Monday – We left in two groups. There was a very early flight to Kathmandu, and having said most of the goodbyes the night before, I slept in. In mid-morning after breakfast, the bus took the rest of us to the airport for our flight to Bangkok. After more goodbyes all around and thanks to our guide Sonam and driver Pema (both of whom had served us very, very well the whole time), the plane took off, making that tricky S-curve upward, through the mountains.
After a brief flight the plane landed in Bagdogra. I thought I knew my geography, but truthfully I’d never heard of this place before landing. Google Maps later showed me its location on a narrow strip of land, part of India squeezed between Nepal and Bangladesh, south of Darjeeling in Sikkim. Now I know and you do too. Surrounded by tea plantations, it looked interesting…perhaps worth exploring next time…
Landing in Bangkok, I waited several hours at the airport. The flight to Phuket arrived in the late evening and of course the hotel had failed to send the shuttle I’d booked. A helpful airport tourist office person called the hotel and told me they said to take a taxi and that the hotel would pay for it. Then I checked in for a good night’s sleep.