TANKS Travel Tales - a travelogue.......

First Impressions My first view of the city was when the hotel bus rolled into the city over the scenic Biwako Ohashi Bridge over Lake Biwa. I had boarded the free shuttle provided by the Lake Biwa Marriott for hotel guests at Katata Station on the Kosei Line. With those first views, the initial apprehensions that I might had chosen the wrong location to stay in for the next 2 days of my trip vanished like footprints in the sand. The scenic  Biwako Ohashi Bridge as seen from the eastern side of Lake Biwa from Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture, Japan (2018) Moriyama is located in Shiga Prefecture, just north-east of the famous city of Kyoto. My accommodation at the Lake Biwa Marriott offered me a panoramic view of Lake Biwa. The several small parks in the vicinity of the hotel, which itself is located on the shores of Lake Biwa and relatively near to the Biwako Ohashi Bridge, provided good options for my evening strolls to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the area.   My

Travelling at your own pace....... Apart from business trips where are usually characterised by fixed timelines for flights and strict agendas to adhere to, I always love to take it slow and easy at my own pace whenever I travel on personal vacations. For this reason, I typically prefer not to travel with a large group on vacation. A smaller travelling party allows me to adjust the pace of the trip and to modify the itineraries as and when needed. Solo travelling of course means I have only to seek agreement with myself for any changes in travel plans. My vacation trips are usually loosely based on a simple itinerary which only outlines the flights I am taking and the cities I will be visiting. Apart from these, the daily itineraries for the whole travel period are not decided upfront. I usually decide where to go and the sights to explore on the day itself. This flexibility is especially useful when unexpected travel road blocks crop up such as inclement weather. When I w

After having my intended visit to Rottnest Island disrupted due to inclement weather, I suddenly found that I had an extra day on my itinerary during my visit to West Australia. As the weather was not very friendly on that said day which led to the cancellation of ferry services to Rottnest, it also meant that I had to find some place where I could still enjoy the day and yet be shielded from the elements. A quick check on the map from my location at Sorrento Quay revealed that there is a large shopping complex just north of where I was. I decided to hop into my rented vehicle and drove to this shopping complex located in Joondalup. Outdoor view of Lakeside Joondalup where I spent a whole day shopping, eating and relaxing during my trip, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia (2018) Upon reaching Lakeside Joondalup, I had no trouble finding parking for the vehicle even though this was my first time there. I then proceeded to go on a shopping spree which resulted in me b

China is a huge country with varied landscapes; many of which are stunning and too beautiful to describe with words. In my few visits to the country, I had experienced both the beauty of China's spectacular nature as well as its awesome cityscapes. In a visit to Shenzhen, I came across one such view soon after I had checked in to a hotel located at one of the high floors of a modern skyscraper. The view? Skyscrapers amidst rolling hills! A sight to behold and one that left me spellbound as I stood at the ceiling-to-floor windows of the hotel lobby admiring the beautiful views of the city and its wondrous natural beauty. I was soon joined by my friends who stood equally spellbound by the beautiful sights of a modern city backed by green rolling hills in the distance. Skyscrapers amidst rolling hills, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China (2015) More skyscrapers with hills in the horizon, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China (2015)

"All that is gold does not glitter, just as not all those who wander are lost."  - JRR Tolkien Wild Heron at a waterfall, Bali, Indonesia (2015)

I was awestruck by the grandness and magnificence of this building during my walking tour of the Old Town of Tallinn. While there, I had no opportunity to enter the building itself. Thus, admiring its facade and photographing its structure as I walked around its perimeter had to suffice.  The  Palace of Ungern-Sternberg, Tallinn, Estonia (2017) Without knowing what this building was, its history and its name, the photographs I took allowed me to conduct basic research on it after the trip.  Based on my rudimentary research into the building long after my trip to Tallinn, I was to discover that it was built in the year 1865 by the German architect, Martin Gropius. Also known as the Palace of Ungern-Sternberg, the building is today the home of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. The Academy is a group of scientists whose aim is to promote research & development and scientific cooperation as well as knowledge dissemination.  The main building housing the Academy is a