Transit to/from Bhutan via Delhi airport: some tips

New Delhi airport is often used as a transit point to or from Bhutan. Delhi airport is served by multiple international airlines with multiple flights to Europe, the USA and other Western destinations. Tourists to Bhutan often transfer via Delhi and so do Bhutanese traveling for work, studies or holidays.

Feel free to share your Delhi airport experience. Just add a comment to this post!

Unfortunately, transiting in Delhi is not simple, to say the least. Compared to popular transit airports such as Bangkok and Frankfurt, the Delhi transit process is incredibly more complicated, especially if you don't know how it works (or should work). Let me try to de-mystify this process in the hope of reducing uncertainty and stress for future travelers.

Transiting through Delhi means that your connecting flight departs within 24 hours from arriving to Delhi. There are three advantages to transiting over entering and exiting India: (1) You do not need a visa to India (can be time consuming and expensive*), or you do not wish to "waste" an entry if you have a visa to India with a limited number of entries, 2) you will not need to go through immigration at Delhi airport, saving a lot of time and hassle, and (3) you will be able to stay inside the airport the entire time (otherwise, passengers are allowed to enter Delhi airport only 6 hours prior to their flight so if you arrive earlier you'll have to hang out outside).

The tricky part at Delhi airport is that you can only get beyond the small transfer desk area if you have the continuing boarding pass. The transfer area has comfortable chairs, access to rest rooms and a vending machine. But it lacks any food/drink or sleeping areas, the lights are bright, and the endless loud announcements can be a bit irritating. Once you pass the transfer desk, you are right in the gate area with shops, food court, lounges, etc. Below are tips to try and get you past the transfer area as fast as possible.

Tip #1: If you are sending luggage, make sure that your luggage tags specify your final destination (Paro, Paris, NY, etc.). In other words, ask the agent to tag your bags all the way through to your final destination. For example, if you are flying from Paro to Zurich, request the Druk Air agent in Paro to tag your bags to Zurich. The reason is that in Delhi you will not see your bags and the continuing airline will be responsible for transferring the bags to the next flight. Bags that only have a Delhi tag will need to be cleared through customs in India and stored there until loading to your continuing flight. This not only wastes time and a chance for baggage delay/loss, but also incurs an extra charge.

Tip #2: When you land in Delhi, head to the transfer desk. Often, as you exit the plane, an agent will be right outside with a sign for transfer passengers. The agent will take you to the same transfer desk. Make sure not to take the escalators down to immigration! The transfer desk is to the immediate right of the escalators. Prepare your on-going boarding pass (or ticket, if you couldn't get a boarding pass) and the baggage tags.

Tip #3: If you are flying from Paro, try to get boarding passes for your continuing flight! This is extremely helpful and time saving. It will allow you to quickly pass the transfer desk and get directly to the gates.

Tip #4: If you are flying to Bhutan, you will not be able to get Druk Air boarding passes until you reach Delhi. This is what leaves many travelers stranded in the transfer desk area for hours. The transfer desk can get the Druk Air boarding passes only 3 hours prior to the flight, when the Druk Air counters open. This situation might also occur in the other direction - for example, European airlines usually open their counters about 3 hours prior to their flight. Now comes our tip: If you book a room at the Eaton Smart Airport Hotel (for a minimum of 5 hours; expensive) and make the booking at least a few days prior to your trip, the hotel will arrange for boarding passes to be ready when you arrive at the transfer desk (you will email them your passport copy, visa copy, etc.). When you land in Delhi, a hotel agent will await you outside your plane and walk you to the transfer desk area, get your boarding pass, and then escort you to the hotel. Getting from the hotel to the gates takes a max of 30 min (if your gate is far), so you can even get some sleep or at least rest before the usually-early-morning Druk Air flight to Paro.

Notes:
1. Many airline websites provide an online check-in service which allows you to print your boarding pass at home. However, the transfer desk and security appear not to honor these self-printed boarding passes and require issuing "real" boarding passes.

2. Having to pay for excess number of luaggage pieces (or wright) can stall the whole transfer process. You will need to wait for the airline's counters to open in order to pay the fees. If you want to avoid the risk, make sure your luggage is within the continuing airline's restrictions.

(*) Until recently, transiting was also a way to avoid the 2-month rule on re-entering India, which has now been lifted.

Turkish music is not what I expected to hear this morning

Here is what Bhutan Telecom's home page looked like this morning. After waiting a few seconds, the page started playing Turkish pop. Too bad Turkish coffee was not served as well.

What about backward compatibility?

A few months ago, B-Mobile decided to change the band used for its 3G mobile broadband service in Thimphu from the standard 2100 MHz to the less-popular 850 MHz. Reducing the frequency improves reception and speed. 2100 MHz (known as Band I) is the original and still most popular 3G frequency being used in the world. All smartphones and data-cards with 3G capabilities support 2100 MHz. In contrast, many existing devices do not include 3G support for 850 MHz (known as Band V).

While I was waiting today at the Bhutan Telecom office for a technician, a number of customers arrived, complaining that 3G no longer works on their phone in Thimphu, although it does work in Paro. One lady was carrying a Blackberry phone. It has become useless in Thimphu. Another was carrying a Nokia phone. A third was using Samsung Galaxy S. My own Huawei E160G data-card is not working anymore - it does not support 850 MHz. I am sure that there are many more customers who will now need to replace their mobile phones or data-cards.

