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

I loved travelling. It was not so long ago that travelling was as easy as going online to book my return air tickets and hotel accommodation before jetting off to the destination on the day of the outbound flight.  In particular, if I had the opportunity to travel in the premier classes of a flight, the flight itself was as much an important part of my trip as any other expected travel experiences such as dining on local cuisines, meeting the locals, sight-seeing and enjoying the local culture and practices.  At times, I pampered myself by spending my hard-earned cash on a return Business Class ticket at promotional rates. Or I redeemed my expiring miles for a discounted Business Class ticket. And on some rare occasions, the airlines actually kindly and generously upgraded me to the next class of seat from my purchased ticket. How the upgrade works still baffles me. I supposed it all boils down to pure luck. But I really don't know. Travelling in the premier classes of a fligh...

To travel or not to travel....... At the time of writing this blog post, the travel industry is roiled by the ongoing coronavirus, COVID-19, outbreak. This has caused much upheavals in the travel world, including trips and flights cancellations. The question I kept asking myself was, should I still travel at this time? As a matter of fact, the fatality rate of COVID-19, at about 2%, is much lower than the SARS outbreak of 17 years ago in 2003. In most cases, healthy adults who were unfortunate to be infected with COVID-19 typically displayed mild symptoms and recovered without much or any long term effects,. This is based on currently available data. Thus, as a healthy individual without any pre-existing medical conditions, I should be fairly safe even in the event that I caught the infection while traveling. That being said, I could also have easily caught the infection even if I am staying put in my home country. Unless, I barricade myself at home and cut off all contacts wi...

Connecting Flights....... This coming weekend, I will be traveling to Taipei (TPE) via Hong Kong (HKG). Because my flights were booked on different airlines under different booking codes, I have to collect my check-in luggage upon arrival in HKG from SIN, clear immigration and customs, check-in again for my next flight from HKG to TPE, go through immigration again as well as the necessary security checks before I can emerge airside at the airport for my connecting flight. Departure Hall of the Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong SAR, China (2017) Sounds like a hassle? Not when I will be flying J-Class (a.k.a. Business Class) on both sectors from SIN to HKG via SQ (Singapore Airlines) and HKG to TPE via CX (Cathay Pacific) on tickets paid with air miles. Sure, there are hassles with the connecting flights on 2 different airlines with different booking codes but they are worth it.  In order to ensure that I have a seamless transit at the Hong Kong ...

I have always view air travel on Business Class as an exclusive privilege, one in which I can only indulge in on rare occasions. This is because the exquisite touches of Business Class travel on premium airlines made the flight itself a separate and unique travel experience.  This is a review of my experiences when I flew on Business Class (i.e. 'J' Class) on Singapore Airlines (SQ) from Singapore to Taipei in December 2016. Check-in While Singapore Airlines offer a seamless check-in experience both online and via its SingaporeAir app, I have always preferred and enjoyed the experience of checking in at the check-in counters at the airport in person. I loved the feel of that Boarding Pass in my hand. Add the fact that I collect my Boarding Passes as mementos of my trips and the reasons for my in-person check-in preference become apparent. As with all premium class travels, separate check-in counters for Business Class are allocated at the airport by Singapore A...