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

Israel, Galilee, Capernaum, 4th Century Synagogue This article was originally published in this blog in November 2018. This was my only visit to Capernaum and for convenience, I succumbed to the touristy-thing and booked a guided day-trip which not only brought me to Capernaum but also to other biblical sites around the Galilee region. ****************** Traveling to places of historical significance has always been a favourite travel itinerary for me. These trips allow me to visit in person the locations of places I read about in the history books. Amongst the many historical places I had visited, one of my favourite and also an item on my travel bucket list is Capernaum. Frequently cited in the Gospels, Capernaum is located on the shores to the north of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Reportedly inhabited since the 2nd century BCE, the town was abandoned in the 11th century. Capernaum was originally a small fishing village, probably because of its close geographical proximity to the Se

"It's not what you look at that matters, It's what you see." -  Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862) - American Naturalist, Poet and Philosopher Bees harvesting nectar from a lotus flower, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2016)

As the world slowly realises that we simply cannot lock ourselves from each other forever and cautiously begins to open up, I look forward to be able to partake in leisure travel again. Hopefully, I can soon be back to my favourite beach resorts to enjoy a slow night of beach combing and simply enjoying the beauty of nature! I do not catch any wildlife, I only took photographs without coming into physical contacts with those animals I encountered. Wildlife deserves to be where they belong, in the wild. 😊 Take Nothing but Photographs, Leave Nothing but Footprints. Crab, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2018)

The wild beckons....... but..... Being stuck within the confines of a small apartment and its walled interiors for the past 20+ months while (at times) feverishly working-from-home to meet rushed deadlines imposed by clients has left me feeling a bit cooped up. Suddenly, usually boring and typically ignored stuff like a patch of grass or a bunch of trees in the distance has become a much yearn-for change-of-environment. In part inspired by my recent weeknights binge watching of Korean variety shows on cable showcasing life in rural outdoor places, I imagined how nice it would be if I could (for a short period of time) indulge in these same activities. In these shows, Korean celebrities camped out, prepared their own meals over open-air campfires, went fishing or simply just chilled out  and enjoyed nature. Unfortunately, I live in a small cramp city where there are hardly any wilderness to head out to, where driving camper vans and spending a week or two out in the wild is an impossibl

With international leisure travel being a distant pipe dream due to border restrictions to protect against COVID transmissions, dining out has become the main leisure activity for many folks. I am no exception.   The current main highlights of my week are dining out on weekends. I love all cuisines but Japanese, Spanish and Italian are my favourites. For the past 20 months, dining on foreign cuisines has become my personal go-to substitute for travel to distant shores.  😁   I am fortunate to live in a city where choices of international cuisines are plentiful!   Burger, American-style, Singapore (2020)   Grilled Squid, Japanese-style, Singapore (2020)   Sashimi Rice Bowl (a.k.a.  Chirashi ), Japanese-style, Singapore (2020)   Fresh Shrimps with garlic and herbs, Spanish-style, Singapore (2020)   Steak with garden vegetables, Spanish-style, Singapore (2020)   Mussels and Shrimps, Spanish-style, Singapore (2020)   Wood-Fired Pizza, Italian-style, Singapore (2020) Pan-seared Sea Bass, Sp