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

In May and June of 2024, I had the joy of going on a long train journey from Bangkok to Singapore. This was not a single journey where I simply boarded a train in Bangkok and disembarked from the same train in Singapore. The whole journey was made up of multiple trains rides where I stopped at different cities in Thailand and Malaysia, even spending a night at some of these cities. And there was also an overnight train ride between the Thai cities of Prachuap Khiri Khan and Hat Yai. Throughout the journey, I rode in different cabin class from Class 1 (air-conditioned with sleeper bed in a dedicated cabin) to Class 3 (non-air conditioned with only drafts from the ceiling fans in the cabin and wind from the windows to keep cool). The journey was meant to mimic the train travels of the old days when air travel was not so common and train travel was the norm. Since I was born after those days, I could not experience such travels and could only read about it in books. This train journey, tr...

I visited Penang again in March 2024 when I took a cruise which had a stopover at the Swettenham Pier in Georgetown. Due to the relatively short stopover of only around half a day,  I only disembarked to walk around the pier area to take photographs of the cruise ship. Back to the ship at dusk, I was at Deck 15 and had a rather good view of the city when I spotted this photo opportunity of the setting sun.  Taken with my iPhone 15 Po Max, this is the view I witnessed onboard Spectrum of the Seas' Deck 15 of Sunset over the City. 📸 Sunset over the City, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia (2024)

Planning for December Travel......  Traveling in the year-end month of December is different from traveling during other months of the year, at least for me. Somehow, December being the last month of the year, has that festive vibes that make me more relaxed while every part of life simply just seemed to slow down, from work to personal. Travel during the traditional holiday month of December is definitely more expensive in my part of the world. December coincides with the year-end school holidays here in South-East Asia and is also the "last" month when most workers will need to "clear" their annual leave for the current year before the start of a brand new work year. This results in a rush to travel during this period, leading to higher costs in air tickets and destination accommodations. But, there are always ways to mitigate the increased costs of traveling during this period. My strategy is to choose a nearer regional location and to travel earlier in the month...

South East Asia Train Journey......  I had just got home from a train journey from Bangkok to Singapore traveling through the South East Asian countries of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. While I do not have an exact number on the actual kilometres travelled, my estimate was that I had probably covered close to 2000 kilometres of rail travel as my journey from Bangkok to Singapore took me through the Thai provinces of Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla, the Malaysian States of Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Melaka (a.k.a. Malacca), Negri Sembilan and Johore as well as the Malaysian Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. My itinerary took 8-days to complete, with overnight stopovers in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Hat Yai, and Taiping. There were also two overnight train rides. The first was between Prachuap Khiri Khan and Hat Yai in Thailand. The second was in Malaysia between Kuala Lumpur and...

Malaysia, Pahang, Cameron Highlands The leisure-travel restricted periods due to the Covid Pandemic that last somewhere between the beginning of 2020 until 2022 (in most places) were painful for those who love to travel. Be it travel to distant destinations or to places that one is familiar with, this luxury was denied to most folks around the world due to the need to efficiently manage the spread of the dreaded virus. With the slow re-opening of travel in 2022 onwards, I took baby steps to resuming my own travels by first visiting neighbouring countries and going to places that I had previously visited before, enjoyed the experiences and wanted to return again. Cameron Highlands in the Malaysian state of Pahang is one of these places.  With cool all-year round weather, gentle pace of life, beautiful sceneries, fresh air and great vacation places, Cameron Highlands is definitely one destination in my personal travel bucket...

Gearing up for my next trip......  In less than a week's time, I will be going on my planned vacation. This will be my second trip of the year. After this, I have no other trips either planned or confirmed for 2024. I am still trying to come to grips with the astronomical increase in travel costs. Thus, I have been searching and waiting for discount deals on flight tickets and accommodations, but no luck so far. And so, the search and wait continue. The coming trip is a relatively short and unadventurous 5 days/4 nights return cruise from Singapore to Penang and Phuket. I had booked this cruise sometime in the middle of last year, paying a lot less than what I would need to pay if I am to book a similar cruise itinerary today. And, I love the ship, Spectrum of the Seas. Sadly for me, this ship will leave Singapore next month (April 2024) for its new home ports in China. Thus, this will very likely be the last time I cruise on Spectrum unless it returns to be home ported in Singapor...

