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

Kuang Si Falls and Tat Sae Waterfall, Luang Prabang, Laos For someone like myself who was born in, grew up in and lived in a highly urbanised city my whole life, swimming in a natural waterfall has always been a personal bucket list item. Combined that with swimming in a waterfall during my travels and that wish instantly becomes a travel bucket list item. When I visited the Kuang Si Waterfall during a trip to Luang Prabang, I was thrilled when my guide informed me that I could actually swim in parts of the waterfall. Packing my swim trunks in my backpack on the day of my visit, I finally got to check off this bucket list item. Main Fall of Kuang Si Waterfalls, Luang Prabang, Laos (2017) Although the main fall has a height of close to 60m, the lower levels of this multi-tiered waterfall include cascade pools where the water levels are relatively shallow, the deepest point being around 1.8m.  One of the lower-tier of Kuang Si Waterfalls, Luang Prabang, Laos (2017) The beautiful color of

Planning for my next vacation....... Apart form the trip itself, one of the greatest thing about a dream vacation is the trip planning. Finding out about the places to visit, the food to eat and the kind of experience that can be enjoyed is a joy for anyone who enjoys travelling. While my motto has always been to travel with only a loose plan in place so that I can serendipitously  chance upon some delightful travel experiences, a loose plan still needs some basic information before it becomes what it is, a plan! With the internet literally at my fingertips, I can easily look for information whenever I have some free time in-between work meetings or tele-conferences. And these bits of information that I collect are all cut-and-paste digitally into my smart phone. A month or two before the trip, I will collate all this information to form a broad itinerary such as the cities to visit, the areas that I want to stay for the night and the sights and food I want to enjoy. With th

Located about 18 km (11 miles) from the city of Luang Prabang, the Tat Sae Waterfalls (a.k.a. Tad Sae Waterfalls) is the less famous cousin to the more well-known and touristy Kuang Si Waterfalls (a.k.a Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls) which can be found further away from Luang Prabang towards the south-western part of the province. Thus, while foreign tourists visiting the province trooped to the Kuang Si Waterfalls, the locals generally prefer the less well-known Tat Sae Waterfalls. No less spectacular than its more popular cousin, the Tat Sae Waterfalls has its own beauty and charms.  To get to the Tat Sae Waterfalls, I had to take a drive from Luang Prabang to the village of Bak En. Near this village, I took a small rickety local boat to cross a tributary of the Nam Khan River. The waterfalls is located at the opposite bank of this tributary. The short 15-minute boat ride was an experienced in itself. The waterline was only mere centimetres away from where I was seated and I could

A male novice in the Buddhist religious context is also known as a samanera . This is part of the typical monastic order prior to one being ordained.  While visiting a Buddhist temple in the Laotian city of Luang Prabang, I chanced upon this photo opportunity where a young novice was seen with his mobile smartphone. For me, this is a good example of how technology has permeated into our daily life. Regardless of who we are, what our professions are as well as what are our beliefs and callings, technology has somehow become the underlying common thread that binds all of us together. Canon EOS70D, focal length: 56mm, f/5, 1/80 Novice monk with mobile smartphone, Luang Prabang, Laos (2017)

They were of all shapes and sizes and caught my eyes as I turned the corner of the narrow road on my way to lunch. Located just behind the hotel that I was staying were several small shops selling local items. I wouldn't exactly called them crafts because these items were not meant as art pieces. Neither were they created in one's leisure time nor were they meant to be peddled to tourists. Instead, these were obviously items used in the daily lives of the locals.  Fish traps? Just my guess which could be wrong. Luang Prabang, Laos (2017) There were baskets, food containers, fish traps (my guess, I could be wrong) and brooms. Intricately hand-made, I moved closer to marvel at the skills of those who made them. Presumably a skill handed down through the generations. These traditionally-made items whilst interesting to me, were meant to serve the daily needs of the locals. Hand-made baskets, Luang Prabang, Laos (2017) Whenever I travelled, these are the little

