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

Travel Assurance......  Read in the news that there had been an earthquake in Japan's southern region with the relevant authorities warning of a major (or should it be mega?) earthquake to be wary of. Of course, the probably of such an event is very low and the timing is anyone's guess, even if it happens. After all, no one can accurately predict the timing and scale of earthquakes or any natural disasters despite the advancement of science.  Of course, I am not panicking despite that I have a booked trip to Japan in end-October. But I do think that being cautious and not taking things for granted do go a long way to be prepared if and when any unforeseen events occur, however unlikely. I therefore decided to increase my travel insurance coverage for the trip, paying more just to have a better peace of mind. For my Penang trip in December, which I consider to be low risk due to the geography, I bought only the basic insurance coverage.  On a recent backpacking trip via train jo

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 ryok