Early morning, off to the Kuala Lumpur LCCT - for "Low Cost Carriers Terminal" - for an AirAsia flight to Kathmandu! I fly a lot for work, and normally don't get excited about going places, even far away places I've not been before, but Kathmandu is an exception.
No sooner do I get off the airport shuttle than I'm confronted with this list of destinations:
Don't yawn, there's a reason this is here. In the middle, you see Clark Field? This is a former US Air Force base in the Philippines, a very big one. When I was about 6, my mum and stepfather and I moved there (he was a jet jock) - and my first memories were of that country, its wonderful people, flora and fauna. This struck me in part because this trip to Nepal is the first time I've been to Asia for an extended period where I'm living not in a hotel, but in an apartment, and not in the center of the city but in a residential suburb.
Funny how you can turn a corner and find the distant past and the present merge in an instant.
The carrier I flew, AirAsia X, is one of many Asian budget airlines but is one of the better ones in my experience (just remember to buy your meal - and your baggage allowance - when you book). In case you are wondering - none of the service providers I'm mentioning in my travels is compensating me; I just thought tips from a frequent traveller might be of use to some readers.