The Mekong is one of the longest river in the world. From the Tibetan Plateau, the Mekong flows through parts of China before entering Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Finally, ending in the South China Sea in southern Vietnam, the entire distance of the Mekong spans more than 4,300km. In Laos, the Mekong traverse the entire country. The importance of this mighty river in the lives of the people residing in the countries it flows through cannot be overstated. Many local communities depended on the Mekong in their daily lives in areas as diverse as transportation, fishing and agriculture.  While visiting Luang Prabang province of Laos, I had the chance to see the Mekong almost every day of my nearly week-long stay in the country. The photograph here was amongst the many that I took of the river and the activities around and in the river by the local residents. The boats shown in this photograph are used primarily for fishing and to a lesser degree, transportation.

Despite never having lived in a farm or rural areas before, I have always like the farm and rural life. Growing up in a city meant that I had little contacts with animals as a child except for common house pets such as cats and dogs. Whenever I traveled to rural areas, I was always excited to see animals, domesticated or wild; better if the animals were wild and living freely in their natural environments. I typically admired the animals from a distance, making sure that my presence would not alarm them or interfered with their activities in any way. For this reason, a standard zoom lens is a must when I travel, especially if the places that I am traveling to has a chance for animal encounters.  These photos of a herd of domesticated water buffalos ( Bubalus bubalis ) were taken in the outskirts of Luang Prabang. The animals were taking shelter from the hot mid-day sun when my vehicle passed by. I requested the driver to stop safely by the side of the road, walke

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

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

During my visit to Lao's Luang Prabang province in September 2017, I came across many instances of tour agencies promoting elephant rides for tourists. These tours are usually marketed as educational and being part of the overall wildlife conservation efforts of the areas where these rides are offered. Besides Laos, these tourists-centric activities are also marketed throughout all the countries in Indochina, including Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. I am personally not sure of the links between such rides and the respective local wildlife conservation efforts. What I am sure of is that these rides are far from educational. Capturing and harnessing these magnificent animals to be used as tourist attractions and for rides certainly do not seem educational to me. I would prefer to see these powerful animals roam free with their herds in their natural habitats. Observing them from a distance with binoculars and studying their natural habits and herd life would fit more into what

Reading and Travelling....... What has reading got to do with travelling? Plenty of reasons. For me, reading up on the countries and cities I am visiting provide me with lots of information on the sights and sounds that I can expect. It also allows me to better plan my itinerary and help me to decide on where to stay and how much time to spend in a particular place. Other important information like currency exchanges, local culture and customs, potential immigration hurdles and visa applicabilities are also what I look out for when I read up on the places i am about to visit. Most of these information can be found in travel guides or on the internet. Dungeons and Dragons, a wall mural in a former dungeon and now a toilet, in a restaurant housed in a heritage building, Tallinn, Estonia (2017) And of course, reading about the experiences of other travellers provide me with a whole new world of information not usually available in officially published literature. For this r

I am currently in Luang Prabang on vacation. Being a first time visitor to the country of Laos, I was naturally excited by everything I saw and experienced. Here are a couple of photographs taken from my window seat onboard Silkair Flight MI788 as it flew from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. Views of the countryside surrounding Vientiane as Silkair Flight MI788 took off from the Wattay International Airport (IATA: VTE, ICAO:VLVT) after a brief transit stopover, Vientiane, Laos (2017) Silkair Flight MI788 en-route from Vientiane to Luang Prabang on 31 August 2017, Laos (2017) A long winding river is clearly visible from this photograph taken while Silkair Flight MI788 was en-route from Vientiane to Luang Prabang on 31 Aug 2017, Laos (2017) Rolling hills were a sight to behold from the air as Silkair Flight MI788 flew from Vientiane to Luang Prabang on 31 Aug 2017, Laos (2017)