(No, Birganj is not an "Other Indian City" (as it is a city in Nepal, not India). However, I did not want to make an additional label. Moreover, it is the sister-city to Raxaul (on the Indian side of the border) so, in a way, it is an O.I.C.)
Horrible things happened on my way to Nepal. I do try to have a positive outlook, and I usually write that good things happen to me before and/or during my travels, but they did not occur here. Horrible things happened to me on my way to Nepal.
First and foremost, the proximate cause, and the reason why everything was horrible was that my application for a PIO (Person of Indian Origin) Card was not approved. This meant that I could not register at the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) and stay for as long as I wanted (up to 15 years) without having to leave the country. I suppose that if it was not to be approved then it came at a good time. As I wrote earlier this year, the "David Headley" Rule has been rescinded. This meant that I did not have to be away from India for two months. The officer at the FRRO told me that I could be away for just one day; the Indian government just needs to see that I left and returned.
Secondly, we shifted/moved. I suppose that there is nothing inherently horrible about this, but I have read many things at many times that shifting one's residence is a very stressful event. It certainly was for us and, moreover, it took away time from my planning my trip properly. (When I arrived in Nepal, I found that I had packed my toothbrush, but forgot to bring toothpaste!)
Finally, the planning and execution of my trip was fraught with worries. Although, as an expat, I have heard of others making visa-runs, I have never done so myself. Perhaps especially because I was going to a new place the trip seemed to be even more stressful than a more-lengthy trip.
Earlier this year, I did go to Cebu partly because I had been there before and partly because I booked the tickets when the "David Headley" Rule was still in effect. (It was rescinded a few days later.) Of course, I could have gone there again, but it seems counter-productive now, and Caroline wanted me back soon.
I decided that I wanted to go to Bangladesh because it was closer and because the Fairlie Place ticket office promoted trains going there, indicating that it should be easy and convenient. However, someone said that getting a visa there would be difficult and time-consuming; the U.S. government webpage did not seem to be helpful; and someone even said that I would have to be in the U.S. to get the visa! (This seemed somewhat strange to me, and I have had no verification of that, but it may be something that you should look into if you ever go to Bangladesh.)
However, Rohit (my travel agent) also stated that it was difficult to get a visa to Bangladesh; mentioned the cost of going to Thailand; and stated that I should go to Nepal. For some unknown reason, I had never considered that! The train ticket was very cheap so I readily agreed.
However, this solution brought with it its own problems. From the Internet, I read that a visa-on-arrival to Nepal was available. From IndiaMike (I think), I read that a one-day and five-day visa was available. These were good (if true), but I wanted to know how to pay for it: in USD, Indian rupees, or Nepali rupees. I needed to know exactly and specifically how to get from Raxaul (India) to Birganj (Nepal). Google Maps indicated that it was just three kilometres, but I needed to know if I was permitted to walk to the border, or whether buses or other vehicles would be required. I wanted to know if English was well-known in Nepal, and if there were cheap hotels available. (I went to Google+ and other websites, but I read only limited information on them.) I wanted to know if Indian rupees were accepted in Nepal. I think that I pestered Rohit with so many questions that he said that I should go to the Nepal Consulate. For some unknown reason, I had never considered that!
However, this solution brought with it its own problems. Firstly, I did not know where it was. I went to Google Maps and printed a copy. It stated that the Consulate was next to BM Birla Heart Research Centre and on National Library Avenue in the district of Alipore. This confused me. I had thought that I knew where the BM Birla HRC was located, but I thought that it was in the district of Ekbalpore, not Alipore. Nevertheless, I felt comfortable that the map, the landmark (the hospital) and the street would be sufficient for the taxi driver to get to the Consulate..
