It's a small world (again)

A few days before Christmas, Karen and I and her parents flew down to El Nido for a few days at the beach. To get down there you have to take a 19 seater plane from Manila. Well, when we got to the airport, Karen's dad spotted someone familiar, an old friend from the 70s who he hadn't seen in over 20 years! Not who you expect to run into on a 19 seater plane. The friend was Jose Mari Chan, who also happens to be one of the most famous singers in the Philippines. It was great for Karen's dad to catch up with one of his oldest friends and nice for us to meet Jose Mari and his wife who are exceptionally nice. Meanwhile, 430 kilometers away in Manila, who should Karen's brother Brian been hanging out with as a friend of a friend? One of the Chans' sons. It sure is a small world.

And no, we didn't leave Brian behind in Manila while we went to the beach without him - he was only in town for a few days and then headed back to Shanghai.

The 19 seater plane to El Nido took about 70 minutes and it was great. The cockpit didn't have a door and since I was sitting in the front row, I could see right through the cockpit window out the front. It was the next best thing to actually flying the plane. It was especially cool as we landed into El Nido airstrip on Palawan island and I could watch the runway come ever closer through the cockpit windshield.