It looked like I could make the arrangements online. For security purposes, I had to request an authorization code they emailed to me. As I moved through the process, I suddenly realized they wanted to transfer money out of my brokerage account rather than my bank account.

Travisa emailed us once they had received our passports and visa applications. Their website also allows you to track your passport through the process. They emailed us when they sent our packets to the Indian Consulate and when they received our completed visas from the consulate. They notified us the same day they received our [...]

I wanted to make our reservations for the Sikkim and Darjeeling part of the trip first. All of the places we are staying are small, so (as we learned from our Glenburn experience) fill up fast – even far in advance

Finding books is a bit more difficult for Sikkim than for other places we’ve visited. I’ve done a thorough search for books on Sikkim, and have turned up only a few, none of which are available directly from Amazon.

As I mentioned earlier, in my reading I found that there is a separatist group in Darjeeling that is demanding the formation of a separate Gorkha homeland. Periodically, this group calls a bandh to put pressure on the government to resolve the issue. A bandh is a political strike that stops all traffic. While Sikkim [...]

Input from other travelers is helpful. And for me, the Fodors forum is especially helpful. I’ve been posting there for years, as have many others. And many of us have met each other at get-togethers all over the world. So I have a cadre of fellow travelers whose opinions I respect.

As a child, I remember seeing a photo of the temples of Bagan at sunrise, peach-colored mist rising among the towers…

You can’t get there from here or trying to travel independently in a place that doesn’t want you to be independent. It’s been a while since my last post here. I have to admit that I got caught up in planning my next trip to my favorite part of the world, SE Asia. Finally, I [...]