ANC-SEA
SEA-AMS 10 hours
24 bleary-eyed jet-lagged hours in AMS
AMS-Delhi 9 hours
Wait 10 hours for 2hr flight to Bagdogra
Bagdogra to Gangtok 5+ hours drive

WTF was I thinking???

Ok, Amsterdam was pretty cool, very old canal city, and bikes reign king!! I was so very tired though with about a 10 hour time difference… Arriving around 9am, took train from Schipol airport into town, all very efficient! In the short time I was awake, AMS is interesting for sure. The whole cannabis thing is very present, and every time you walk by a “coffee” shop you smell it wafting out. Couple that with the whole red light sex shop thing, Amsterdam is certainly not Alaska, toto! Outstanding espresso though!!!

One interesting memory is of Carol teaching Z years ago how to say “good morning” in Dutch with all the gutteral G slurring… She taught it right!!!

I met a guy from Istanbul on the train, he was a stock guy in Boston, then started his own company extruding polystyrene to fiber optic shielding in Istanbul. He speaks four languages; English, French, German, and his native language. He went to Boston College until completion a few years ago. There are so many interesting life stories in this world!! I’m reminded of the political and ethnocentricity common among Americans whenever I travel…

Was not energetic enough to take many pictures in AMS, but a few are below. Back at the AMS airport now waiting for the flight to Delhi, another beast of nine hours, and three more time zones. I can’t think of any trip I’ve taken that has been so long to get to the starting point! I see daylight out there, but my body hasn’t the slightest clue what it’s time is…

Gangtok does offer great promise and interest, as it sits in a finger of India bordered by Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan.

If I ever get there…