[lilyrose]

Hi,

I sponsor a girl in Bangladesh (near Dhaka) I was thinking of visiting her when I come to India in Oct/Nov this year. Does anyone know how easy it is to travel from India to bangladesh and what to expect when I get there?


By the way.....happy New Year!

[jyotirmoy]

There is a bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka. Our member wonderwomanusa had visited Bangladesh last winter. She may soon answer your querries on what to expect. I think she got her visa from Kolkata.

[Shiver me Timbers]

Hi there, I just spent 10 days in Bangladesh.

It's very straight forward to travel there from Kolkata. First you need to get your visa in Kolkata, it takes two days - you pick up your passport with visa the day after you submit your application. Attach 3 passport photos to the form (which is available at stalls around the Bangladeshi consulate).

Note if you are an Irish citizen, you don't need a visa.

There are 3 options for getting to Bangladesh from Kolkata:

1 - Take the twice weekly train from Kolkata to Dhaka.

2. Take one of the many buses that leave every morning for Dhaka.

3. From Sealdah station, take local train BB505 at 05.55 to Bangaon Junction, arriving just before 08.00. It's important to take this early train, as leaving it any later will mean you'll probably miss the train on the other side of the border.

From Bangaon, take a shared rickshaw (20 Rupees, could be less) to the frontier. Walk across to Bangladesh, then take a cycle rickshaw or cart to Benapole train station (5-10 taka). From here, a service runs daily to Khulna at 11.45, via Jessore. The journey to Khulna costs 30 taka. These are local times - note Bangladesh is 30 minutes ahead of India in summer, and 1 hour 30 minutes ahead in winter (now).

Option 3 is very useful if you wish to do the Rocket Boat trip between Dhaka and Khulna without backtracking to Dhaka - it leaves you in Khulna first.

Note for option 1, you must designate 'Darshana' as your entry point on your visa application. For options 2 and 3, 'Benapole'.

Bangladesh itself is quite similar to India in many ways, but there are also some major differences.  It is significantly cheaper than India to travel around, and the transport system is quite easy to negotiate if you're used to India.

Obviously the country is extremely flat, but it is still very beautiful - the south-west reminded of the Kerala backwaters, only on a much much larger scale. In the north-east there are tea plantations, and the south-east has beaches, islands and mountains.

The most important difference for a tourist/foreign visitor is that Bangladesh really doesn't see many foreigners. Everywhere you go, you get stared at, often large crowds will gather around you just to watch what you're doing. It's all good-natured, the people are extremely, sometimes OTT friendly. Sometimes its difficult to get a moment alone, but its generally fine.

[WonderWomanUSA]

Yes, the visa is easy (just tell 'em you are going for tourism; don't go into the "sponsoring a child" business) but time consuming, and not cheap; it's $130 for a 30-day visa.

My friend and I took the government bus (deluxe Volvo with a driver who hooted the horn every 35 seconds); it was about as comfortable as possible ... the meal stop was okay and clean. I'd have liked one more bathroom stop, but it wasn't to be.

I hope you like condensed milk in your chai; that's what you'll get in Bangladesh. I think I only saw a dozen cows in two weeks.

Bangladeshi cottons are wonderful; we found a great mall in Chittagong that had wonderful dupattas and sarees.

[lilyrose]

Thanks to you all. You have given me very useful information

Lil