As I believe that I have written at least once, the only times that I have been in a taxi by myself were the times that I have taken a pre-paid taxi (available at the airport and at Howrah train station). Fortunately(?), I entered a taxi that was willing to go by meter, rather than quoting me an outrageously high fare. It soon became apparent, however, that the driver did not know the destination. We seemed to be going around in circles. He did stop several times to ask pedestrians and other drivers where was the BM Birla Hospital. In hindsight, it could have been an act to drive more (he drove for almost one hour for a trip that should have taken no more than 15 minutes) and to increase the meter, but he did seem to be genuinely lost, so if it was an act, then it was a good act.
On my return trip, I was again fortunate(?) enough to get a taxi that went by meter. From the hospital/Consulate, he drove a little bit further and I saw the area of the hospital where my mother-in-law passed away! Therefore, I did know the area. I just wish I had know about it earlier, so that I could have directed the other taxi driver. Once he became lost, however, I was lost as well. Thus, I felt more comfortable about this second driver. As we drove further and approached the familiar Kyd Street exit, however, he kept on driving! I told him that he missed it. We drove further north, and I told him to turn around when we came to the next exit. At that exit, he seemed to want to go further North (in the direction opposite to where we should be going), but fortunately he listened to me. We again came to the Kyd Street exit. At the end, we had two options, one of which was Park Street. This is a broad street, not far from my eventual destination, so it was preferable. Park Street is a one way street; it is one way for part of the day, and the other way for another part of the day. Unfortunately, it was the other way at that time, so we could not enter it. So we went along Kyd Street until we reached Free School/Mirza Ghalib Street. Like Park Street, Free School Street is a one-way street, and unfortunately it was the other way at that time. We then drove to Marquis Street. Almost as soon as we were on it, we encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic. I decided to get out, pay the fare (about half the amount that I paid the first taxi), and walk to the tram which would take me home.
In hindsight, I think that the second taxi driver wanted to drive further North to eventually meet up with Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru Road), then driving South to the flyover/overpass to get to AJC Bose Road, and then driving North again to get to Elliot Road. Although all of these roads would be broad and/or uncongested, it seemed to be many kilometres further than we needed to go; a far shorter and straighter way was to go by Kyd Street. The lesson to be learned here is that you should always be very knowledgeable about your destination, even (or perhaps especially when) when you are depending upon another (a taxi driver) to get you there.
Furthermore, everything on both trips was made more complicated in that taxi drivers do not know English, and for taxis I know little more than baya, dina and sidha (left, right and straight).
At the Nepal Consulate itself, I encountered two problems. The first was the cost of the visa. I had read that it would be INR1,275. A paper posted on the door, however, said that it would be INR1,400. I soon learned, however, that it was tied to the U.S. dollar, and that it would now be INR1,500 (due to the very weak rupee). The second was that the officer was not there! I asked when he would be there, whether it would be the next day, the day after that, the day after that, or anytime in the foreseeable future. However, it seemed as if he was simply away, and within 15 minutes he came back. I had already printed and completed the visa application and within a brief period of time, I received the visa.
I still am unsure about whether or not one-day and five-day visas are available. The officer said that they were not available, but perhaps they are available as a visa-on-arrival at the Kathmandu Airport and/or other entry points (or perhaps they used to be available, and are no longer so). Also, I received an ambiguous answer regarding whether or not Indian rupees are acceptable in Nepal, and I was unable to speak to someone who may have provided corroboration. Thus, I decided to get two USD5.00 bills just in case. It has been a very long time since I held U.S. currency, so I decided to photograph them and to enter them at WheresGeorge.com
![]()
I shall repeat this in my next post, but I do want to mention now that although getting the visa was fraught with problems and worries, I still think that this approach is best. If you have the choice between getting a visa-on-arrival or going to a Consulate to get a visa then you should do the latter. It is better to be prepared and obviate possibly worse problems.
However, this solution brought with it its own problems. Firstly, I did not know where it was. I went to Google Maps and printed a copy. It stated that the Consulate was next to BM Birla Heart Research Centre and on National Library Avenue in the district of Alipore. This confused me. I had thought that I knew where the BM Birla HRC was located, but I thought that it was in the district of Ekbalpore, not Alipore. Nevertheless, I felt comfortable that the map, the landmark (the hospital) and the street would be sufficient for the taxi driver to get to the Consulate..
