North-East , Bhutan Bike Trip - March/April 08

Swapnil

Hi there,
I'm planning to visit Bhutan & North-East in March End/ April 2008 on my bike (Around 20 days) .

My main route will be like :

Guwahati - Shillong/Cherapunjee - Halflong - Silchar – Agartala – Udaipur – Aizwal – Saiha – Imphal – Ukharul – Kohima – Jorhat/Majuli/Kaziranga/Sibsagar – Ziro – Alang – Parasuram Kund – Tezu - Vijaynagar – Dibgoi - Dibrugad/Tinsukia - Itanagar – Tezpur - Bomdila –Tawang – Darang --> BHUTAN

BHUTAN --> Samdrup Jongkhar – Pemagatshel – Trashigang – Mongar – Jakar – Trongsa – Wangdue Phodrang –Thimpu – Phutsholing -> ( Jaigaon) INDIA – New Jalpaiguri -- back by train .

I'll like to know some information.My queries are as follows :

1) To which places in above route should I give more time ?
2) Any suggestion / modification in above route ?

About North – East:
3) Is it safe to travel on bike in Nagaland/Manipur/Mizoram ? or should I prefer public transport for traveling in these area’s or should I avoid traveling this stretch altogether ?
4) Is Parashuram Kund & Vijaynagar in Arunachal Pradesh connected by motorable road ?
5) At how many places in Upper Assam (like Dibrugarh/Tinsukia) there are bridges / ferry service available to cross river (with my bike)
6) Any idea about how’s hilly place named “Tura” in Meghalaya ? Is it worth making detour from Shillong to visit this place?

About Bhutan :
7) Is it possible to enter via Samdrup Jongkhar Border & leave from Phuntsholing ? I'm Indian citizen .
8) If it is possible which documents I'll be needing ?
9) How's condition at Samdrup Jongkhar ...? I heard its sealed off or something ..is it true ?
10) How long does it take to reach Thimphu from Samdrup Jongkhar ? how many KM's ? & how's road condition enroute ?
Sorry about these questions…but couldn’t find Bhutan Mike anywhere…


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machadinha

Suggest reading this in any case: Bhutan - The Lost Shangri-La

For info on the NE, try the Other Areas forum.

And good luck with it, sounds like fun

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Swapnil

Thanks for such quick reply.... ....but couldn't find info. regarding Samdrup Jongkhar anywhere on IM .
Also no info. regarding Parashuram Kund & Vijaynagar in Arunachal available on earlier posts . about Tura no tourist information available either ...plz help me out !..

machadinha

Y'r welcome. Patience; those were just some pointers that I thought might interest you. I don't know anything more on the subject -- will read your trip reports though, as the NE is much on my wish-list

Hopefully others will be in with comments and advice.

Swapnil

OK ... Thanks !...I'll be waiting !

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Yogesh Sarkar

Even I am trying to find information regarding this, but couldn’t find it so far. Even calling up Bhutanese embassy didn’t help, hoping to go there in May this year on my motorcycle.

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Swapnil

Yogesh , I've gone upto Thimphu (from Phuntsholing border) on my motorcycle in my Nepal-Bhutan trip ( Feb 06 )...& now want to explore more inner area of Bhutan (which btw incredibly beautiful) & want to do in a circuit i.e. entering from one border (Samdrup Jongkhar) & leaving from other ( Phuntsholing)....I dont know whether its possible or not...may be some IM member staying in NE area can guide me through this...I'm having no idea about Samdrup Jongkhar Border whether it's operating or not ? or do they issue permit for visiting Bhutan ( with M.cycle) at that border or not ....

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beesakopie

Some pointers:

1. Mizoram - Tripura - Meghalaya - Arunachal are "relatively" safe. Have just returned from Mizoram and can vouch that the place is as peaceful as Goa....and as literate too...and well, as much, if not more FUN!!!!

2. Nagaland and Manipur are going through a VERY tough time. Will not recommend at this time. Especially Manipur. Suggest you cancel Manipur altogether.

