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 [...]

So how does one get from Seattle to Sikkim? Starting from SIkkim, I note there is no airport in Sikkim. The closest airport is Bagdogra. It’s about a 4- 4.5 hour drive by Jeep from Bagdogra to Gangtok. It’s less than 70 miles “as the crow flies” but the winding road through the mountains makes [...]

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.

In the process of researching Assam, I kept my eyes open for other options. One that immediately popped up was Darjeeling.

After reading about Assam, and figuring out transport, I wanted to see what kinds of accommodations I could find. Here’s where Google and Bing really shine. Now, both search engines turn up a lot of garbage as well as useful information. And often you have to be willing to go a few pages into the search results to find what you are looking for.

I consider this part of trip planning to be a real luxury. To simply think about the many options available… I bought an atlas many years ago that billed itself as a list of options.