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

As I geared up for my upcoming month-long multi cities trip across several counties in Asia, I am starting to wonder if I have missed out anything. Travel documentations, accommodation bookings, inter-city transportations, air tickets, travel insurance and more are all in order. At home, I have made arrangements for my pets to be taken care of and my plants to be watered at regular intervals. Pre-travel, I have done all the laundry, paid all my upcoming bills, make sure my phone apps are all updated and decided on which work laptop to bring along for the trip. Yes, I am never far from my work, thanks to the wonders of modern technologies!  But, there is always this nagging feeling that I have missed out something, only to find out when I am abroad! Well, I will only know when the time comes. Meanwhile, I am only left with my luggage to pack, to decide what clothes to bring along and of course, my writing instruments (pens and pencils) and materials (inks, refills and notebooks) to acco

Israel, Tel Aviv This article was originally published in this blog in April 2017. Some may ask, why is visiting a local market even a bucket list item? The simple answer from me is that anything can be a bucket list item depending on individuals. For some, even swimming in the local lake can be a bucket list item while for others; only climbing the highest peak on earth will qualify as a bucket list item, all other stuff don't even come near. Therefore, what is a bucket list item can only be defined by the individual making his or her own list.  For me, morning markets are the heartbeats of any city. In the markets, I can observe and interact with locals, indulge in local street food, buy souvenirs and simply soak in the local atmosphere. Ever wonder why the old Tsukiji Market of Tokyo was such an attraction for tourists worldwide? The precise reasons were what I had just stated. Located in a part of Tel Aviv just steps from the Mediterranean Sea, is Carmel Market. Also known as t

  "In the sky, I used to fly with the clouds, From the trees, I sat free from restrain, But in my cage, I long for the freedom that once was." -    Timothy Tan, tankstraveltales Common Black-headed Gull ( Chroicocephalus ridibundus ), Helsinki, Finland (2017)

Gearing up for my vacation......  As I gear up for my upcoming month-long trip, I am busy trying to get as much work done as possible before I travel. While I will always have to work on-the-go, I at least try to keep that to a minimum because I wanted to use my "free" periods in the nights during the trip to write my book. Yes, I am writing a book of short stories.  In-between the sight-seeing and partaking in local festivities like a good old-fashioned tourist, I also intend to explore some other parts of the cities that I am visiting which are not considered "touristy". These will include the Yanaka and Kanda areas of Tokyo as well as some of the often over-looked towns in Niigata and Yamagata Prefectures of western Japan. In Vietnam, I intend to explore Nha Trang on foot. For shopping, of course I would be visiting Tsutaya and Itoya for stationery, Montblanc for pens and Isetan for all kinds of other stuffs that one can only find in Japan. I am not sure what I w