Boarding Gate 101

2016 has been a weird, chaotic year, but my year has been packed with adventures and new places to discover. This is my year in numbers: 6 - number of countries and territories visited: South Korea, Hong Kong, United States, Puerto Rico, Malaysia and Nepal 21 - number of foreign cities and towns visited: Seoul, Incheon, Jisan, Hong Kong, St Louis, Chesterfield, Creve Couer, Branson, Hollister, Ozark, Springfield, New York, Hackensack, Hoboken, San Juan, Kuala Lumpur, Sepang, Kathmandu, Nagarkot, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur. 20,000 - max elevation in feet, of the Buddha Air Beechcraft 1900 that flew around Mt. Everest. Everest is 29,029 feet tall. 25 - number of flights flown this year, including the Everest mountain flight 35,195 - the total distance in miles, for the 24 flights. I'm not sure how far we covered during the circuit from Kathmandu to Everest. 6730 - the distance, in miles, of the longest flight flown, between JFK and NRT 15 - the number of ai...

Malamawi is an island just opposite Isabela City, across the kilometer-wide Isabela Channel. It used to be a separate municipality but it became part of Isabela. I was able to visit it again this December.  We started the trip early; we were at the Zamboanga Port before 5am so we can get tickets, and by 6am we were underway. We arrived at Isabela before 7, and after breakfast at my cousin's place, we went back to the port again to take a banca across the channel to the island.  We got a habal-habal that will take us around. From the market/port area we went up the hilly portion of the island where we had the 360° view of the island. On a fair day you can see Zamboanga and Sta. Cruz island from there. It will also give you a great view of White Beach - the primary reason for visiting Malamawi.  One of the best-kept secrets in the area is the White Beach, a still pristine beach area, located at the northern side of the island. It is the most po...