Imagine BPC changing the voltage in your home's sockets from 220V to 110V. Time to replace your refrigerator and rice cooker! A mobile operator must ensure that existing devices will continue working, even in the face of network upgrades. A provider cannot expect its customers to lose their investment. The good news is that a solution is available: mobile operators can provide dual-carrier technology, where both 2100 MHz and 850 MHz work side-by-side. That will enable existing users to keep using their old equipment. I am not sure while B-Mobile did not choose this graceful route.

Upgrading the network is commendable. And 850 MHz is indeed an improvement over 2100 MHz. But providers must ensure that their customers' existing investment in equipment will not go down the drain.

Can you spot the difference, honey?

I took this photo yesterday in one of Thimphu's well-known grocery stores. While the local Bumthang honey, as well as the one imported from Thailand, naturally crystallize in Thimphu's chilly weather, the Indian Dabur jars (packed with harmful antibiotics, by the way) do not show any signs of giving in to the temperature. Creepy.

DrukNet's "secret" account management page

In the past, broadband users were able to manage their broadband accounts using the following link:

korila.druknet.bt:8080/ispbilling/customer/index.html

This link is now dead. Apparently, this billing system is gone. I didn't see any announcement about this - I just noticed it by chance.

From what I gather, a new billing system has been set up here. Finding a link to the new system is not easy - you are welcome to try! Anyway, I'll save you the work. A link to the new system is here:

http://mynet.druknet.bt/userportal/ 

Roaming in Bhutan (K2 #57)

Question of the Week
I will be volunteering in Bhutan in the spring. Will I be able to use my Samsung Galaxy S II phone there? Do I need to get a local SIM or can I use my Vodafone SIM?
— Emma, New Zealand

Answer
Before travelling to Bhutan, make sure that your phone’s hardware is compatible: In your case, Samsung Galaxy S II supports all four major GSM frequencies (850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz), and these cover the GSM frequencies used in Bhutan (900 and 1800 MHz). Cheers!

To keep using your New Zealand number, check if your mobile operator has a roaming agreement with a Bhutanese mobile operator. Roaming will enable you to keep making and receiving calls using your local NZ number. Information about roaming is available on your operator’s website. I checked the Vodafone website, and they have a roaming agreement with TashiCell, one of Bhutan’s two operators. This means that whenever you are in a TashiCell-covered area, you will be able to make and accept calls using your NZ number.

Mobile counters at Paro airport?

I recently visited Sri Lanka. Getting a local SIM was a snap: all the major mobile operators have shrewdly set up friendly counters in the Colombo airport arrival hall, staffed with efficient representatives who quickly arrange everything, including taking your passport photo. Within 10 minutes and a wallet lighter by the equivalent of Nu. 150, I was all set with a prepaid SIM, which included 100 mobile minutes, 200 SMSs, and 1GB of 3G data. Unfortunately, a similar service is not (yet?) available at Paro airport.

The downside of roaming is that the rates of making and receiving calls - even local calls in Bhutan - as well as SMSing and using data, are absurdly expensive. Vodafone, for example, charges up to NZ$6 per minute. Upon returning home, roaming users often experience an unpleasant shock when receiving their mobile bill.

The alternative to roaming is buying a local SIM with a Bhutanese number. Just make sure that your phone is unlocked, which means it can work with any SIM, not only your Vodafone SIM. With an unlocked phone, simply remove your Vodafone SIM and insert the local SIM. Your sponsor in Bhutan can help you get a local SIM, or you can visit a B-Mobile or TashiCell office. Both operators have coverage in all of Bhutan’s 20 districts. SIMs are dirt-cheap and calling rates are low. A local minute to anywhere in Bhutan will cost you less than NZ$0.10, while calls back home to the land of kiwis will set you back around NZ$0.40 per minute.

Enjoy your visit to the Kingdom!

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

4G coming to Bhutan

While Bhutan Telecom recently launched 3G in Bajo town, making it the fourth locality with mobile broadband (the others being Thimphu, Paro, and Phuentsholing), this announcement was made yesterday at the Mobile World Congress 2013, held in Barcelona:

European telecom equipment maker Ericsson said on Wednesday that it will deploy the 4G (LTE) network for Bhutan Telecom (BT) this year and pilot commercial services will be initially launched in the country’s capital Thimphu... As part of the 4G deployment, Ericsson will provide Bhutan Telecom with LTE equipment in the 1800 MHz spectrum band

4G (Fourth Generation) LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a mobile broadband technology with a theoretical peak download speeds of 300Mbps. Actual speeds will be lower, but have the potential to be an order-of-magnitude faster than 3G. Such speeds enable super-fast browsing and downloading as well as smooth video calls. Taking advantage of these technologies requires smartphones with LTE support at the right frequency (1800 MHz). Most, if not all, existing mobile phones and data-cards in Bhutan will not support the new standard, and will need to be replaced in order to use BT's upcoming 4G service. 2G and 3G will still be offered alongside the new technology.