To make the best of our stay in Kolkatta by exploring nearby places, we zeroed in on Gangtok as the ideal destination to beat the summer heat. After an overnight train journey from Howrah to New jalpaiguri we hired a cab to Gangtok. It was a four hour upward drive parallel to the snaking Teesta

Rishikesh, known as the gateway to the Himalayas is the starting point for the Char Dham pilgrimage — Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri & Yamunotri. An Indian magazine calls it ‘Rapid ride to Nirvana’ and you know it’s true when one out of ten people you see in Rishikesh are sadhus, pilgrims, people in saffron chanting and