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

While waiting for the aircraft to pushback for my flight from Singapore to Seattle on a pleasant November morning, I took a photograph of this Singapore Airlines' Airbus A350-900 (also designated as A350-941). This plane was parked at the Gate adjacent to the aircraft I was seated in, allowing me to photograph its entire length. The Port side engine of the Airbus A350-900 close to my window seat at 19A in the J Cabin is clearly visible in the foreground of this photograph. I did not crop out the engine from the photograph because I wanted to share the actual view that I was seeing when I took this photograph.  Singapore Airlines' Airbus A350-941 at the Gate, Terminal 3, Changi International Airport, Singapore (2019)

In December of 2019, after an almost 10-year hiatus, I re-visited Kuala Lumpur (a.k.a. KL) for the first time. Despite the relatively short geographical distance between KL and Singapore (where I lived), I was surprised it took me so long to re-visit this wonderful city. Flights from Singapore generally took about 40 minutes or so. Tour coaches typically take about 5 hours, including stops for meals and toilet breaks. If I drive, it will take me a little more than 3 hours, if I shorten the time for my meals and toilet breaks along the way. Petronas Twin Tower, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2020) Officially a federal territory, KL also serves as the economic, financial and cultural hub of Malaysia. It is the capital city of the country and was also previously the administrative capital until this function was moved to Putrajaya in 1999 to alleviate the increasing overcrowding and traffic gridlocks in KL. Still, the Greater Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area continues to grow both economi...

"I cannot change yesterday, But I can travel today, So that I can  influence  tomorrow "  - Timothy Tan, author of this blog - tankstraveltales Mount Fuji, near Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan (2018)

Nepal, Annapurna Region This was and still is one of the most enjoyable trips that I had taken. The trip was a long time ago in 1998 when I was still a footloose twenty-something who was rich in energy but poor in resources. Almost fresh out of military service, I had scraped together a couple of years of savings to afford this trip and went along with two other friends.  The total number of days spent trekking was 6 days although I had spent considerably more time in Nepal during the trip, taking the chance to visit Kathmandu and Pokhara before starting on the trek. After the trek, I also took the opportunity to visit the Chitwan National Park in the Terai Region, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. This is a chronology of the trek from Day 1 to 6. Day 1 (3 April 1998)  - First day of our trek. The day began early at about 7.40am. Driving out of Pokhara (900 meters above sea level), our cheerful driver brought us to the foot of Dhampus Hill. He...