Bhutan
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Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
In the present guide it indicates it is possible for travellers to cross from Jaigon, India into Bhutan without a visa. This is no longer true!! The Bhutanese government changed their immigration standards and no tourist is allowed to enter Bhutan unless they have a visa. They told me it is about US$250/day. This amount apparently includes hotel accomodation. Several months ago you used to be able to make daily visits for free to the border town of Phuentsholing. Not any more. So, many tourists get to Jaigon and are disappointed about the news.
Megan Berkle, USA (Jul 05)
I visited the border town Jaigon in India on 6th Jun 2005.
I tried to enter Phunentsholing in Bhutan for 1 day without a visa from Jaigon, but it was impossible to enter Bhutan without a visa now. The Bhutan government changed the rule last month. I asked to visit forjust only 1 hour to a border officer, but their answer was no.
Takashi Iwakiri, Japan (Jul 05)
It seems that the $20 US visa fee on entry to Bhutan is never included in tour packages. We had to pay it at the airport (easy enough to do) although we thought it had already been arranged through the tour operator.
Alex & Kate Davis, UK (Jan 05)
Travel Tips
Bhutan currency update: Western Union Wire service is available at the General post office of most towns in Bhutan (there is a complete list on westernunion.com). I was just in Bhutan in Sep 2005 and my husband wired a few hundred dollars to me. I was in the village of Jakar in the Bumthang district. The post master had to make a quick call to Thimphu to verify that the money was sent. It helped a great deal to have the MTCN- money transfer control number. My husband sent me about US$700.00 and the kind post master offered to cash the draft from his own checking account. It turned out that he didn't need to because there was just enough money in the post office safe to complete the transaction. The entire transaction was written out by hand so please be prepared to lose about 15 mins of tour time. I think Thimphu and Paro are the only towns with quick access to the Western Union computer system. But if all else fails, they just make a phone call to verify everything.
Barbie Hawkins, USA (Dec 05)
We did the Jhomolhari Trek. Although we undersand the reasons why ideally one would take 9 days, we did it in 8 days. On the last day we had our camp not at Barshong but further down (one and half hour) on the way to Dolam. The camp site was at a clearing by the Wang Chhu. Gaining this 1 1/2 hours, we managed on the following day to go straight to Dodina; that took us 7 and half hours. Although it was a long day, we found that we did the best thing as the camp in Dolam is muddy and the route is not that nice. So, we feel that it would be kind of a waste to stop on the way.
We did the trek at the end of May and, although we did not get snow on our way, we found some at the two snow passes we crossed. Particularly on the second snow pass, the terrain is pretty steep and the snow was quite icy. We had some difficulty making the pass using regular boots and crampons would have definitively helped us. Thus, crampons can be an important item on your bag, mainly if you travel in March / April.
Unlike Nepal, you do not find many trekkers on your way. In fact, we did not find any, mostly because of the time of the year. Also, we found very few villages and yak farms during the 8-day trek. So, it does no harm to have a satellite phone with you. But please note that Bhutan does not have chopters available for an unexpected emergency as you would find in Nepal. As we were told, you have to request a chopter from the India army and this may take at least 24 hours.
One important thing we would like to tell everyone is about the local crew that supports the trekking . We were not as tough as we should had been and only when the trekking was to begin, we realized we had just a crew of 3: the guide, the cook and the horse man. Although everything worked well at the end (despite the fact that the cook was sick for a few hours and the horses ran away during one of the nights), we feel that because most treks in Buthan take you to very remote places, it is important to ensure that you also have an assistant cook and an assistant horse man. So, in case anything happens to those two, you do not have yours plans severely impacted.
Take a very complete first aid kit. You go to very remote palces in Buthan and you have to rely on yout own kit! In our case, the cook had altitude sickness on day 2 but we were the ones who had Diamox in our kit.
These days a few trekking operators are recommending that acclimatisation be done in Lingzhi on day 5 and not at Jangothang on day 4. Luckily, we managed to change this and acclimatise in Jangothang on day 4. On that day, we went from 4080 mts to about 4300 mts at Tshophu lake in what was a citical factor in our preparation to cross Nyile La on the following day.
Leonardo Pereira & Pedro Lanna Ribeiro, Brazil (Jun 05)
In the temple of the Wangdue Dzong we saw a great Bhutanese tradition. The monk revealed some sacred dice and for 20 Ngultrum these were rolled on your behalf. The total of the two dice indicated future luck. It seems each temple has its own 'best number' (11 at the Wangdue Dzong!) and it's quite acceptable to keep paying the monk until he throws you good numbers!
We were told that 'entertainment' in Thimpu only happens on Wednesday and Saturday nights. We didn't really believe this and tried to find a pub or club open on a Thursday or a Friday. No chance. They really only open on Weds and Sat!
Alex & Kate Davis, UK (Jan 05)
The Bhutanese decorate the outside of their homes with huge phallic symbols. Supposedly it has something to do with warding off evil spirits. One thing I learned is that the Bhutanese word for that portion of the male body is Jay. You can imagine how I felt whenever I met someone and introduced myself because my name is Jay!
Jay Ruchamkin, USA (Nov 01)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
Tiger's Nest Monastery, Paro: They had just finished restoring the main temple after a fire so, by asking the right monk, it is now possible to see the temple as a fitting reward for a long climb. Definitely worth making the extra effort to go into the temple, and not just stop at the restaurant overlooking it from the other side of the cliff. An awesome place.
Our trip centred around a visit to the November festivals in Bumthang. A great experience, and much as described in your book. However, one thing you left out (perhaps on purpose) was the 'Naked Dance'. When we arrived in Bumthang there was much talk of what time the naked dance would be. It seems to happen for the first three nights of the festival, but the time is not fixed until the evening itself as the monks have to choose the most auspicious time. We were told it was going to be at midnight on the first night and turned up to be told that it had finished at 8pm! The second night we played it safe and turned up at 8pm - and had to wait until midnight (the dancers were very probably late due to large quantities of local wine beforehand to ward off the cold - and the nerves). Still, it was an experience not to be missed. Locals and tourists alike (about 50/50) gathered in a large circle around a campfire while the announcer stressed that photos were not permitted under any circumstances. Then the dancers appeared (maybe 15 boys between 13 and 20), wearing masks and shorts. To the clapping of the crowd, energetic dancing started and the shorts were removed to reveal some very cold boys with balloons attached to their appendages! They then each took it in turns to dance around for the crowd, often pushing their friends towards the bemused onlookers, before disappearing back inside. Extraordinary scene to witness!
Alex and Kate Davis, UK (Jan 05)
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