#laagnitantong

New Delhi (August 26) On board the IndiGo from Kathmandu, Nepal, I sat beside a handsome Nepalese, Suklav. I learned that it was his first flight of his life as he was in a hurry to get to Embassy of Sweden for an interview. He applied for an scholarship program. My funny and embarrassing moment with him was when I ordered a coffee in flight only to find out that I can't pay it with Nepalese Rupee; they only accept Indian rupee. And Suklav paid it for me. I promised to pay him upon arrival; I need to withdraw from the nearest ATM. But he passed the immigration counter ahead of us, so I turned him over all my remaining Nepalese rupee. Anyway, he can still use them when he's back home. A pose at the New Delhi airport I was initially impressed by the access straight from airport to the city via metro rail . We don't have that kind of access yet in the Philippines; not even in Metro Manila. But when we alighted at Kashmere station, we lost our way in search of the Oberoi...

August is my usual time of the year to roam around. With 2 holidays, 21st (fixed date to celebrate Ninoy Aquino's martyrdom) and 26th (tentative for the last Monday of the month to celebrate the United Nations), which normally crosses one to two weekends, made August my favorite month to travel for a longer period of time than other months. So this year 2019, I planned to reach South Asia's northern part: India and Nepal. This time I traveled with new company, Kuya Louver -- a friend from my home province, Surigao del Norte. We spent decades together in the youth ministry, in the Catholic Diocese of Surigao, since my school years. Destination #1: Kathmandu (August 21-23) Kuya Louver and I headed to Nepal that night of August 20th via AirAsia flying from Manila to Kuala Lumpur and caught the connecting flight with Malindo Air from KL to Kathmandu in the morning of August 21st. At the airport's arrival area It was quite easy to obtain Visa on Arrival. We each paid ...