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...

With some downtime at work due to the completion of several projects' milestones, I decided to go on a short 5 days/4 nights trip to neighbouring Kuala Lumpur in late November 2023. Flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur take only less than an hour each way, before factoring airport security and boarding times. City view from the platform of a Local Rapid Train (LRT) Station, Kuala Lumpur (2023) The aim was for a leisurely trip to visit Kuala Lumpur for the year-end festive mood and to do some shopping due to the relatively favourable forex rates of the SGD (Singapore Dollar) versus RM (Malaysian Ringgit). Festive mood at Pavilion Mall, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur (2023) However, the short trip turned out to be a rather interesting one, by way of several unforeseen incidents. First up, my travel partner dropped his ring at the airport in Singapore. Taking it in our stride that such things do happen when one was not attentive enough, we brushed the loss aside.  Next, our plane o...

New Year and new Travel Plans......  2024 is in full swing and January is always the time when I map out my travel plans for the year.  What's been cooking in my travel plans pot? Nothing much really! At least not for the time being. Between the last week of January and first week of February, I am likely to embark on my annual road trip to Ipoh to spend Chinese New Year (a.k.a. Lunar New Year). This year's Chinese New Year falls on 10th and 11th February. I usually will start my trip before or after the festive period. This is to avoid the traffic jams at the border crossings between Singapore and Malaysia. This year will be similar, I will travel early to avoid the peak travel season chaos. Photographs of my trip to Ipoh in February last year, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (2023) Next up will be a 4-nights round-trip cruise onboard the Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas from Singapore to Penang and Phuket. This will be my fourth time cruising on the same ship and probably the...

Spontaneous Trip......  With the year-end festivity mood taking over, I decided to book a spontaneous trip to nearby Kuala Lumpur next week. Nothing fanciful, just a simple trip to eat, shop and relax. Since I returned from my month-long pan-Asia trip in August, I have been hard at work for the months of September, October and November, including working every weekend. With office schedule finally, and hopefully, clearing up a bit after those intense months of working almost non-strop, I decided to reward myself a bit with a short trip. Redeeming my air miles for the short 1-hour flight and booking a 4-night accommodation right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, I am all ready to spend a few days sipping coffee at cafes, dining on delicious food and doing a little bit of shopping. I also plan to take some time off my mind to write. And of course, for the bookworm in me, I am definitely visiting bookstores to enjoy the ambience of being amongst books and will most probably buy a good rea...

Over the past 10 years or so, quaint and lovely Ipoh has become more like a second hometown to me. I loved everything about Ipoh, from the unhurried pace of the life here to the delicious food that only people of Ipoh can somehow whip up with the simplest of ingredients. Common yet unique. Myself posing with the wall mural of a Tiger, Old Town, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (2023) This abandoned shophouse being reclaimed by nature shows the rustic charms of Ipoh, Old Town, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (2023) And in the last decade or so, many cafes had sprung up here. Most of these are of the local, owner-operated type rather than the international franchise varieties. These are all usually located in the Old Town area of Ipoh where weekends saw tourists, both domestic and international, arriving in their hundreds to enjoy Ipoh as a destination of choice. Cafe chilling sessions aplenty by myself and also with friends, Old Town, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (2023) A delicious serving of pancakes, Old Town, I...

  " To travel is not to escape life, But to learn about life." -  Anonymous  Snapshots from Old Town, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (2023)

Following my first-ever cruise trip in July 2022, I embarked on my second cruise vacation in end-October 2022. Despite this being my second cruise holiday, I had actually booked this trip way back in January 2022 before I even booked my first cruise trip for July 2022. Ah, the irony of life! 😁 Like my first cruise, this trip was also on the same ship, Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas. Unlike my first cruise, this was a slightly longer trip for 5 nights onboard, 2 nights more than the previous trip. Deck 15 of Spectrum of the Seas as seen through the glass canopy of the North Star , Phuket, Thailand (2022) No longer a cruise virgin and having been onboard the same ship just months earlier, I had matured into a seasoned cruise pro. Boarding on sailing day was a breeze, I had my essentials packed and was all ready to enjoy my holiday. View of Marina Bay Cruise Centre as Spectrum of the Seas pulled out of port, Marina Bay, Singapore (2022) Cabin Classes I had booked myself and m...

