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

Many of my most memorable travel experiences were not borne out of planned itineraries or recommendations from travel guides. Instead, these experiences were from unplanned side trips. An example of this was when inclement weather forced me to cancel a planned trip to Rottnest Island.  After speaking to some locals at Sorento Quay, I decided to drive slightly more than 120km from Perth to New Norcia. On arrival, I was enchanted by the old monastery town. Prior to arriving at New Norcia, I had no idea this place even existed. But there I was, at New Norcia, totally unplanned but yet enjoying the experience no less. Souvenirs  that I bought at the gift shop stayed with me, several years after that visit. These included a rosary which I had placed at the dashboard of my car and some beautiful postcards which I still kept. Mementos from a memorable side trip. And of course, there were lots of digital memories from the photographs of this enchanting and serene monastery town, taken...

Australia, Western Australia, Great Northern Highway I lived in a city state that measures approximately 50km from east to west and 17km from north to south. There are thus no country roads to speak of where I could drive and  drive to enjoy the pleasures of solitude. The longest drive that is geographically near to my city is the neighbouring country of Malaysia where the North-South Highway stretches from the southern state of Johor to the northern state of Kedah, a distance of about 772km. I often embarked on long drives along this route to travel from Singapore to Ipoh (capital city of the Malaysian state of Perak). The distance each way is about 550km (as measured by my car's distance tracker). But the North-South Highway is a relatively busy stretch of road and while the route passed by large swathes of palm tree plantations, this is definitely no country road by my personal definition. The opportunity for me to drive on a lonely country road finally arrived wh...

For medium and short haul flights as well as flying in the premium cabins on long haul flights, I typically prefer to have a window seat. The reason being that I could have great views of the sky from the sky! And this totally beat the inconveniences usually associated with a window seat such when having to leave your seat for the washroom or when there was a need to stretch the legs during those long flights. Like most avid travelers, I am currently grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Border closures being the primary culprit for me being stuck in my home city. But being grounded also gave me the time to go through many of the photographs I took on my past trips. While digitally archiving the photographs of my previous trips, I came across these photographs I took from my window seat while flying over the Western Australian region of Gascoyne on my way home from Perth to Singapore during a trip in 2018. From the real-time flight route map, I had recorded in my journal that these ph...

Everybody can probably agree that travelling provide us with the opportunities to see and experience new things. One of these new experiences is street art. I am sure we have all seen street art before, both at home and abroad. But just when I thought I had seen most forms of street art that the mind can imagine, I was in for a pleasant surprise. When I visited Fremantle in June 2018, the street art that I saw was a whole new level. Basically, the whole street was one gigantic artwork!  And the artwork became more gorgeous as the elevation that I viewed it from increased. I climbed a flight of stairs to a vantage point, just to take in the whole perspective that this piece of artwork was meant to be. And I was not disappointed. Street Art, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia (2018)

On a friend's recommendation, I decided to visit the Sorrento Quay Boardwalk for dinner as one of my itinerary items while visiting Perth. Arriving on a rainy June afternoon, I drove into the huge car park at Sorento Quay. Along the way, I noticed a number of leisure fishermen trying to get bites on their lines along the many breakwaters that lined the coast. The many small boats and yachts berthed  at the harbour,  Hillarys Boat Harbour,  Perth, Western Australia, Australia (2018) Located at Hillarys Boat Harbour, there are many shopping and dining outlets at Sorrento Quay. As I was early for dinner, I had a perfect excuse to shop at the many retail shops. My memorable purchases here include a very beautiful lava crystal candle holder.  Entrance to Sorrento Quay,  Hillarys Boat Harbour,  Perth, Western Australia, Australia (2018) Venturing in the light rain out into the boardwalk area, I discovered that one can purchase tickets and...

Travelling at your own pace....... Apart from business trips where are usually characterised by fixed timelines for flights and strict agendas to adhere to, I always love to take it slow and easy at my own pace whenever I travel on personal vacations. For this reason, I typically prefer not to travel with a large group on vacation. A smaller travelling party allows me to adjust the pace of the trip and to modify the itineraries as and when needed. Solo travelling of course means I have only to seek agreement with myself for any changes in travel plans. My vacation trips are usually loosely based on a simple itinerary which only outlines the flights I am taking and the cities I will be visiting. Apart from these, the daily itineraries for the whole travel period are not decided upfront. I usually decide where to go and the sights to explore on the day itself. This flexibility is especially useful when unexpected travel road blocks crop up such as inclement weather. When I w...

The setting sun in the back drop of the sea that extends into the horizon typically evokes a sense of vastness to me. It makes me realise how small I am in the vast expanse of the sea and the world. Since young, I had often stood on a beach or a jetty and stared right out into the horizon as the sun set, contemplating what life was, is and will be like out there. This photograph was taken at Cottesloe Beach in the western suburb of Perth as the sun sets over the sea. The ship in the distance provided perspective to the overall picture. Setting sun over the sea, Cottesloe Beach, Perth, West Australia, Australia (2018)

Having mobile phones with good cameras provide us with the opportunity to take interesting photographs whether we are at home, at work or traveling. The convenience that comes with taking photographs with our mobile phones means we are unlikely to miss out on those good photo opportunities wherever we are. While strolling along the beach on a nice afternoon at Fremantle, I came across this group of children playing and enjoying themselves during a day out in the sun. With my mobile phone, I zoomed in and took this photograph. The innocence of childhood captured in the photo brought back memories of my own childhood and set me on an introspective mood. Children playing at the beach, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia (2018)

2018 Travel Review....... In 2018, I did not travel as much as I wanted due to work commitments. Compared to the preceding year of 2017, I traveled a lot less. Nevertheless, I still managed to clock some amazing personal trips and got to visit many places for the first time. These included the cities of Moriyama, Omnihachiman and Takashima in Japan's Shiga Prefecture and also Perth and its surrounding areas in Western Australia. I also got to visit Indonesia's beautiful island of Bali for the first time in 2 years as well as my favourite and usual destination cities of Hong Kong and Taipei. And all these trips within a year in which I was supposedly "grounded" in my home city because of work!  Fireworks over the harbour to celebrate Western Australia Day on the night of 3 June 2018, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia (2018) My travel in Shiga in April 2018 was amongst one of the best trips I had ever taken. The itinerary was intentionally p...

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...

One of the things I enjoyed the most when travelling is to spend time in local cafes and eateries enjoying a breakfast or supper while watching the world goes by.  While visiting Perth in June 2018, I had the chance to self-drive to one of its suburbs, Guilford. Known for its buildings with colonial style architecture, Guildford is easily reachable from Perth. It is just a 25-minute leisurely drive away.  I had breakfast at a local cafe, tucking into my meal as I sat watching and enjoying the relatively slower-paced of life in the suburbs.  My simple breakfast of toast, egg, mushrooms and asparagus, Guildford, Perth, Western Australia Australia (2018) My usual cup of coffee, Guildford, Perth, Western Australia, Australia (2018) The small local cafe where I had my breakfast, Guildford, Perth, Western Australia, Australia (2018) Breakfast was followed by a leisurely stroll around the neighbourhood, taking in the fresh morning sunshine as I mar...