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

Reminiscing my past travel trips and looking back at some of the photographs I took during these trips, I came across this photograph of a polite queue of visitors. The folks seen in this photo were all waiting patiently in line for a photograph of themselves with the Floating Torii Gate of Itsukushima Shrine to commemorate their trip to Miyajima (a.k.a Itsukushima). And why shouldn't they? After all, this is considered one of the three best views of Japan. Partaking in the fun, I joined the queue soon after I took this photograph. And I was rewarded with that memorable picture of myself with the Floating Torii Gate. :-) Queuing for  a photograph with the Floating Torii Gate of Itsukushima Shrine, Itsukushima, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima  Prefecture, Japan (2019)

2019 Travel Review....... The year began slowly in travel terms for me. I started off 2019 with a short trip to Hong Kong in January. The trip was a combination of work and vacation. While in Hong Kong, I delighted in dinning on my favourite local food including freshly baked egg tarts, fermented tofu, fishball noodles, wonton noodles and the all-time Hong Kong speciality of Dim Sum . Apart from work, after office hours were spent shopping for my favourite Lego sets because these could usually be bought at cheaper prices in Hong Kong than when back home in Singapore. Mall decorations at Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong SAR, China (2019) February saw me travelling on a road trip to Ipoh, state capital of Perak in Malaysia. This had been my usual routine every year to celebrate the Chinese New Year holidays. And when I was in Ipoh, the local food as always, delighted my palate. A side trip from Ipoh to Cameron Highlands in the neighbouring Malaysian state of Pahang meant ...

Japan, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hatsukaichi, Itsukushima - UNESCO World Heritage Site Considered one of the 3 best views of Japan, the Floating Torii Gate is part of the Itsukushima Shrine on the island of Itsukushima. The island is also popularly known as Miyajima. As shown in the photograph below, the so-called Floating Torii Gate don't actually float. It is just that when the tide comes in, the partially submerged structure appears to float on the sea because its base is no longer visible to the eye. The Floating Torii Gate at low tide,  Itsukushima,  Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan (2019) Itsukushima Shrine,  Itsukushima,  Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan (2019) The Torii Gate as seen from the  Itsukushima Shrine,  Itsukushima,  Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan (2019) Besides the world famous and tourist-favourite Itsukushima Shrine and its Torii Gate, the island has lots of other renown attra...