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

"All that is gold does not glitter, just as not all those who wander are lost."  - JRR Tolkien Wild Heron at a waterfall, Bali, Indonesia (2015)

The beach at Nusa Dua is amazing. At low tide, one can literally walk far out into the sea where the water only ever reaches to the ankles of an adult. Small rocks with seaweeds growing on them exposed during low tide, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2018) Combing the beach at low tide to observe the small animals that come out to forage for food and engage in their own little things to do is a joy. I do not advocate removing or even touching any of the wildlife at the beach because many of these animals are extremely fragile and may not survive physical human encounters. My advice is always to just observe and take photographs; nothing more than that. The beach at low tide, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2018) Small air-holes created by crabs and other crustaceans are clearly visible at low tide, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2018) Crab spotted at low tide, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2018) At low tide, the small animals are extremely vulnerable. I hav

Being environmentally-conscious during our travels....... We all know it from the well-publicised facts that the human race is causing huge changes and damage to the environment as our civilisation progresses. Yes, we cause damage to Mother Earth whether we are at home or traveling. But more so when we travel. Why is this so? Clear waters are a joy to look at and behold when we avoid pollution of our waterways , Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2016) Air travel contributes to many kinds of damage to the environment including carbon emission. As I am no environmental scientist or professional, I am unable to go into the details of all the damages, their causes and effects. What I know as a layperson is that whenever I fly, I contribute to environmental damage and degradation. While there is nothing much I can do about this, I can certainly help to be kind to the environment by generating less wastes in situations more controllable at the personal level. Plastics are a major

Travelling to a new city for the first time... This coming Thursday, I will be travelling to Laos for the first time. The purpose of the trip is for a short vacation to Luang Prabang in northern Laos and to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Town of Luang Prabang. Being a first time visitor to Laos and Luang Prabang, I did some research on the internet and in the libraries to find out more about the cultural and religious norms of the city. I usually try my best to conform to and more importantly, to respect the local culture and religion of the cities I am visiting. Besides the more practical aspect of not getting into trouble with the local authorities, the main intention is to show respect to the local people, culture and religions. This is because I am a foreigner and guest after all and it will be rude to behave in manners that may offend the locals as well as their cultural or religious beliefs. The areas where I show respect and conform to the local culture

Short trips allow us to get away from work for a few days, recharge and return to work with that extra zest. People often asked me how I manage to work so hard without being stressed or burnt out. My secret lies in the short breaks I took every 3 to 4 months. For such trips, traveling regional is the answer.  My favourite beach holiday destination, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2016) In the month of March, I realised that I still have some vacation leave left over from 2015 and decided to take a short trip to my favourite regional destination of Bali. While I still chose to stay at the Nusa Dua area, I decided to modify my itinerary a little this time by staying further north of Nusa Dua at the Sofitel instead of at my usual accommodation at the Grand Hyatt. Sipping drinks by the beach at teh Sofitel, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2016) The trip was a nice one. Everything about the Sofitel was awesome, the service was great and the food served at the hotel was delicious.

I usually travel to Bali for vacation once or twice a year because the island is only about a 2.5-hour flight from Singapore. Being a creature of habits, I will almost certainly stay in the Nusa Dua area due to its long stretch of white sand beach and also because of my familiarity with the surrounding areas. I have dined at the Bebek Bengil (a.k.a. Dity Duck Diner) restaurant in Nusa Dua each time I am in Bali. Bebek actually means duck in Bahasa Indonesia. The signature Bebek Bengil (a.k.a. crispy duck) dish at this restaurant is something I always enjoyed every time I dined here. The duck meat does not taste too gamey although at times, the duck breast can be a bit dry resulting in the meat being chewy. The accompanying condiments and side dishes are the highlights of the menu here and they are served together with the main course without any additional charges. Those who enjoy asian spices will definitely savour the rich tastes of these condiments and side dishes. Service

In-between my planned trips to the Maldives in August 2014 and Japan in October 2014, I decided to take a short trip to some place nearby; preferably within a 3-hour flight time radius from my native Singapore. As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, Silkair was offering 50% discounts on award redemption tickets to some selected regional destinations and I jumped on the opportunity to redeem my return air tickets to Lombok using my Krisflyer Miles (Silkair is wholly owned by Singapore Airlines and thus I could use my Krisflyer Miles to redeem award tickets on Silkair flights). Each return ticket only required 7,500 Krisflyer Miles to redeem after the 50% discount. Of course, I still had to pay the usual taxes and surcharges in cash. :-) My flight onboard Silkair MI128 from Singapore's Changi International Airport (IATA: SIN, ICAO: WSSS) to the new airport near the city of Praya; the Bandar Udara Internasional Lombok (IATA: LOP, ICAO: WADL) took about 2 hour 35 minute