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

Kuang Si Falls and Tat Sae Waterfall, Luang Prabang, Laos For someone like myself who was born in, grew up in and lived in a highly urbanised city my whole life, swimming in a natural waterfall has always been a personal bucket list item. Combined that with swimming in a waterfall during my travels and that wish instantly becomes a travel bucket list item. When I visited the Kuang Si Waterfall during a trip to Luang Prabang, I was thrilled when my guide informed me that I could actually swim in parts of the waterfall. Packing my swim trunks in my backpack on the day of my visit, I finally got to check off this bucket list item. Main Fall of Kuang Si Waterfalls, Luang Prabang, Laos (2017) Although the main fall has a height of close to 60m, the lower levels of this multi-tiered waterfall include cascade pools where the water levels are relatively shallow, the deepest point being around 1.8m.  One of the lower-tier of Kuang Si Waterfalls, Luang Prabang, Laos (2017) The beautiful color of

I remembered my childhood days when soft drinks came in glass bottles. These bottles were washed after each use and returned to the vendors or provision shops. These would then be subsequently returned to the drink bottlers or recycle companies for eventual recycle and reuse. Nowadays, with the advent of plastic use and the focus on quick business turnaround, recycling efforts are few and far between. No longer do our drink bottles come in reusable bottles for reuse. Instead, plastic PET bottles are the norm. And although the words "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" are printed prominently on the bottles, these bottles are almost never returned for reuse and recycle. Often, they are headed straight for the bins and the landfills after only a single use. Regretfully, it is usually in big cities where such recycling efforts are not widely practised despite these cities posting the biggest consumption of materials and goods. Instead, it is the small rural towns and communities

The Tower of Pisa, more famously known worldwide as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is located next to the Cathedral of Pisa in Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy. The Tower was completed in the year 1399. However, its original construction started much earlier, around the year 1173. Although its original height was 60m, the current height of the Tower is now lower, at about 56.6m at its highest point.  The Tower of Pisa is part of a group of four elements of the complex of  monuments in Piazza dei Miracoli ( Square of Miracles). The other three elements in this group are the Cathedral of Pisa, the Baptistry and the Monumental Cemetery.  An interesting fact not known to many casual visitors is that apart from the Tower of Pisa, both the Cathedral and Baptistry are also sinking. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa, Italy (2007)

Travel........ The New Normal Recently, if we have been following the news, the phrase "the new normal" has been used to describe many things in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. And this includes travel. So what exactly is "the new normal"? I take it to mean things will not be the same again. However, as in all things, interpretations of "the new normal" vary widely. From my personal interpretations of "the new normal" with regards to travelling, I foresee the following changes:  The Way We Fly: The days of air-hubs may soon be over. The requirements to limit physical contacts between people to prevent the spread of viruses may mean that point-to-point flights are now in vogue. Transiting means disembarking from one flight, moving across the transit airport and embarking on the connecting flight. All these entail lots of human-to-human interactions especially when we have hordes of travellers intermingling at busy international

" Live the Moment, Enjoy the Moment, Savour that Travel Moment "  -  Timothy Tan, author of this blog - tankstraveltales Travellers strolling along a tranquil street , Luang Prabang, Laos (2017)

Everybody can probably agree that travelling provide us with the opportunities to see and experience new things. One of these new experiences is street art. I am sure we have all seen street art before, both at home and abroad. But just when I thought I had seen most forms of street art that the mind can imagine, I was in for a pleasant surprise. When I visited Fremantle in June 2018, the street art that I saw was a whole new level. Basically, the whole street was one gigantic artwork!  And the artwork became more gorgeous as the elevation that I viewed it from increased. I climbed a flight of stairs to a vantage point, just to take in the whole perspective that this piece of artwork was meant to be. And I was not disappointed. Street Art, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia (2018)

Seattle, Washington, United States A bucket list item can be anything that one wishes it to be. That is the beauty of it. It can be as challenging and adventurous as climbing a mountain or as laid-back as a luxurious cruise around the Mediterranean. It can also be as complex as traveling to every continent in the world or as mundane as reading a book under the trees by the sea in a secluded Pacific island. One of my travel bucket list item is to take a non-stop flight from Singapore to the United States. That dream came true in November 2019. Although the trip was a business trip, it nonetheless still fulfilled the criteria for a tick against that bucket list item. My passport and boarding pass, SQ28 from Singapore to Seattle, United States (2019) During the trip, I travelled on Singapore Airlines' SQ28 from Singapore to Seattle, Washington. It was a non-stop flight of about 14-hours. The longest non-stop flight I had ever taken before this trip was abut 12 hours f

Explore your neighbourhood...... Travel in your own backward In a time when travel beyond national borders are difficult to plan and execute, traveling in our own backyard through exploring our immediate neighbourhood seems to be the new norm. At the very least, we get to know our own neighbourhood better, contribute to the local economy and at the same time, still get to "travel". Linkway between different wings of the museum, National Gallery, Singapore (2016) Traveling refreshes our mind and break the boredom of everyday work life. Anything that is not part of our normal and daily routine thus qualify as a new experience to refresh our minds. Go for a stroll in that nearby neighbourhood park. Spend an hour or two during the weekends to hike in the small hills, forest or meadows near your home. And you will be surprised how refreshing that experience can be for both body and mind. Of course, safe distancing and social responsibilities still apply. View