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

After a whole day of walking, sightseeing, eating and shopping, my favourite way to wrap up a hectic vacation day is to relax with a warm cup of beverage.  In Busan, head to the Jeonpo Cafe Street. Packed with hip cafes offering a myriad of themes and different ways to enjoy one's favourite cup of coffee, this is a haven for coffee lovers like myself. Cafes at the famous Busan Cafe Street a.k.a. Jeonpo Cafe Street, Dongcheon-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea (2019) Getting There Jeonpo Cafe Street is easily accessible.  It is located just minutes walk from the Seomyeon Metro Station. Tips Walk around, soak in the cafe culture and atmosphere, choose a cafe that appeals to you most, head in, order you favourite roasts, grab a seat, relax and enjoy your cuppa. What if there are more than one cafes that catches you fancy? Easy solution. Patronise them all! A warm cup of my favourite roasts made my vacation day a much more enjoyable one, Jeonpo Cafe Street, Dongcheon-ro, Busanjin...

I took this photograph of an Asiana Airlines A330-323 plane at Incheon International Airport in November 2019 while walking to the boarding gates to board my flight from Seoul to Singapore with Singapore Airlines. I have never flew with Asiana before. Maybe I will get a chance to do so when I next visit South Korea. 😊 Asiana Airlines Airbus A330-323 at Incheon International Airport, Incheon, Seoul, South Korea (2019) Asiana Airlines Airbus A330-323 at Incheon International Airport, Incheon, Seoul, South Korea (2019)

Korea, Busan, Train Journey from Seoul Inspired by the first full-length Korean movie I ever watched; Train to Busan, I was excited to take the real train journey from the South Korean capital city of Seoul to Busan. While my short train ride of just under 3 hours was rather mundane compared to the adventures of the characters in the title movie, this was nevertheless still an exciting experience for me because that was the first time I ever took a train in South Korea. The trip was in November 2019. ****************** The Korean movie, Train to Busan , largely served as the inspiration for my decision to fly to Seoul instead of Busan even though the main destination of my vacation trip was Busan. I chose to experience a train journey from Seoul to Busan and to enjoy the scenery of South Korea as part of my rail trip because the rail line passes through other major South Korean cities such as Suwon, Daejon, Daegu and Ulsan. High Speed Train a...

Staying in and not traveling an inch out of my home city for 27 months and counting, I have been indulging myself in "virtual traveling" through television shows and cable streaming programmes. Watching Korean travel and variety shows constantly over the past two-plus years has taught me much about Korean culture and food. Of course, I love Korean food, especially the spicy variety topped with lot and lots of chilli and kimchi. When I resume my leisure travels, I will definitely be visiting Korea again. I am already eyeing repeat visits to my favourite Korean city of Busan. And when I do return to Busan, kimchi will definitely be on my dining menu, for all 3 meals each day, every day of my trip! Kimchi at a local morning market, Gwangan-dong, Suyeong District, Busan, South Korea (2019)

The Sungnyemun Gate is one of the 8 Gates of the Fortress Wall of Seoul during the Joseon Dynasty (July 1392 to October 1897). Its location is near to the Seoul Station, next to the Namdaemun Market. Its exact address is: 40 Sejong-daero, Namdaemunno 4(sa)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Designated as a National Treasure of South Korea, the gate was first built during the reign of King Taejon in the year 1398.  On a trip to Seoul in November 2019, I stayed at a nearby hotel and took the opportunity to walk out late at night to photograph this iconic structure. As it was close to midnight, there was almost no one on the streets and I had unrestricted views of the Sungnyemun Gate, by just standing across the street. This was one of the photographs I took. Canon EOS70D, 27mm, f4, 1/40 Sungnyemun Gate,  Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea (2019)

I am sure all of us will remember some of our outings or excursions when we were kids. To take time out, leave the boring four walls of the classroom behind and to venture into the outdoors. The excitement of a day out with our classmates and friends to explore new experiences and learn new things. Those were the good old days. While visiting the Bank of Korea Money Museum, I chanced upon this scene of kids crowding around an exhibit, excited and eager to learn. Sensing a photo opportunity, I took this photo with my DSLR. I like that this photograph showed the kids with their inquisitive nature crowding around the exhibit. Even with their backs to the camera, their excitement at seeing something new were still clearly "visible". Day at the Museum, Bank of Korea Money Museum, Seoul, South Korea (2019)