First personal trip of 2023.......  This February, I kicked off my personal travel year of 2023. Nothing fanciful, just a drive up north to Malaysia to visit the city of Ipoh. A total driving distance about 550km, one way. Including the return trip and other drives around Ipoh, I will typically clock more than 1,200km each trip.  I usually drive to Ipoh during the Chinese New Year (CNY) period for a short break. This year, CNY was in January. But I could not make the trip due to work commitments. However, in many ways, driving to Malaysia from Singapore during the so-called off-peak periods has many advantages. The main perk, less traffic congestions at the land border crossing. There will also be less traffic along the way, which makes the drive a lot more enjoyable. And in Ipoh, less crowd everywhere, from the restaurants to the cafes.  Looking forward to enjoying my annual road trip and the delicious food in Ipoh. And also, my favourite fruit, Durians! 😀😁  Duria...

With the blink of an eye, the year 2022 is history, 2023 is the present and 2024 is the immediate beyond.  2022 will be remembered as the year when international travel was allowed to resume, the year when supply chains were the main talking points of economists, logisticians and politicians alike, and also the year when the world suddenly becomes a lot more unfriendly. On a more personal note, I started leisure travel again in  May 2022 and completed a total of six trips for the year. Not revenge travel to compensate for my hermit lifestyle in 2020 and 2021 but merely seizing the chance to explore the world again and reconnect with relatives and friends living in other parts of the world. The last two months of the year had been tough for me. In the middle of October, I had stupidly took on a full-time appointment. Saddled with sisyphean tasks that even the legendary Hercules himself will be hard pressed to fulfil, I decide to throw in the towel, raise the white flag and retu...

  " Travel whenever you can, Choose your journeys, Live your adventures, Write your story. " - Timothy Tan, tankstraveltales Port Klang, Klang, Selangor, Malaysia (2022)

Clocking my fourth trip of 2022, I visited Kuala Lumpur from 5th to 9th August. This trip was originally scheduled for March 2022 but I had to postpone it back then due to a myriad of reasons.  This trip marked the first time I travelled from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur by flight. I had travelled by bus between these two cities during all my previous visits and I am likely to continue the bus journeys for future trips to Kuala Lumpur. Air tickets are no longer cheap! 😂 During the trip, I met up with relatives and we spent time together, having meals and enjoying some local sightseeing and shopping. The five days that I spent in Kuala Lumpur passed by pretty fast; probably because I was enjoying the trip. While going around town for sightseeing and shopping, I noticed that the crowds were similar to those I saw in my previous visits prior to 2020. It felt good to see people out and about again, resuming their normal life.  My next trip destination is Bali in October of this year...

On a recent trip, I was at the Plaza Premium Lounge at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) waiting for my flight when I spotted this beautiful Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in its special livery featuring the Manchester City Football Club (MCFC). The rich blue colour combination made this aircraft literally stood out amongst all the others that were parked around it. What a beauty! Spotting this aircraft in-person was one of those rare occasions when a plane with special livery appeared right in front of my eyes. 😀 Etihad Boeing 787-9, with MCFC livery, reversing from the Boarding Gate, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (IATA: KUL, ICAO: WMKK), Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia (2022)

Sense of normality......  And so the first week of July saw me complete my third leisure trip of the year. Now, three short leisure trips in a year, undertaken within the same region where I live, is really nothing to shout about. But considering the myriad travel restrictions imposed in the past two plus years because of a global pandemic, three trips within three months certainly do count for something. Yes, the optimist in me will now dare to softly whisper that for leisure travel, we are slowly returning to a sense of normality. A photo to capture the memory of my first visit to the city, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia (2022) While there are still additional paperwork and administrative matters required before one can travel, these requirements have gradually been watered down by many national and regional authorities, such that they are now at acceptable levels, at least to me. Some inconveniences, but tolerable. I am glad to say that after my three short trips, I had now clocke...