As I believe that I have written at least once, the only times that I have been in a taxi by myself were the times that I have taken a pre-paid taxi (available at the airport and at Howrah train station). Fortunately(?), I entered a taxi that was willing to go by meter, rather than quoting me an outrageously high fare. It soon became apparent, however, that the driver did not know the destination. We seemed to be going around in circles. He did stop several times to ask pedestrians and other drivers where was the BM Birla Hospital. In hindsight, it could have been an act to drive more (he drove for almost one hour for a trip that should have taken no more than 15 minutes) and to increase the meter, but he did seem to be genuinely lost, so if it was an act, then it was a good act.
On my return trip, I was again fortunate(?) enough to get a taxi that went by meter. From the hospital/Consulate, he drove a little bit further and I saw the area of the hospital where my mother-in-law passed away! Therefore, I did know the area. I just wish I had know about it earlier, so that I could have directed the other taxi driver. Once he became lost, however, I was lost as well. Thus, I felt more comfortable about this second driver. As we drove further and approached the familiar Kyd Street exit, however, he kept on driving! I told him that he missed it. We drove further north, and I told him to turn around when we came to the next exit. At that exit, he seemed to want to go further North (in the direction opposite to where we should be going), but fortunately he listened to me. We again came to the Kyd Street exit. At the end, we had two options, one of which was Park Street. This is a broad street, not far from my eventual destination, so it was preferable. Park Street is a one way street; it is one way for part of the day, and the other way for another part of the day. Unfortunately, it was the other way at that time, so we could not enter it. So we went along Kyd Street until we reached Free School/Mirza Ghalib Street. Like Park Street, Free School Street is a one-way street, and unfortunately it was the other way at that time. We then drove to Marquis Street. Almost as soon as we were on it, we encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic. I decided to get out, pay the fare (about half the amount that I paid the first taxi), and walk to the tram which would take me home.
In hindsight, I think that the second taxi driver wanted to drive further North to eventually meet up with Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru Road), then driving South to the flyover/overpass to get to AJC Bose Road, and then driving North again to get to Elliot Road. Although all of these roads would be broad and/or uncongested, it seemed to be many kilometres further than we needed to go; a far shorter and straighter way was to go by Kyd Street. The lesson to be learned here is that you should always be very knowledgeable about your destination, even (or perhaps especially when) when you are depending upon another (a taxi driver) to get you there.
Furthermore, everything on both trips was made more complicated in that taxi drivers do not know English, and for taxis I know little more than baya, dina and sidha (left, right and straight).
At the Nepal Consulate itself, I encountered two problems. The first was the cost of the visa. I had read that it would be INR1,275. A paper posted on the door, however, said that it would be INR1,400. I soon learned, however, that it was tied to the U.S. dollar, and that it would now be INR1,500 (due to the very weak rupee). The second was that the officer was not there! I asked when he would be there, whether it would be the next day, the day after that, the day after that, or anytime in the foreseeable future. However, it seemed as if he was simply away, and within 15 minutes he came back. I had already printed and completed the visa application and within a brief period of time, I received the visa.
I still am unsure about whether or not one-day and five-day visas are available. The officer said that they were not available, but perhaps they are available as a visa-on-arrival at the Kathmandu Airport and/or other entry points (or perhaps they used to be available, and are no longer so). Also, I received an ambiguous answer regarding whether or not Indian rupees are acceptable in Nepal, and I was unable to speak to someone who may have provided corroboration. Thus, I decided to get two USD5.00 bills just in case. It has been a very long time since I held U.S. currency, so I decided to photograph them and to enter them at WheresGeorge.com
I shall repeat this in my next post, but I do want to mention now that although getting the visa was fraught with problems and worries, I still think that this approach is best. If you have the choice between getting a visa-on-arrival or going to a Consulate to get a visa then you should do the latter. It is better to be prepared and obviate possibly worse problems.