Phuentsholing: The Gateway to Bhutan

• Helloཇོ ཇོ
  [jo jo]
• Goodbyeཞལ་གསལ
  [zhal gsall]
• Yesཡག་པ་
  [yag pa]
• Noམ མ་
  [ma ma]
• Please/You're welcomeདེ་ན་ དེ ཨེ་
  [de na de ae]
• Thank youབཤད་སཏ
  [shey ta]
• Excuse me/Sorryནས་པར་
  [na par]
• How are you?ཁ སད་ས་ ར་
  [kha sad sa ra]
• Fine. And you?ལྟ་ལྟ་ར་་ ར་ ཞང་ཡག་
  [tta tta ra zhang yag]
• Do you speak English?ཨིན་གྲུལ་གསལ་ར་ ལྟ་ནི་ར་མ་?
  [in drul gsall ra la ni ra ma?]
• I don't understandའཛིན་དགས་མ་ཡང་ཡང་
  [dzin druk ma yang yang]

• I'd like to see the menu, pleaseམ་ལས་སང་སང་ དཔེ་ཨེའི་ཨེམསས་ མ་ལས་སང་སང་
  [ma la sang sang de ae aemsa ma la sang sang]
• I don't eat meatམ་མིན་མ་མས་ཡག་
  [ma min ma ma yag]
• Cheers!བསས་
  [bay]
• I would like to pay, pleaseམ་ལས་སང་སང་ ང་བས་ཡང་ཡང་
  [ma la sang sang nga bay yang yang]

• Help!གསས་
  [gsa]
• Go away!ལ་རས་
  [la ras]
• Call the Police!ལྟ་བཀས་མ་ལ་བས་
  [ta pak ma la bay]
• Call a doctor!ལྟ་ཨོག་ཏིརས་མ་ལ་བས་
  [ta og tir ma la bay]
• I'm lostམ་སས་ཇོརས་
  [ma sa jo ras]
• I'm illམ་རོག་
  [ma rok]

• I'd like to buy...མ་ལས་སང་སང་ ང་བཡ་ཨེའི་
  [ma la sang sang nga bay ae]
• I'm just lookingམ་ལས་སང་སང་ ང་རོག་
  [ma la sang sang nga rok]
• How much is it?ཁ མས་མ་དོ་བཡ་?
  [kha ma ma do bay?]
• That's too expensiveམ་རས་རོག་མ་མས་མ་
  [ma ras rok ma ma ma]
• Can you lower the price?ཁ མས་མ་སས་མ་མས་མ་?
  [kha ma ma sa ma ma ma?]

• What time is it?ཁ རས་སལ་མ་མས་?
  [kha ra sal ma ma?]
• It's one o'clockཨཨང་ རས་
  [ang ra]
• Half past (10)ཁག་ཟར་ (10)
  [khak zar (10)]
• Morningརིར་ཞང་
  [rir zhang]
• Afternoonཁ མིས་མ་
  [kha mis ma]
• Eveningཆེ ཡག་མ་
  [che yag ma]
• Yesterdayམ་མས་ནས་
  [ma mas na]
• Todayཡེ་ཡག་
  [ye yag]
• Tomorrowགསས་རང་
  [gsa rang]
• 11
  [1]
• 22
  [2]
• 33
  [3]
• 44
  [4]
• 55
  [5]
• 66
  [6]
• 77
  [7]
• 88
  [8]
• 99
  [9]
• 1010
  [10]

• Where's a/the...?ཁ དང་མ་ ཡང་ཡང་?
  [kha dang ma yang yang?]
• What's the address?ཁ ཐབ་ར་སཏ་ ཡང་ཡང་?
  [kha thab ra ta yang yang?]
• Can you show me (on the map)?ཁ ན ནས་མ་མ་མ་?
  [kha na na ma ma ma?]
• When's the next (bus)?ཁ ལྟ་ནི་སཏ་ ཡང་ཡང་?
  [kha ta ni ta yang yang?]
• A ticket (to ....)ཨ ཐིཀག་ (to ....)
  [a tikag (to ....)]

Phuentsholing, located in the southern part of Bhutan, has its roots deeply embedded in history. The area served as an important trade route between Bhutan and neighboring India. The name 'Phuentsholing' itself is derived from the Bhutanese words 'Phuen' meaning 'hills' and 'Tsholing' meaning 'meeting place,' indicating its historical role as a trade hub.

