nilesh

Philippine Diary

Posted by nilesh | 23rd March 2008

7,107 give or take a few hundreds, is the number of islands that compose the Philippines archipelago. At high tide. I’m of the firm opinion that airlines should have a protocol amongst themselves whenever the destination is an island nation. They should agree to fly in low with the early afternoon sun shining in a cloudless sky. Passengers are then able to appreciate what lies beneath even before they land. Fortunately in the case of the flight from Bangkok to Manila this rings true and if you have a window seat you can see some of the powdery beaches and the coral reefs in the South China Sea before the urban sprawl of Metro Manila slides into view.

In India it would go by the term jugaad. However, in the Philippines, it has been turned into a form of popular that I find extremely fascinating and eye-catching. I’m talking about the Jeepney – the ubiquitous form of transport in this island nation. A first timer simply cannot help noticing them within minutes of arriving and it take

Continued | Philippine Diary

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Lost Friends

Harminder Singh "Harry" Pal

Met in Uttarkashi, Garhwal, India in 1977
Citizen of: India

We were on a basic mountaineering course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering.

Guy

Met in Tibet, Lhasa, Chengdu, China in 1997
Citizen of: Israel

We travelled by road from Kathmandu to Lhasa together with a group of friends. He had just finished his service with the Israeli Army. We then met up in Chengdu before we parted.

Zoe Anderson

Met in Chengdu, China in 1997
Citizen of: United Kingdom

We stayed at the same hotel in Chengdu. I remember her because she described what a lovely time she had in India, from where I come, and how much she loved India.