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Travel Bits: August 2025

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  When my summer months are all about work.....  We do not have such a thing as summer holidays in my part of the world. I live in the tropics, near the equator. If there is such a thing as summer holidays in my city, then we will be having summer holidays all year round. Because here in my home city, it is summer for each month of the year! Nevertheless, I have not anticipated for my past few months to be as busy as they were. And no, it was not due to poor planning on my part. It is simply a confluence of events that somehow flooded my office calendar with work and more work between the months of June and August. And when September comes around, work will start to dip and practically disappear altogether for the last three months of 2025. Life has an interesting way of throwing unexpected things at us. For the month of August, I am squeezing in a short 5-night trip to Bali with my partner. A short break in-between a storm of work! Needless to say, my work laptop will be acco...
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Bucket List: Angkor Wat

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Cambodia, Angkor Archeological Park , Angkor Wat This article was first published on this blog in May 2024. Built almost 900 years ago, Angkor Wat is located within the ancient Khmer city of Angkor.  Visiting Angkor Wat has always been on my Travel Bucket List since I was a kid. I finally visited for the first time in 2015. This was followed by a second visit in 2022 when I recorded this short video for my YouTube Channel. ****************** The Angkor Archeological Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also one of the most important archaeological site not just in Cambodia but also probably in the South-East Asia region. The park covers an area that extended for hundreds of square kilometres and include major sites such as the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom ancient temple complexes. Other notable sites include Banteay Srei, Beung Mealea, Srah Srang, Preah Khan and Preah Lup. I had been fortunate to get to visit the Angkor Archeological Park twice. During these visits, I got...
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Thailand, Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan - Wall Mural

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Nowadays, wall murals seem to be a popular way for cities and towns to get visitors to take photographs and post these photos on social media. A rather easy way to promote the destinations, without having to spend lots of efforts and resources on marketing. A simple way to get visitors to "help" promote the destinations they visited, to other potential visitors! Of course, I could be wrong on this and the murals were simply put up because they beautify the areas. And having these murals around simply have nothing to do with destination marketing or promotion.  Nonetheless, there are some murals that I encountered in my travels that simply stopped me in my tracks. Why? I do not know. Maybe because the mural do tell a story. A story of the place.  While traveling through  Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan District of Thailand, I came across such a mural. Despite the fact that I was really tired from a full day of travels and simply cannot wait to reach the hotel to check-in for th...
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Travel Bits: July 2025

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  Busy work schedule impacting travel plans.....  The month of July 2025 and the upcoming month of August 2025 will see my work schedule spiked so high I can hardly find anytime for anything else besides work and more work.  I took a short weekend trip in mid-July to travel to Hong Kong to meet my partner. But even over that short weekend, I was so busy with work that I hardly had time for my partner except for a few moments in the evenings. Teams Meetings, Work Calls and the rush to churn out Project Documents and Reports were the orders of each day, weekends included. As my busy work schedule continues into August 2025, I am looking forward to a less hectic work schedule as the the final four months of 2025 beckon. In the last week of September, I will be travelling to Kuala Lumpur to attend a Pen Show. In-between, I need to plan short weekend trips to Hong Kong to spend time with my partner. Then in December, I am planning a trip to Japan. Hoping my travel plans for th...
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Bucket List: Religious Festival in Ubud

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Indonesia,  Bali, Ubud This article was first published on this blog in June 2024. Planned as an idyllic vacation stay in Bali's Ubud, I instead had the opportunity to witness a religious festival. An unplanned Travel Bucket List item accomplished. ****************** During a recent trip to Ubud, I serendipitously came upon a religious festival. Following the colourful procession from a respectful distance and only using the zoom function of my camera to "get close", I make sure to stay as inconspicuous as possible. I certainly did not wish to be seen as "intruding" upon the locals celebrating their culture and religion. Offerings in a religious festival in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia (2023) Thankfully, all the locals were really friendly and they did not mind me walking behind, from a distance. They smiled continuously and even explained to me the significance of the festival. The following video on this blog's  TANKS Travel Tales YouTube Channel  was sewn from a...
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Travel Bits: June 2025

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Busy months of work and travel await.....  The month of June and the next couple of months to follow will be busy ones for me, both in terms of work and travel. I will need to be working every day, weekends included. And when I travel, work will definitely be on the agenda every day. Finding the right balance between work and rest during this busy period will be critical to keep myself in peak condition to fulfil both my professional responsibilities and my commitments to my family. One key strategy is to manage situations as they happen, keeping my plans and daily schedule flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances. When this busy period is over, I will be writing in this column  to share how I navigate between a heavy and packed work schedule whilst still being able to travel regularly, at least regionally! 🌏 Latte and scones, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, China
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Malaysia, Kuala Kangsar - Royal Town

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Kuala Kangsar is located along the Kangsar River near Ipoh, the State Capital of the Malaysian State of Perak. The Kuala Kangsar of today is a quaint town with several historical attractions. These include the Ubudiah Mosque, the Perak Royal Museum (previously the Istana Kenangan), the Istana Iskandariah and the Kuala Kangsar Clock Tower amongst others.  The  Ubudiah Mosque, Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia (2024) I visited Kuala Kangsar for the first time in February 2024 during a short road trip from Ipoh. I was particularly awed by the majestic facade of the Ubudiah Mosque. and the beautiful and artistic structure of the Istana Kenangan. 3 months later in May 2024, I passed by Kuala Kangsar on my train journey from Bangkok to Singapore. But I did not have the time to stop over for a second visit due to the need to keep up with the train schedules between Kuala Lumpur, Gemas and Johor Bahru. I will surely return again to Kuala Kangsar to enjoy the peaceful and serene atmospher...
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