Your NorthEast stretch seems OK, some places are not in sequential order ... for example, you should try going to Arunachal through Tezpur side rather than the other way around. Suggest that you follow :

Guwahati - Meghalaya (Shillong / Tura / Nongstoin / Mawslam and wherever else) - North Cachar District (Haflong / Silchar and all that jazz)- into Tripura - into Mizoram (Travelling there will be difficult as the roads are in rudimentary shape -though with a two wheeler, you should be OK) - then back through NC Hills district to Golaghat in Assam - into Dimapur - Kohima (and further if you want to - into Ledo / Margherita in Assam - Digboi - Dibrugarh - Tezpur - Into Arunachal (Tawang / Bomdila ) and then to Guwahati. - Onward to Bhutan...

3. You will require ILP for Arunachal (available in Tezpur), Mizoram (available in Silchar / Shillong), Nagaland (available in Shillong / Silchar)

4. Ferry service available between Guwahati and Dibrugarh...but if you are travelling from nagaland into Assam (through Ledo / Margherita), you won't require it.

Cheers

BK

Swapnil

So I guess I'll cancel Manipur stretch altogether...& for Nagaland I'll make decision while I'm in Guwahati - depending upon local situation over there that time ...can you suggest some trustworthy sources e.g. local newspapers in NE(either in Hindi/English)/travel agencies /or some NE website on which I can rely for correct information ? Beesakopie thanks for such valuable pointers .


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machadinha

For online newspapers (anywhere in the world), this is generally a good source:
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/india.htm

I used to have some links for Assam news & beyond, but most have gone dead over time, alas, so no help there. Be aware those news sites will tend to be a little heavy on the danger side of it all, as news sources anywhere will be. Which doesn't mean it should be ignored.

Swapnil

Thanks machadinha , from that newspapers list I've shortlisted few North-East editions ( Working links & in English )
1)The Assam tribune
2)Nagaland Post
3)The Sangai Express
4)The Sentinel
5)The Shillong Times

Which among these should be considered more reliable/accurate for information ?

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beesakopie

- Assam Tribune
- The Telegraph (published from Cal)
- Sentinel

are good newspapers in English

Naga Site :

www.kuknalim.com
www.nagalandpost.com

Manipuri Site:

www.kanglaonline.com
www.epao.net

Mizo Site :

www.lelte.net (Great MP3's)

cheers,

Beesakopie

censorhipisobscene

Hey Swapnil. Ive planned a cycle trip thru bhuatn early april. My research tells me that while samdrup is open for exit it is mostly closed for entry. You could ring up any hotel in guwhati and confirm. Best of luck with the trip.

Swapnil

Thanks censorhipisobscene , strangely I received exactly opposite information when I posted same question about samdrup on popular social networking site ...this is the response I got from local Bhutanese member :
" yes it is possible to enter from samdrupjongkha & exit via phuentsholing, but to your surprise if some bhutanese has to do this he will travel via india
well you need restricted area permit from immigration area in samdrupjonkha because on the way you will find lots of check post where you have to show them this permit which says that you are allowed to visit all these area ( i.e. kanglung, trashigang mongar, trongsa, wandgue, punakha etc ) all these will be on the way and you will have probbaly 6 check post on the way upto thimphu and 2 more on the way to phuentsholing.
you need your natonal id like passport, ration card, voter card etc etc to prove that you are an indian, and then you need visa which is i guess free or nominal fees and then you need this travel permit for restricted area.
weather is ok in month of april, this will probably takes 5-6 days to travel if you traveling by bike and driving almost 7-8 hours a day. if you are travelling by car or jeep may be you can reduce the distance by 1 day.
ditsnace will be approx 900 km (samdrup to phuentsholing)
for reaching samdrupjonkha you have to wait for an escort(Convoy) in panbari(indian side) . thsi escort is only thrice a week and if there are any disturbances in assam due to terrorist or ulfa then escort/convoy may be cancelled for the day. so you have to check on avaiabilty of escort wthout that you cannot go to samdrupjonkha.
hope this information is helpfull to u "

Definitely I'll cross check this info before setting out from Guwahati . Thanks once again....also wish you best luck with your cycle trip .

censorhipisobscene

Well well well. Do let me know. Iv'e made my plans according to an exit from Samdrup. Wehen r u in Bhutan? We might meet.