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

UK,  Scotland, Glasgow Time do fly indeed. This article was originally posted in this blog on 17th September 2014 describing my trip to Glasgow even further back by another 3 years, in 2011. This was my one and only trip to Glasgow.  During the trip, I had spent time exploring the city on foot, alone. Without any digital GPS-assisted map to guide me. Why? Because I was neither looking for anything nor going anywhere in particular. Thus, began my love for uncharted and unplanned walking trips around cities I travelled to. I often will spent a day or so, diving straight into parts of a city; walking, sightseeing, discovering and enjoying what the city has to offer. And hopefully, serendipitously chance upon a minor adventure or two that I can translate into a travel tale after the trip. And while on my little "adventures", maybe to tick off an item or two on my travel bucket list. ⛰ ****************** Glasgow..... The name of this famous city i...

UK, Scotland, Inverness, Mythical Glencoe This article was originally published in this blog in October 2017. This relatively short article was a reminisce of my first and only trip to Glencoe in 2011. ****************** The A82 is a major road that runs between the cities of Glasgow and Inverness in Scotland, UK. Famous landmarks that are located within close proximity to the A82 include Loch Lomond, Glencoe (a.k.a. Glen Coe) and Loch Ness.  Considered one of the most beautiful places in Scotland, Glencoe is surrounded by mountains in the east from the A82. The village of Glencoe is located at the foot of the valley. In Scotland, Glen usually refers to a long and deep valley with a watercourse running through it. Glencoe is named after the River Coe which runs through it. Scottish Highlands, Glencoe, Scotland, UK (2011) Passing by Glencoe on the A82 while travelling to Loch Ness from Glasgow, I listened attentively as my friendly Scottish guide shared the history of this...

Murals, when artistically and correctly placed, could add much character and colour to a location.  I have always appreciate well-designed and tastefully-coloured murals in all the cities I have visited. And this mural of a brightly-coloured and fiery tiger on a wall along the River Clyde was amazing. It brightened up an otherwise dull neighbourhood and somewhat added character and finesse to the locale. Tiger mural, River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK (2011)

United Kingdom, Scotland, Loch Ness Nessie, also known as the Loch Ness Monster is the legendary (or should it be mythical) creature that has fascinated me since I was a 9-year old when I first read about it in a magazine in my primary school library. From then on, I had believed in the truth and existence of Nessie. Well, I still do now. Just that, I also know that the myth of the creature is unlikely to be proven. Neither is it going away either. Thus, when I visited Scotland for the first time in 2011, my priority was to find a way to visit Loch Ness. Driving was not a very viable option as I was travelling alone. Thus, I decided on the easy way out by joining a day tour to Loch Ness from Glasgow. Reaching the famous Loch, I was extremely excited and fascinated as all those landmarks such as Urguhart Castle which I had seen countless times on books, magazines and the internet, materialised right in front of my very eyes. Finally, I had arrived at Loch Ness, home of Nessie...

After a day trip to Loch Ness, our small tour bus turned into the vicinity of beautiful Perthshire. While most members of my travelling party were more keened on a late lunch after spending the better part of the day visiting Glencoe and Loch Ness, my attention was more focused on the beautiful countryside. Lunch had to wait. As the group settled down for a hearty lunch, I opted for a quick sandwich and soon ventured off with my cameras to capture the beautiful moments of the surrounding picturesque fields. Wide open fields with bales of hay being prepared for the coming of winter, Perthshire, Scotland, UK (2011) Wide open rolling hills in the countryside never fail to enthral me. Growing up and living in a compact city of bricks and mortar, I have always love the countryside, with its wide open fields, trees,  wild birds, farm animals and such. On the day that I was in Perthshire, there were no singing birds and grazing farm animals to be seen. Probably because ...

Inspiration from Travel Programmes....... For most travellers, their typical travel itineraries will be planned around famous landmarks or icons. Some intrepid travellers will go further to explore the lesser known places, to experience things that the typical travellers will not get to enjoy. If we were to stay away from the famous landmarks and icons and instead ventured to explore the back alleys of the cities we had visited, what will be the kind of travel experiences that we will have encountered? Taking cues from some travel programmes which featured unexplored areas or back alleys of popular tourist destination cities, I had explored the suburban and back alleys of some of the cities I had visited. These included Nakano Ward of Tokyo which is just minutes away from crowded Shinjuku but seems like a world away when it comes down to ambience and crowd. A small shrine along the road, Nakano, Tokyo, Japan (2017) I had also travelled away from the city centre of G...