Cycling in Dhaka, Bangladesh after India Tour
It was around the year 2023. Four of us decided to go on a world bicycle tour together. Bicycle touring is not that easy. We first had to arrange the necessary funds for the journey, and also prepare the required government documents.
It took us about three to four months to complete all the official paperwork. Once we had both the necessary money and documents, we set off from Nepal toward India. To reach the Indian border, we had to travel from Kathmandu through Sunauli. Our plan was to go via Sunauli and reach New Delhi, the capital of India.
We began our journey from Kathmandu to Sunauli. It took us two days to reach Sunauli, as we were traveling slowly and taking rest along the way. During the journey inside Nepal, people offered us food and snacks free of cost. Everyone supported us generously. I would like to thank all those who helped us along the way.
Taking rest in Kolkata, India
If I share the entire experience of reaching New Delhi, it would be very long, so I want to summarize it. From the Nepali border, it took us nearly 10 days to reach Delhi. Traveling in India is very difficult because of the crowds of people and vehicles. The roads and cities are not well organized, and crossing through the mass of people is quite challenging. Instead of sleeping in tents, we stayed in hotels. By the time we reached New Delhi, we were very tired.
In India
We stayed in New Delhi for about five days and explored the city. From Delhi, we decided to go to Kolkata and then to Bangladesh. The distance from New Delhi to Kolkata is about 1,600 kilometers. Since it could take us more than a month to cover that distance by bicycle, we took a train to Kolkata. Carrying our bicycles on the train was a big hassle. The train staff, or perhaps brokers, gave us a lot of trouble. They charged us 1,000 rupees per person just to register our bicycles, but the official receipt was only for 250 rupees.
Cycling and explore in Dhaka, Bangladesh
We stayed in Kolkata for three days and explored the city. The Indian hotels were expensive but very dirty. In Nepal, hotels are much cheaper, better, and cleaner. In Indian hotels, there were lots of bedbugs, cockroaches, and ants. We couldn’t sleep the whole night in Kolkata. After three days, we set off early in the morning to go to Bangladesh. We left at 5 a.m., but by 9 a.m. we were still stuck inside Kolkata city because of the heavy traffic and crowd of people.
Around 10 a.m., one of our friends’ bicycles was run over by a 12-wheeler truck. The driver didn’t see while turning, and the truck crushed the bicycle. I was nearby, so I shouted loudly, and the driver heard me and stopped. Otherwise, both the cyclist and the bicycle might have been crushed. One wheel of the bicycle was destroyed and unusable. We dragged the bicycle, looking for a repair shop, and finally found one. By the time we replaced the wheel, it was already 1 p.m. We took a lunch then and started again.
AI image that real happened in Kolkata, India.
From 1 p.m., without stopping anywhere, we headed directly towards the Bangladesh border at Benapole. We reached the Indian border at Petrapole by 5:30 p.m. The police and army told us to hurry as the border closes at 6 p.m. We arrived with just 10 minutes left. However, we didn’t have a visa. We had applied for an on-arrival visa, but it turned out that we needed a visa sticker. We requested the Indian immigration officials, and with the help of Bangladeshi immigration officers, we were able to get the on-arrival visa and enter Bangladesh. The Indian immigration police were also very supportive, and we are thankful to them.