Hawaiian: I thought about that, but I don't want to spend time in Bankok on this trip. I want to go to Delhi! *stomps foot* :)

You can fly to KTM from Hong Kong if you'd prefer that. Dragonair.

Whatever the regs may actually say, you're still at the mercy of whatever official you're dealing with.

Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribhuv...d_destinations

yea but its about $500...

Oh. I did it on FF miles... Seem to be several other options, though. Or you could go overland from Tibet, lol.

now i am finding routing using gulf air (AA FF miles credit) which will take me to kathmandu directly from home..

well directly via london and baharin

oooh. That sounds like fun, bob. what is is 52 hours or so?

In that case I'd certainly plan a stop-off in London, at least. Or does that put the price up?

Hi Bob, according to the US State Dept counsular sheet on India (http://link-url.com/EM), and the Indian embassy, all official visa business for India is outsourced to these folks: https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/guidelines

There are phone numbers and email addresses for multiple offices of this group. Since this is all they do, you will probably get better/faster info than from the embassy or consulate.

They also say:

<i><b>Question: I am traveling back and forth from India within the two-month period but during one single trip. Do I need a Permit to Re-enter?</b>
Answer: If the visa holder is traveling to multiple countries on the same itinerary, no permit is needed as long as trip follows the itinerary exactly. The visa holder must carry a copy of the itinerary to show the Immigration Officer. However, we cannot guarantee that you will be granted re-entry by the immigration official..</i>

it is the last sentence that I would ask them about. :-?

thanks patricia, i did see this... but i think it is solved..

btw, i'm at marriott long wharf, you might want to pull your drapes, i saw you up there...

thursdaysd: are you traveling on a Canadian, British, or U.S. passport?

indianapearl - for this part of the trip, US. The Indian embassy in Washington insists on dual nationals getting their visas in their US passports (fees are higher, lol). When I fly to the UK and then on to Tunisia and France, and back to the UK, I'll switch to the UK one.

I know India very well having traveled there many times, living there, parents from there, etc etc. From this I can tell you that despite what anything says on paper, it will end up being at the discretion of the immigration officer you happen to receive. You may or may not be lucky. There is no real system in place for much of anything, and often many bureaucratic hurdles like these are interpreted differently by different people. You will likely get little sympathy from the immigration officers if things don't work out as your plan, as often things go in India.

Thanks for that insight, Jen. If I want to hang out in Delhi after my Bhutan trip, I guess I should go for the special permission. Ugh. I looked into flying into Bankok, then to Bhutan, then to Delhi, but that more than doubles my flight cost from the US. Jeez India, why must you make it so hard to play with you? ;)