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

Japan, Tokyo, Ueno Park Most of us who had visited Japan or who are planning to visit Japan will wish to see for ourselves the blooms of sakura in Spring. After numerous visits to Japan, I have had the luxury to admire sakura blooms at different locations in Japan. Doing a trip to Japan in March 2017, I went to Ueno Park in Tokyo. I was fortunate that the sakura was in full bloom during my visit and I got to enjoy hanami (cherry blossom viewing) together with locals and visitors alike. The original article was posted in this blog in April 2017. ****************** The period between late-March and early-April is always a good time to visit Japan, in particular the Tokyo area. The main reason is this period usually coincides with the annual sakura or cherry blossom season. Huge blooms of pink and white sakuras are a sight to behold. The crowds and the high seasonal prices of hotels and airfares may be a put off but it is also important to remember that sakura only blooms once a year and

Year 2023 Personal Travel Wrap-up......  And so, 2023 is nearing its goodbyes and we are all looking forward to a brand new year in 2024. For travelers, a brand new travel year beckons. Personally, 2023 marks the first year when leisure travel truly resumes, after 2020 and 2021. Yes, I traveled a fair bit in 2022 compared to the two preceding years. But travel in 2022 was tentative, punctuated by the need to handle cumbersome vaccination certifications submissions prior to each trip, downloading official apps from individual countries and registering on these apps before embarkation, masks wearing, expensive travel insurance as well as limitations in where one can travel to. All these requirements were thankfully, slowly peeled away towards the end of 2022. Year 2023 is when we feel like normal again. Truth be told, COVID-19 is still everywhere, endemic. However, a combination of annual vaccinations and naturally acquired immunity from previous infections by previous strains of the vir

  " The memories of travel experiences that happened serendipitously usually lingered longer than those that were planned." - Timoth y Tan, author of this blog, tankstraveltales Stop, goats ahead, Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia (2016)

I arrived in Yokohama on 10 August 2023 and found myself in the midst of the Pokemon World Championship 2023 happening in the city.  After checking in to the hotel, I had a quick shower, changed into a fresh set of clothing and left the room to do my customary walking tour of the city, without the aid of maps or any pre-planning.  Less than ten minutes into my walk, I chanced upon this sight which I captured as a digital memento using my mobile phone. Another photo moment of my travels. Skylight over the marina waterfront, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan (2023) Whenever I could find any spare time during my travels, I enjoyed going on unguided and unplanned walking tours of the areas where I had booked my accommodation. The memories of travel experiences that happened serendipitously usually lingered longer than those that were planned. 

Wishlist 2024, Asia 2023 signals the resumption of leisure travel as the world cautiously but resolutely return to interconnectivity from the pandemic years of 2020, 2021 and to some extent, 2022. Personally, I resumed leisure travel in 2022 with regional trips to Bali, Cameron Highlands, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Siem Reap. I also took two cruise trips, with port calls to Penang and Phuket. In 2023, I ventured a little further from the region, taking vacation trips to Japan and China (Hong Kong). Other regional trips include trips to Malaysia and Vietnam. I was glad that my trips in 2023 allowed me to fulfil a few personal travel bucket list items including watching the Nagaoka Hanami (Fireworks) Festival, sailing from Yokohama to Singapore and enjoying the experience of my first ever joyride on a tourist train, the Kairi  which travels between the Japanese cities of Niigata and Sakata. I also got to admire the majestic views of Sakurajima in-person when I was in Kagoshima in August 20