airevents From Germany, joined Jan 2002, 811 posts, RR: 3 Posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 2290 times:
Good day,
planning a trip to Bangladesh in late October, I am curious to hear if anybody has been there recently. Any recommendations for a hotel near Dhaka Airport (I plan to spend 2-3 days mostly checking out the domestic airlines). Also, is the Fokker 28 for Biman still flying? And, last but not least, what are your experiences with visa on arrival? I have a German passport. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Birdwatching From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 3573 posts, RR: 52 Reply 1, posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 2278 times:
Hi Sebastian!
What a coincidence, I'm booked to do exactly the same, at exactly the same time!
I'm flying in on November 1 from AUH on the DC10, then taking some domestic flights on the F28, A310 and United Airways, then leaving the country 4 days later via the train to India.
Interested to join me on parts of the trip?
The details are as follows:
Nov 1: AUH-ZYL-DAC on Biman DC10, then afternoon train (or overnight, if flight comes in late) to Sylhet. Booked a 5* luxury resort for about $70 there.
Nov 2: Afternoon: ZYL-DAC on Biman A310, then DAC-CGP on United Airways Dash8
Nov 3: CGP-CXB-DAC on Biman Fokker 28
Nov 4: Train to Kolkata, India
Soren
[Edited 2011-09-11 10:21:22]
All the things you probably hate about travelling are warm reminders that I'm home
airevents From Germany, joined Jan 2002, 811 posts, RR: 3 Reply 2, posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 2271 times:
Hallo Soren,
actually I am committed to flying from Dhaka to Kathmandu on 1 November, so I need to be there the days before. If you want drop me a line on airevents@gmx.net, maybe we can at least help each other work out our trips.
Birdwatching From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 3573 posts, RR: 52 Reply 3, posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 2267 times:
Ok, looks like I edited my post just while you were posting your reply. Are you looking into GMG air too? They have 1 daily roundtrip between CGP and DAC on the Dash 8. I just couldn't make it work since the flights are mid-day and I would have had to give up a Biman flight which are more valuable to me (F28, A310)
Soren
All the things you probably hate about travelling are warm reminders that I'm home
UK_Dispatcher From United Arab Emirates, joined Dec 2001, 2550 posts, RR: 33 Reply 4, posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 3 days ago) and read 2213 times:
Hi Sebastian,
For DAC, I reccommend the Radisson Water Garden hotel. It is clean, modern and just a few minutes from the airport.
BG schedules are rather sporadic and often differ from what you see in GDS systems on the day. Last time I went to Bangladesh hoping to do the DC-10, F28 & B742 at the time, we only managed the DC-10 as planned to KTM but no domestic flights as the few that operated were full and we were unable to book any BG domestic flights in advance, even at their office here in AUH. Having said that, I know people who have had much better luck. The F28s are still operational, with at least 2 in service.
Birdwatching From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 3573 posts, RR: 52 Reply 6, posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 2109 times:
I'm a bit worried about visa on arrival as it seems only to be given at DAC when you enter the country, but my flight lands at ZYL before. The ground time there is over 1 hour, but no plane change. I have no clue if I have to clear immigration at ZYL or can stay on board. Think I'll better get a visa from their embassy before departing.
Soren
All the things you probably hate about travelling are warm reminders that I'm home
swissgabe From Switzerland, joined Jan 2000, 5265 posts, RR: 37 Reply 8, posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 2093 times:
Bangladesh is a great destination. Can't help with recent trips but been there 10 years ago. Flew Biman on BKK-DAC(310), DAC-CGP (F28), CXB-CGP(F28) and CGP-DAC (D10). If possible try to get a boat or bus ride within Bangladesh as well. It is such a nice and fascinating country!
Smooth as silk - Royal Orchid Service /// Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens - Springbok
sw733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 9, posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 2091 times:
Quoting Birdwatching (Reply 1): I'm flying in on November 1 from AUH on the DC10
Bangladesh is a great place, but I definitely flew Dragonair since I was going on business! Biman was a bit unreliable for me. However, I did do Biman domestically and they were late but fine.
MEA-707 From Netherlands, joined Nov 1999, 4117 posts, RR: 37 Reply 10, posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 10 hours ago) and read 2004 times:
Quoting Birdwatching (Reply 6): I'm a bit worried about visa on arrival as it seems only to be given at DAC when you enter the country, but my flight lands at ZYL before.
Don't worry, I flew Dubai-Chittagong-Dhaka last year and stayed on board, at DAC you enter the country officially.
At check-in or buying a ticket in person , the airline 'rather' like that you have your visa in advance because they probably ended up with people who don't have enough cash to pay the VOA, but I just insisted that 'me and my friends always travel without pre arranged visa' and it was ok.
nobody has ever died from hard work, but why take the risk?
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From Germany, joined Jan 2002, 811 posts, 
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