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

Singapore, Marina Bay, Marina Bay Sands, ArtScience Museum What counts as a bucket list item? For me, a bucket list item don't have to be something extraordinary. It can be something simple, something close to my heart. I do not have to climb the highest peak in the world or travel to the ends of the world to qualify a bucket list item; although those epic adventures would certainly have counted as not just bucket list items but special bucket list items! Bucket list items can be achieved closer to home, in one's own backyard or anywhere as long as it fulfils a special place in one's heart. ****************** Being a huge fan of the Star Wars franchise, I was naturally very excited when the "Star Wars Identities"  exhibition was staged in Singapore in the first half of this year. Needless to say, I made time to visit. Although I wish that there were more range and depth in the exhibits, I am still grateful that I was able to visit in person. Walking through the ex

Malaysia, Perak, Batu Gajah This previous post in this travelogue was first published on 13 February 2016. The trip was made earlier in the same month before the article's published date on this blog. Read on for a brief history of this supposedly haunted abandoned castle located in the midst of lush palm tree plantations. ****************** Despite the title, there is nothing really supernatural about this article. But the title is neither a tease nor click bait. There are indeed stories and rumours of ghostly apparitions being observed in and around this castle! As are often the cases in stories of most haunted castle / mansions, tales of the supernatural are typically intertwined with actual historical events and people. View of Kellie's Castle as seen through the camera lens of my iPhone 6s Plus as I circled the castle in an anticlockwise direction, Batu Gajah, Perak, Malaysia (2016) Kellie's Castle (or the ruins of what remains) is located in Perak State of Malaysia. B

How often do we take everyday sights and sounds for granted when we travel? An impressive building and architectural structure I saw and photographed while travelling on foot from Harrods to the London Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London, UK (2017) A mundane road, a bus ferrying passengers going about its daily routine, people sitting around chatting or resting and pedestrians passing by with shopping bags. Surely, these are sights and sounds that can be found in every country, city, town or neighbourhood.  Not exactly true. Because every place has its own unique sights and sounds. Yes, the flow of people and public transport or the grind of everyday life are structured to achieve the same aims; daily living. But the way each place achieves this is different. There is something unique about every place, even within the same neighbourhood, town, city or country. It is this uniqueness which gives every place an identity of its own.  As an example, London's Piccadilly Cir

Cambodia, Siem Reap, Tonl é  Sap This was a previous post in this travelogue. It is a chronology of photos based on a first person view of what I saw when sailing on the famed Tonl é  Sap lake. This was from my trip to Siem Reap in Oct 2015. ****************** The Tonl é  Sap is a huge freshwater lake that connects to the Mekong River via the Tonl é  Sap River. The Tonl é  Sap is unique in that its size varies widely throughout the year as the rainy and dry seasons come and go. The lake is at its largest size typically during the months of September and October due to the southwest monsoon. Conversely, it is generally at its smallest size at the end of the dry season in the month of April. The difference in the lake's size between these two extremes can be as much as six times. Photograph of the lake as my boat makes it way upriver,  Tonl é  Sap, Siem Reap, Cambodia (2015) Life on the lake,  Tonl é  Sap, Siem Reap, Cambodia (2015) The lake is home to many people. These folks live o