It’s been a bit less than a decade since I have last been to India – a trip I remember as an action-filled and fairly intense one (read: sensory overload) … It was now indeed time to head back and explore another region of the subcontinent – now focusing on the North-Eastern states of West Bengal and Sikkim – continuing on into Bhutan.

Air India once more got me from Frankfurt to Delhi (on a fairly run-down 787) and on to Kolkata. We made it here in the afternoon and were picked up by the tour leader at the airport. The trip to the hotel tool a while through the Kolkata traffic – and we made it to the hotel after sunset. After dinner in the hotel, some of us ventured out to get a taste of the local beer.