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

Visiting Japan in Autumn......  Two months ago, I was writing in my Travel Bits series about travels becoming more expensive by the day, week, month and year. I also wrote about constantly scouring the internet for deals on air tickets and accommodation.  During one of these searches, I managed to score a good deal on a return-air ticket from Singapore to Tokyo. And because I had been on the lookout for such deals for the past half year, I knew a good deal when I saw one. Without any hesitation, I booked and paid for my air ticket. A day later, that same return air ticket to the same destination on the same outbound and inbound flight dates and times, had changed, It was 15% more expensive than what I had just paid a day ago. Today, two weeks later, I checked again for the same flights and the prices have now gone up  by close to 30% from what I had paid. For folks like myself with a limited travel budget to work on, the 30% price difference can make or break a trip....

Japan, Gifu Prefecture, Okuhida The original article was first published in this blog in June 2020.  I am a firm believer that trekking, hiking or going about on foot are among the best ways to explore and experience a destination. Taking time out to explore a place on foot allows me to see more, feel more and enjoy more of a place than any other travel alternatives such as sight-seeing from a tour bus, car, tram, train or any other modes of transportation. Thus, whenever possible, I will always go on foot to explore a place that I am visiting. This article featured a personal bucket list travel item when I went hiking on trails around Okuhida during a stay at a wonderful local ryokan (traditional family-run Japanese inn) during a trip to Takayama.  ****************** Hiking on foot when we travel has many advantages. We get to see and experience stuff that would otherwise bypass us if we are in a vehicle or some other form of transport. Hiking trail, ...

Hiking on foot when we travel has many advantages. We get to see and experience stuff that would otherwise bypass us if we are in a vehicle or some other form of transport. While hiking in the Okuhida region of Takayama, I enjoyed the sights of many beautiful wild flowers and plants. Following a stream which eventually joined with other streams to turn into a river, I spent almost an entire day just admiring, sketching and photographing the flora of the area. Because it was autumn during my hike, the pleasant weather and temperature made the hike a lot more comfortable.  Wild flowers encountered during my hike, Okuhida, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014) And of course, I was never far from civilisation as the small clusters of village houses and scattered plots of small vegetable farms were always within sight. Yet, I was alone to enjoy the beauty of nature. I could hear the waters flowing in the stream, birds sing and insects chirping. Armed with my small sketc...

"We travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us."  -  Anonymous Hiking trail, Okuhida, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014)

" For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilisation, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints.” ―  Robert Louis Stevenson Pebbled bank of a freshwater stream in Okuhida, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014)

When I travel, I have always enjoy staying in rural areas which are off the beaten track. During my trip to the mountains of Takayama in Okuhida in the autumn of 2014, I had to travel from Tokyo all the way to my destination. The travel alone took up an entire day of my itinerary. Of course, the travelling was a sight-seeing adventure all by itself as the scenery changed from the crowded cityscape of Tokyo to the rural and mountains terrain of Hida-Takayama. Locally-grown crops, Okuhida, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014) Prior to my arrival in Japan, I worked out the travel itinerary from travel guides and tried it out  for the first time when I landed in Tokyo. Not all the information that I had gathered from the guides were accurate and I had to make minor adjustments along the way with some help in direction finding from the locals. That was the fun part of the trip and I must admit that I did get lost along the way before I eventually arrived at the family-run ...

Pros and cons of group and solo trips....... I don't usually travel with friends not because I am an introvert But I personally prefer a more easy going style of travel where visiting each and every tourist attraction is not a must-do item for every location or city I travel to. I also enjoy a more laid back attitude when it comes to travelling where I take my time to enjoy the place, the culture and the locals instead of basing my daily plans on lists compiled from travel guides and magazines. Traveling with friends or in a group require that we put aside these personal preferences and go with the majority decision where itineraries are concern.  The Author, Timothy on a solo hike in the mountains, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014) However, I do travel with friends whenever the opportunity present itself. And I do enjoy these trips. In short, traveling solo or with friends both have their pros and cons. And for certain trips, traveling with friends or in a group...