Behind The Scene

First, I wanna let you guys know that at last I finished reading 'Life Of Pi' by Yann Martel. It was really good towards the end of the story and really made me believe that the whole thing really happen and real. No wonder it won 2002 Man Booker Prize.

Now, I just wanna share 'behind the scene' of my India & Bhutan trip. It fun to travel but I nearly crack up my head to find the best route with the cheapest possible way to do it esp when I wanna travel to remote/exotic/unexplore places like I mentioned in my previous post. First, I have to know what I wanna see and do before I can map out my journey. Trust me, the excitement end there. The reason I choose Delhi was it connects well with KL and Paro (Bhutan). Also, I got to see one of Seven Wonder i.e Taj Mahal. That was easy but to get the cheapest ticket out of Delhi to Bagdogra (the nearest airport to Darjeeling) was quite a challange coz Air Deccan offers the cheapest domestic ticket in India but NONE of Malaysian travel agents can book me on Air Deccan. Even worst, their website limits the usage of outside India credit card tansaction. So, I can't buy the ticket online from their website. After much web searching, I found out that travelocity india website offers Air Deccan ticket. SUCCESSFUL TRANSACTION!!!. I'm so happy about it coz other airlines offer double that what Air Deccan offers for that one way ticket to Bagdogra. Then planning for Derjeeling-Pelling-Gangtok was quite smooth.

On Bhutan side, there are a few Bhutan government regulation that foreigners have to follow. Travel in Bhutan is not cheap. That's why I decided to spent ONLY 5 nights there. First, you must be guided to enter Bhutan. Foreigners can't roam the country unattended. After much web searching, I found this one Bhutanese agent that can accomodate me with my itinerary. Second, all foreigners HAVE to fly (at least one way) by the Royal Druk Air (the ONLY carrier fly in and out of Bhutan). The ticket is not cheap either and that's why I choose to enter by land (Phuentsholing) then fly out from Paro to Delhi by Druk Air. Third, credit card transaction is almost non-existent in Bhutan except at luxury hotels (they only have 2-3 such hotels). So, I have to wire down the money for Druk Air flight ticket and all the travelling charges to them. But I can't wire directly to Bhutan National Bank. I have to use third party banks (ONLY 3 banks listed). The problem was, Malaysian banks are sooooo incompetent and they can't/reluctant to do it that way. The most stupid comment they gave me was 'Are you sure it is a country coz they never heard of it and Bhutan sounds FUNNY'. It shows that how ignorant some Malaysians are even how educated they can be. Then, I have to make a call all the way to Bhutan to clarify the matter and they decided I can pay them there either by CASH or US Travellers cheque but they prefer CASH. What?!! I can't be carrying lots of USD while travelling esp in India. There are a few more Bhutan government regulations BUT it'll take million pages to write everything down heheheh.

There are a few more obstacle and uncertainty for me in planning this trip esp on Bhutan side. I almost cancel the trip coz it takes a lot out of me. Even until now, there are a few uncertainties. It'll be much easier if I just appoint an agent to do everything for me OR I just join in pre-arranged tours BUT I'll not have the satisfaction of travelling and it might cost more and definitely LESS fun. For me, the satisfaction of travelling is the crank 'your head' up while I'm planning and searching for everything needed and a successful execution of the plan. I hope everything work as what I plan or at least almost as what I plan. Now, I can't wait for the journey to begin.