We all are familiar with and have come to expect condiments to be provided as part of our dining experience in a restaurant or eatery. This has somehow become standard practice almost everywhere in the world, from large metropolis such as London and Bangkok to villages nestled along the trekking routes of the Annapurna Region and the foothills of Ubud. However, the amount of dining condiments provided vary widely. From simple bottles of pepper and salt shakers to a small saucer of ketchup. But when dining out in South Korea, expect the unexpected when it comes to the amount of condiments provided by the eatery. When eating out during my trips to South Korea, I was always pleasantly surprised and confounded by the mind-boggling array of condiments laid out before me. Of course, I enjoyed every single one of these condiments. This is one of the main reasons why I enjoy dining out whenever I was in Seoul, Busan or any other Korean cities. A mind-boggling array of condiments accompanying a...

Traveling is always fun, even when strolling in malls. During my most recent trip to Busan in November 2019, I came across this very colourful and beautiful wall painting of characters from Line Friends. I was not exactly looking for something so beautiful and interesting. Rather, I was looking for the washroom after having lunch at a mall when I came across this wall art just beside the washroom. The lively portrayal of the Line Characters simply brightened my already happy day. I just could not resist the urge to snap a couple of photographs to share with friends on my social media account. And here is one of those photographs. Wall art in  mall, Bujeon-dong, Busanjin District, Busan, South Korea (2019)

While shopping in the Myeongdong area during a trip to Seoul, I was told by a fellow tourist that there was an evening light festival at the nearby Cheonggyecheon Stream (a.k.a. Cheonggye Stream). Because I had the evening free of any planned itinerary, I decided to take a stroll to Cheonggyecheon, treating the trip on foot as a walking tour of the area. When I arrived at Cheonggyecheon, I was not disappointed. There was indeed a splendid light festival on-going. Moving amongst the crowd, I walked along the stream and marvelled at the beautiful displays of lanterns and lighted figurines.  As it was raining, I had to juggle my umbrella together with my DSLR whilst jostling with the crowd. But I still managed to take some photographs of the festival before the eventual heavy downpour forced me to pack up my DSLR and seek shelter from the weather. Evening light festival,  Cheonggyecheon Stream, Seoul, South Korea (2019) Evening light festival,  Cheonggye...

2019 Travel Review....... The year began slowly in travel terms for me. I started off 2019 with a short trip to Hong Kong in January. The trip was a combination of work and vacation. While in Hong Kong, I delighted in dinning on my favourite local food including freshly baked egg tarts, fermented tofu, fishball noodles, wonton noodles and the all-time Hong Kong speciality of Dim Sum . Apart from work, after office hours were spent shopping for my favourite Lego sets because these could usually be bought at cheaper prices in Hong Kong than when back home in Singapore. Mall decorations at Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong SAR, China (2019) February saw me travelling on a road trip to Ipoh, state capital of Perak in Malaysia. This had been my usual routine every year to celebrate the Chinese New Year holidays. And when I was in Ipoh, the local food as always, delighted my palate. A side trip from Ipoh to Cameron Highlands in the neighbouring Malaysian state of Pahang meant ...

It was late morning when I arrived at the market. After spending a good part of the previous night chilling out at the many cafes in town, I had woken up later than usual in the morning and had my breakfast at the hotel before sashaying out of my room into the glaring sun-lit street to start my sight-seeing of Busan.  My first stop for the day was the market. I enjoyed going to the markets in every city I visited. Always mindful not to get in the way of the locals going about their businesses at these markets, I made it a point to be as non intrusive as possible. For a start, that meant leaving my DSLR camera in my backpack. Out came my cellphone, discreetly recording my visit to the market and never directly filming or photographing anyone without their expressed permission. Morning market in Gwangan-dong, Suyeong District, Busan,  South  Korea (2019) But instead of just sight-seeing, my trip to the market in Busan had a purpose. I was there to buy kimchi ...

"Live to travel, travel to live "  - KTX Onboard Magazine, November 2019 Issue KTX Onboard Magazine in the seat pocket, Seoul to Busan Service, South Korea (Nov 2019)

“Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times” Sculpture at a Temple, Gangnam-gu, Seoul,  South  Korea (2011)