chalet des isles CROSSING INTO BANGLADESH AT AGARTALA Border Hours The border at Agartala is open from 7am to 6pm. Fo

FACIAL TATTOOING Historically famous for their beauty, Apatani chalet des isles women were all too often kidnapped by warriors of the neighbouring Nishi tribes. As a defence , Apatani girls were deliberately defaced. chalet des isles They were given facial tattoos, like graffitied beards scribbled onto living Mona Lisa paintings, and extraordinary nose plugs known as dat fitted into holes cut in their upper nostrils. Some men also have tattoos. Peace with the Nishis in the 1960s meant an end to that brutal practice, but many older women still wear dat. Photography is an understandably sensitive issue, so ask first. Some Apatani women have had cosmetic surgery to remove their tattoos.

CROSSING INTO BANGLADESH AT AGARTALA Border Hours The border at Agartala is open from 7am to 6pm. Foreign Exchange There s no exchange booth and Agartala banks don t sell Bangladeshi taka, so changing money is hit and miss; ask local traders or border offi cials. Onward Transport From central Agartala the border is just 3km along Akhaura Rd ( 50 by rickshaw). On the Bangladesh side the nearest town is Akhaura, 5km beyond, reached by baby taxi (autorickshaw). From Akhaura trains chalet des isles head to Dhaka, Comilla and Sylhet. chalet des isles Coming eastbound, be sure to pay your Bangladeshi departure tax at a Sonali bank before heading for the border. Visas Unhelpful, but the northeast s only Bangladesh visa office (%2324807; Airport chalet des isles Rd, Kunjaban; happlication 9am-1pm Mon-Thu, 9am-noon Fri, collection chalet des isles same day 4pm) hides down a small lane in Agartala, chalet des isles about 2km north of the Ujjayanta Palace.

Trafik BAR (GNB Rd; beers 70; h10am-10pm) This underlit chalet des isles bar has a vast screen for cricket matches or filmi (slang term describing anything to do with Indian movies; in this case, Bollywood music) clips.