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

December has always been the month when I feel like traveling. If I cannot afford to travel further due to time and budget, I always try to squeeze in a regional trip. Living in Singapore, I am blessed with being located in a region where great travel destinations are plentiful. One of my favourite destination for a short getaway is Bali. Only about two-hour by flight from Singapore, I can simply jet away for a short vacation during the year-end festive period. This was what I did in December 2023 when I traveled to Bali, staying at Jimbaran Bay and Ubud during my 6-day trip. A relaxing evening at the beach, Jimbaran Bay, Bali, Indonesia (2023) At Jimbaran Bay, I chose to stay at the Intercontinental Jimbaran Bay, where I got to enjoy sumptuous buffet breakfasts, great dinners by the beach and of course, relaxing with a good book in and around the lush resort hotel. I also took the time to catch up on my writings. And of course, work was never far away and my hideaway to answer work em...

I visited the city of Kumamoto for the first time in August 2023 as part of a port visit by the cruise ship I was sailing on, Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas. The cruise's itinerary was to take passengers from Yokohama to Singapore, sailing in a south, south-easterly direction, whilst visiting some ports along the way. The original port visits in the southern parts of Japan were Shimizu and Osaka. But these 2 port visits were cancelled due to inclement weather because of a nearby typhoon. It was summer in Japan in August and the typhoon season was in town, literally and figuratively. The cruise company subsequently decided to add Kumamoto as a port visit to the itinerary to compensate for the lost of the the 2 cancelled port visits. Weather conditions are part of the forces of nature and I appreciated the cruise company's decision making discretion to ensure that all passengers had a safe and enjoyable trip. Thus, I was not upset at the lost of 2 port visits. Moreove...

Despite being a frequent visitor to Bali, I had previously only been to Ubud once. Yes, just once. Thus, when I traveled to Bali in December 2023, I decided that I wanted to visit Ubud. This was only my second time visiting Ubud in more than 10 previous vacations trips to Bali over the years. Religious festival; this photograph was taken with a zoom lens because I was observing from a distance, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia (2023) A simple day trip to Ubud will not suffice for me. I wanted to immerse myself in the vibes of Ubud. I also wanted to do walking trips around the vicinity of the hotel I was staying in. To explore the area, observe the local lifestyles and better understand the local culture unique not just to Bali, but also to Ubud. Located north of Denpasar, Ubud is well known as the centre for traditional crafts. It is surrounded by rainforests and padi fields are everywhere in the area. Some of these can be beautiful terraced fields while others may just be a small plot of land wh...

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...

A short stopover on my cruise in August 2023 saw me visiting Nha Trang for the first time. Because of the relatively short time we had before we need to return to the ship, I did not venture into the city itself. Viewed from offshore onboard the ship, the city seems huge with lots of sprawling skyscrapers. Unfortunately, I did not get to explore the city to experience its hustle and bustle. My brief few hours on shore was really nothing to shout about. Going ashore on tender boats, we landed in a rather obscure location with only a few local shops in the area. Getting to the city will require a taxi ride and I figured that was not going to be worth the effort and hassle because I had less than 4 hours onshore. This was partly due to my own fault because while the first tender boats started bringing passengers from ship to shore at 8.30am, I had chose to go ashore only around 11am. The last tender boat was scheduled to depart for the cruise ship at 3.15pm. Thus, my brief couple of hours...

My cruise in August 2023 had a stopover in Kagoshima. This was the last port call in Japan before the cruise ship officially leaves Japan for international waters to travel to China's Hong Kong. Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Japan (2023) In accordance to immigration procedures, all passengers on the cruise had to disembark for Japanese immigration and customs clearance at this last port of call in the country. Taking advantage of the hours we had while the cruise ship was in port, most passengers including myself took the chance to visit Kagoshima city itself. However, I did not join many of my fellow passengers to take the JR Train into the city centre. Instead, I spent my time shopping and dining at the malls that were within walking distance of the port. Yes, there are many malls within walking distance. And I was not disappointed. I managed to buy a good quality Made-in-Japan fishing reel and some clothing items.  The cruise ship, Spectrum of the Seas was docked within walking distance...

Slightly more than two decades after my first visit to Ho Chi Minh City, I finally returned for a second visit when my cruise ship made a port call at nearby Phú Mỹ in August 2023.  Vibrant as usual, the city has certainly grown a lot since my first visit. There are now a lot more large towering office complexes and modern residential homes. More importantly for visitors like myself, delicious food are everywhere. During my short few hours onshore, I managed to dine on my favourite Pho noodles, sight-see, took selfies to commemorate my trip and enjoyed a quick ride through Chinatown on my tour coach. I also visited favourite touristy sites like the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Saigon Central Post Office and the Reunification Palace (a.k.a. Independence Palace, Reunification Convention Hall). Skyscrapers, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2023) Pho, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2023) Pho side dish, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2023) Vietnamese Coffee, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2023)