Getting There
By Air: Because Bangladesh doesn’t receive a lot of air
traffic, the country lacks competition among major carriers. As a
result, the connections that do exist tend to be rather expensive due
to a lack of critical mass and only one discount airline flies to
Bangladesh. While this may change with the entrance of several new
local airlines, it may be a few years yet before the connections and
their prices improve. Major hubs servicing Dhaka include Hong Kong,
Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Kolkata, Delhi, and Kathmandu.
Further afield, Middle East connections via Dubai, Doha and Bahrain are
good.
By Land: Bangladesh is almost wholly
surrounded by India and while there has been talk over the years of a
road connecting the region to China via Myanmar, no political will has
yet to materialise on this front.
Major crossings into India
are at Benapole/Bangaon, Burimari/Chengrabandha, Tamabil/Dawkhi and
Akhuara/Agartala. They are major in the sense that they are well used
by travellers and have regular transit services between Dhaka and the
next major city, and also have facilities for vehicular traffic, should
you be wishing to drive into Bangladesh with your own vehicle. Bus
service via Kolkata is the most common overland route.
By Train:
When the new Maitree Express service (Kolkata–Dhaka) began on 14 April
2008 (Bengali New Year), there was a great deal of fanfare – travellers
could now travel from London to Dhaka entirely by train if they so
chose. However, complaints of extreme delays at the border crossing
means that the service isn’t selling well, but will likely remain in
service.
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