In the mid-20th century, Phuentsholing began to develop more rapidly as Bhutan opened up to the outside world. Positioned on the border with India, the town became a focal point for cross-border trade and commerce. This period saw significant infrastructural development, including the establishment of roads and administrative buildings.

The 1949 Bhutan-India Friendship Treaty marked a significant moment in the history of Phuentsholing. The treaty facilitated closer economic and political ties between the two countries, fostering an environment of cooperation that contributed to Phuentsholing's growth as a thriving border town. The treaty allowed for free trade and movement, further integrating Phuentsholing into the regional economy.

Phuentsholing's unique position at the border has made it a cultural melting pot. The town is home to a diverse population that includes Bhutanese, Indians, and Nepalese, among others. This cultural diversity is reflected in the variety of languages spoken, cuisines enjoyed, and festivals celebrated. Phuentsholing serves as a microcosm of Bhutan's broader cultural landscape.

Today, Phuentsholing is one of Bhutan's most important economic centers. It houses numerous industries, including manufacturing and trading companies, that contribute significantly to the national economy. The town is also a gateway for tourists entering Bhutan, making it a crucial point of entry for the country's burgeoning tourism sector.

In recent decades, Phuentsholing has undergone significant modernization. New shopping complexes, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities have been established. The town's infrastructure continues to improve, making it a more convenient and attractive destination for both residents and visitors.

Phuentsholing is a border town in southern Bhutan, adjacent to the Indian town of Jaigaon in West Bengal. The nearest airport is Bagdogra Airport in India, about 170 kilometers away. From Bagdogra, you can take a taxi or a bus to Jaigaon, and then cross the border on foot to Phuentsholing. Alternatively, you can take a train to Hasimara Railway Station, which is about 18 kilometers from Phuentsholing. From Hasimara, taxis and buses are available to reach the border town.

Phuentsholing is a relatively small town, and many of its attractions are within walking distance. For longer trips within the town, taxis are readily available and inexpensive. Shared taxis and buses operate between Phuentsholing and other Bhutanese towns, such as Thimphu and Paro. Buses are a cost-effective way to travel, but they can be crowded. Renting a car with a driver is a convenient option for exploring the surrounding areas.

The official currency in Bhutan is the Bhutanese Ngultrum (BTN), which is pegged to the Indian Rupee (INR). Indian Rupees are also widely accepted in Phuentsholing. Credit cards are accepted in some hotels, restaurants, and shops, but it is advisable to carry cash, especially for smaller establishments. ATMs are available in Phuentsholing, but it is wise to withdraw sufficient cash before traveling to more remote areas.

Phuentsholing is generally a safe destination for tourists. However, as with any travel destination, it is advisable to take standard precautions. Avoid walking alone at night in unfamiliar areas and keep an eye on your belongings in crowded places, such as markets and bus stations. There are no specific high-crime areas targeting tourists, but staying vigilant and aware of your surroundings is always a good practice.

In case of emergency, dial 113 for police assistance or 112 for medical emergencies. Phuentsholing has a local police station and a hospital to handle medical emergencies. It is recommended to have travel insurance that covers medical emergencies. For minor health issues, there are pharmacies in the town where you can purchase over-the-counter medications.

Fashion: Do dress modestly, especially when visiting religious sites. Avoid wearing revealing clothing. Religion: Do respect local customs and traditions. Always cover your head when entering temples and monasteries. Public Transport: Do be respectful and give up your seat to elderly passengers. Don't eat or drink on public transport. Greetings: Do greet people with a handshake or a slight bow. Using both hands to give or receive items is a sign of respect. Eating & Drinking: Do try local delicacies and accept food offerings graciously. Don’t refuse hospitality, as it is considered impolite.

To experience Phuentsholing like a local, visit the local markets where you can buy fresh produce, handicrafts, and traditional Bhutanese goods. Engage with locals, who are often friendly and willing to share stories about their culture. Don’t miss visiting the Zangto Pelri Lhakhang, a beautiful temple in the heart of the town. For a unique experience, take a walk along the Amo Chhu Crocodile Breeding Centre and enjoy the serene surroundings. Try the local street food, such as momos and ema datshi, to get a taste of Bhutanese cuisine.