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

Negev Desert, Israel The Negev Desert is located in the southern region of Israel. The largest city in the area is Beersheba (a.k.a. Be'er Sheva ). Generally unpopulated, except for Beersheba, nomadic Bedouins do live here in temporary accommodations whilst moving with their livestock according to the seasons. A Bedouin and his livestock, Negev Desert, Israel (2017) This was my first visit to a real desert. In this trip, my travelling companions and I opted to self-drive. Moving in two separate vehicles, the eight of us explored the desert, marvelling at the natural beauty of the area. Along our drives, we stopped frequently and disembarked from our rented vehicles to marvel at the picturesque sceneries and also for those selfies. The desert, Negev Desert, Israel (2017) The desert, Negev Desert, Israel (2017) The desert, Negev Desert, Israel (2017) The desert, Negev Desert, Israel (2017) The desert, Negev Desert, Israel (2017) Desert road, Negev Desert, Israel (2017) One of our ren

Israel, Nazareth Growing up in a family who was and still is predominantly Roman Catholic, I have always identified myself as Catholic even though I am not officially baptised as one. Wherever I travel, I would always ventured into a church to pray when the opportunity presented itself. During a trip to Israel many years ago, I took the chance to book a day trip whose itinerary included a visit to the Church of the Annunciation. Also known as the Basilica of the Annunciation, the church is located in the city of Nazareth in the northern part of Israel. The story goes that this church was established at the very site where the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to announce that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, Jesus Chris t. Church of the Annunciation (a.k.a.  Basilica of the Annunciation), Nazareth, Israel (2002) The current church is a double storey building constructed over the site of earlier churches from the Byzantine and Crusader eras. At the l

Traveling to places of historical significance has always been a favourite travel itinerary for me. These trips allow me to visit in person the locations of places I read about in the history books. Amongst the many historical places I had visited, one of my favourite has to be Capernaum. History and Geography  Frequently cited in the Gospels, Capernaum is located on the shores to the north of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Reportedly inhabited since the 2nd century BCE, the town was abandoned in the 11th century. Capernaum was originally a small fishing village, probably because of its close geographical proximity to the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Tiberius, is the largest freshwater lake in Israel. It has an area that is approximately 167 square kilometres (about 65 square miles). Climate The weather in Capernaum is typical of the weather throughout Israel. The coldest months are between December to March when the daily average temperature us

Local food....... Traveling often bring us out of our comfort zone. And this includes food....... what we eat during our travels. Local food encompasses the cultures and traditions of the place we travel to. Other factors that typically shape the local cuisine are economic development, climate and location. Lunch set consisting mainly of ox meat, Luang Prabang, Laos (2017) While I am always game to try out the same food that the locals delight in dining on, there are some "no-go zones" for me. And where does this red line begins? I generally do not eat anything raw; unless it is sashimi or sushi prepared in a clean environment. Health reasons aside, I personally do not delight in putting something that is uncooked into my mouth. Taking this a step further will be eating "live" food. That is another experience which I totally avoid. Besides the cruelty of it all, I am rather squeamish about eating something that is still squirming and moving. So whil

Self-Driving during Overseas Vacations....... While I am not a fan of self-driving when traveling overseas, I had done my fair share of driving in different countries while on vacation. These places include France, Germany and Israel. And more recently, in Australia. On the road while self-driving from New Norcia to Perth, Western Australia, Australia (2018) Having your own set of wheels while overseas has its conveniences. It allows you to venture a little off-road to see and experience sights and sounds off the so-called beaten track. It allows you the flexibility to change your itinerary as and when situation and mood necessitates. And it also means that you do not have to plan your travel activities around the operating hours of the public transport operators of the cities you are visiting. Self-driving allowed me to stop and enjoy the natural landscapes whenever I wanted, Negev Desert, Israel (2017) Stopping my vehicle to watch herders near the city of Bee

2017 Travel Review....... In terms of travel, 2017 has been the year where I travelled the most in recent memory. For the year, I have clocked a total of almost 130,000 miles in air travel alone. I basically travelled at least once every month; for all 12 months of the year. Three-quarters of my travels in 2017 were for work with the rest being vacation trips. New cities I had travelled to included vacations to Atami and Ito (Japan), Helsinki (Finland), Luang Prabang (Laos) and Tallinn (Estonia). A street in the Old Town of Tallinn, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tallinn, Estonia (2017) The Helsinki Cathedral, Helsinki, Finland (2017) Vat Manorom Temple, Luang Prabang, Laos (2017) Other cities that I had travelled to in 2017 were mainly for work and they included cities which I had previously visited multiple times. The repeated visits to these cities did not in any way diminish the enjoyability of these trips and I did manage to snatch time out from my he