet of Bhutan (from my collection of 175 titles that my friend Farzad back in Iran had given to me) into my Ipod, and they were innocently saying that there were a checkpoint 5km after the border. So, I was expected it and before I reached it, I went away from the road, inside the Royal University of Bhutan, trying to find a way around. I did not know where I was going, and many ways I headed were dead end, but finally I found a place where I had a clear view of the checkpoint. There was a ridge road, and the checkpoint was built on a switch-back. I calculated than I went down the ravine and then up to the road, I would not be seen. The ravine was not deep, actually it was not really a ravine, there were some houses below. I climbed down, from the university. There were a wall with some barbed wires on top of it, but I managed to climb it and jump over the barbed wires. I lost some hair in this exercise, but I was now down the ravine. Another steep ascent and I would be on the road again, some 500m after the checkpoint. Ignoring locals that were trying to dissuade me to go this way, I made the steep climb and eventually reached the road, the road of freedom that would eventually lead me to Paro, its mountains and beautiful monasteries.

I was there that I made my fatal mistake. I was totally wet and dirty, so I changed shirt and decided to stay there to start hitch-hiking. As I said I was 500m ahead of the check-point and they could not see me. I was also sure they had not seen me while I was climbing, I always stayed away from their sight. And I was too tired to continue the walk. But after only 10 minutes, before somebody stopped to take me, a guard came and seized my passport. For some time, I wondered how he had known I was there. The most logical answer was that a driver going the other way, toward the check-point told them.... Bhutanese fuckers !

I walked with him back to the checkpoint. He offered me water to clean myself and after a few questions drove me back to Phuentsholing, 5km away, directly to the immigration chief officer. He asked me when I wanted to go to Bhutan and why I did not have a visa. I said it was a beautiful country and did not have the money to pay 200$ for every single day of my stay in Bhutan. He told me the fine was 235$ but I said I did not have that amount of money. It was a big lie, of course, I had cashed a lot of money in Kolkata, preparing my trip to Myanmar, and had in my pocket 440$ in green notes saying "In God we trust", plus around 200$ in Indian rupees (I had not bother changing money since Indian rupees are also legal currency in Bhutan). Then he said, that if I had not enough money, I would be jailed in order to pay my debt, each day in jail discounting 2,5$. So, it would be 94 days in jail !!! I said I had only 100$ with me, hoping it would make a discount, but that was not enough. And then he changed the subject, took some pictures of me and asked me how I had made it that far, who had guided me. When i said I found my way alone, he looked astonished and I started feeling some sympathy from him toward me. I knew if I played well, he may withdraw the fine...

So, I told him about my trip, how I travel, but after some time, he put again the money topic on the table. I told him that provided he let me go back to India, I could cash the money from an ATM (there are none in Bhutan). He had still my passport in hand but it looked like that letting me make a short trip to India was not an option. Was there any legal matter involved ? Then, he hesitated and finally spoke : "Listen, we will close our eyes this time, because you come from so far and have little money... But if you try again, I won't be that kind. By the way, I will send your photo and passport details to every border checkpoint and to your embassy (???). And if you want to visit our beautiful country, make the proper documentation". Then, I was escorted through the Bhutan gateway, crossing it in the opposite direction that I had dreamed 3 hours before, back to India, and back to legality...

After following my escort for a quick visit to every entry point to be sure that every guard remember my face, he let me go. Since the purpose of my stay in Jalgaon was over, I started to head toward Bangladesh. The last hours of my first trip in India had started !

After an overnight stop in the border city of Jalpaiguri, I headed the next morning toward Bangladesh. I did not know it was possible anywhere in the world for bus drivers to have an even more dangerous behavior than their Indian colleagues, and how I reached safely Bogra after a 6 hours ride without crashing on a truck coming the other way is still a mystery...

Bogra hotels Slideshow Share

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

This way, this way...	Arriving in Jaigaon	Almost there !	May-be a way to cross...
Climbing the hill	India from Bhutan	India	Up the hill
Last view of India ?	Is-it a watchtower ?	Here we go !	First steps in Bhutan
Bhutan, Bhutan !	Last obstacle	Jump, jump !

Previous Entry Next Entry