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

After a very good dinner, I was window shopping in Sha Tin's New Town Plaza when I discovered a beautiful rooftop garden. While the rooftop garden is beautiful, I find the view from this vantage point even more awesome. High hills with residential buildings in the background and children playground in the front, both nicely illuminated by man-made neon lights as well as the fading natural light from the dusk sky.  A photo opportunity that I simply could not resist. Rooftop garden with an awesome view, New Town Plaza, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China (2025)

Angkor Wat and its archeological sites are steeped in history, religion and culture. Any visitors, will be in awe of all that Angkor Wat has to offer. While one may prefer to look at Angkor Wat from either a historical, religious, cultural, scholastic or scientific angle, but all will certainly agree that this is not simply a collection of archeological sites but a lot more.  In this photograph taken with my DSLR camera from a distance away, two young monks took in the sights, cameras in hand to record the magnificent beauty of Angkor Wat. Monks, Angkor Wat, Angkor National Park , Cambodia (2022)

Most visitors to Cambodia's famed Angkor National Park are interested in its archeological sites, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom as well as many others. But for locals, sometimes, it was the natural surroundings of the sites that drew their interests. I was visiting Angkor Wat on my second trip to the Angkor National Park in 2022 when I caught sight of these two local kids admiring flowers on a tree.  From quite a distance away, I lifted my DSLR camera and zoomed in for a close-up photo of this magical moment.  Kids admiring flowers on a tree, Angkor Wat, Angkor National Park, Cambodia (2022)

I am always fascinated by fishing boats and often wondered about how life is for those who work on fishing boats.  While in Benoa , I chanced upon a fishing port . Rows and rows of fishing boats were in port, some with friendly fishermen onboard who waved and shouted warm greetings as I walked along the pier . Returning the kind gestures, I waved back and said "hello" in return. Of course, these fishing boats are rather photogenic. Here's one of the many photographs I took of the fishing boats I saw that day. 🐟 Fishing Boats, Benoa Fishing Port , Bali , Indonesia (2025)

While on a short trip to Lembar in the Indonesian island of Lombok , I saw these simple contraptions out at sea. They appeared to be fish traps to me. Of course, they could also be small floating fish farms .  I took this photo because to me, these structures out at sea made for a rather photogenic subject. With the green hills, shoreline and the small village huts in the background, this is a beautiful and idyllic setting for a fishing village scene. Fishing village, Lembar, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara , Indonesia (2025)

Often, when we travel, we will come across sceneries or structures where we just could not stop ourselves from taking that photograph as a memento. During a stopover while on my train journey through South-East Asia in June 2024, I came across this giant coffee cup at the Antong Coffee Mill in Taiping . Upon setting my eyes on this "giant", I told myself I simply had to have a photograph taken with the cup! And thus, many photographs of myself and the giant cup were taken. Photo opportunities not to be missed! Here are two of these photos for sharing. Giant Coffee Cup , Antong Coffee Mill, Taiping, Perak , Malaysia (2024) Giant Coffee Cup, Antong Coffee Mill, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia (2024)

From the balcony of my hotel room at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, I saw Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas leaving port enroute to Thailand's Phuket on the night of 3 December 2024 . The colourful lights of the cruise ship and its reflections in the pitch black water of the night was a delightful sight to behold. A rare photo moment that I just could not miss. 📸 Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas leaving port, Georgeotown, Penang, Malaysia (2024)