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

Modern day cruise ships are huge behemoths where almost anything imaginable can be found onboard.  After having been on several cruises already, I am beginning to believe that even on cruises with no or very few port days, I will still not run out of things to do onboard. After all, it is really difficult for one to get bored on a huge cruise ship that can span a couple of hundreds of metres or more, from bow to stern. Even on days when I may feel a bit on the introvert side, I can always find a relatively serene corner to read or write, a warm beverage in-hand. There will also almost always be a gym for me to work out, swimming pools to get some tan, a dance hall to enjoy music and a dance or two, lots of food for the glutton in me, spectacular shows for entertainment, even a promenade to shop or window shop, my room balcony to look out at the sea and contemplate life and more. Of course, there is also the opportunity to meet people and make new friends. While on a cruise that was...

South-East Asia, Malacca Strait This article was originally published in this blog in July 2022 as one of my Trip Recollections articles. The article reminisced my first ever cruise trip and also my first ever visit to Penang's Georgetown as part of the cruise ship's port call. Even though this was a relatively short 3-nights regional cruise, I really enjoyed the trip. While I had since went on longer cruises including a 12-nights cruise from Yokohama to Singapore, this first cruise will always be fondly remembered as the one that "introduced" me to a cruise vacation.  A bucket list item well and truly checked.  ****************** I finally got to enjoy my first ever cruise experience. A short 4-days, 3-nights cruise from Singapore's Marina Cruise Centre to Penang's Georgetown in Malaysia onboard Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas. Deck 15 of Spectrum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Cruise, Straits of Malacca (2022) Maybe it was my first time on a cru...

Travel Hassles....... We all love traveling. However, like all things in life, the unexpected can happen. And when unexpected and unpleasant incidents happen, they can totally ruined that dream vacation. Here are what I associate as the top five travel hassles: 1. Missed Flight or Missed Flight Connections - This is probably one of the travel hassles that is most likely to happen to anyone. Most of us have experienced this hassle or at least know of someone who had. I remembered some years back when I was traveling home after a very stressful working trip when I got stranded at Heathrow Airport due to a strike by the Ground Crew. As I was on transit and on my way home, most of my daily necessities were already packed into my check-in luggage. Thus, there I was at the airport, with only my office laptop in a small haversack and no flight home. The earliest I could get on a flight was 4 days later and I had to spend 4 days in London with no change of clothing and no toiletr...