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

Cambodia, Siem Reap, Solitude at Angkor Archeological Park This article was previously published in this blog in May 2022. Written as an article in my series of Post-Trip Recollections Series, this trip was for me in every way a bucket list travel item in a very unique way. Why? Because it was my first time taking an airplane in almost 3 years. Mid-2022 was the period when worldwide travel restrictions imposed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic was slowly being lifted. I also wanted to use this chance to re-visit the Angkor  Archeological  Park. Usually crowded with tourists pre-pandemic, I thought then that it was my chance to re-visit Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, without the crowds. Having more time to study the historical archeological artefacts at my own leisure would be an amazing experience.  And I was right. Compared with my previous visit to these same sites, this visit allowed me much time to slowly walked through the site...

Singapore, Tanglin, Singapore Botanic Gardens -  UNESCO World Heritage Site Singapore is a small city-state where land scarcity is a perpetual issue. However, in the midsts of all the buildings and structures of concrete and glass, city planners somehow managed to find space for beautiful gardens and reserved primary and secondary forests. The Singapore Botanic Gardens is one such place and is amazingly located right in the fringe of town. Flanked by foreign embassies on one side, a busy and world renowned shopping stretch on the other, a hospital on another side and private landed bungalows along much of its perimeter, this tropical oasis of a garden took pride of place right next to a bustling world city. Swan Sculpture in the middle of a lake within the Gardens' grounds, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Tanglin, Singapore (2023) Growing up, visiting the Gardens were a fairly regular activity for me, from school excursions to family outings during festive periods. I always loved these ...

When I traveled to Siem Reap in May 2022 to visit the famous archeological and historical sites at the Angkor National Park, I found the place fairly deserted of international tourists. This was in start contrasts to my first trip there in 2015 where the whole area were basically swarming with lots of visitors, most of whom had travelled there internationally. Seizing upon this rare opportunity, I had a great time photographing the temples at the sites, including closeups photographs of the many intricate and stunning wall carvings, paintings and sculptures that had stood for centuries. For me, one of the most impressive sites at the Angkor National Park is the Baphuon Temple. Built sometime in the 11th century by Suryavarman I, Baphuon was originally dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. If one exits the temple at its west side and goes further back, an impressive sculpture of a reclining Buddha measuring approximately 9 metres by 70 metres can be seen. According to historians, this recli...

  "Let your wanderlust take hold and bring yourself to places unknown....... " - Timothy Tan, tankstraveltales Stairs, Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia (2017)

    Alight from the train am I, Into a land of bygones past, Walk the streets alone am I, Into eras of glories past. Marvels fill my brain, Flights of fantasies within, Thoughts flow like trains, Imaginations like fountains spring.  This, my journey begins, Air of excitement reigns, That, my adventure ends, A road well worth the time. - Journeys , an original poem by Timothy Tan, tankstraveltales On my second trip to Angkor Wat, Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia (2022)

Nothing is more magnificent than the sight of historical monuments which are testament to past civilisations. These monuments are living evidence of the history, culture, arts, science, knowledge, politics, religion and more of people who, collectively with other civilisations across the world and across the ages, form the basis of humankind and its evolutionary history.  Located near Siem Reap in north-eastern Cambodia, historical Angkor Wat is the largest religious temple complex in the world based on land area. Built in the early 12th century, Angkor was originally constructed as a dedication to the Hindu god, Vishnu. Towards the later part of that century, the temple complex was converted to a  Buddhist temple.  In 1992, the Angkor Archeological Park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the 16th Session of the UNECSO World Heritage Committee. Angkor Archeological Park includes Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.  Angkor Wat Temple Complex, Angkor Wat, Angkor ...

Mount Kinabalu, Kinabalu National Park, Sabah, Malaysia -  UNESCO World Heritage Site This was a previous article written by myself and posted in this travelogue blog in September 2014. Mount Kinabalu is located in the island of Borneo and is South East Asia's highest peak at 4,095.2 meters (13,436 ft) above sea level.  ****************** Note from the  Author : Unlike my other older travel articles on my visits to cities, Mount Kinabalu has probably not changed much over the years. Thus, what I experienced on my trek up this mountain in Dec 2000, is also likely to be what anyone who is ascending the summit today will experience.  My first encounters with moutains were in Nepal in 1998 while I was trekking around the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. I also clocked my first peaks there and the highest of these peaks were at altitudes of 3,600 to 3,800 meters (11,811 to 12,467 ft). More than two years later on Christmas Eve of December 2000, I was at the fo...

Visiting sites of ancient and past civilisations is a fascinating journey into the history of humankind. From these sites and the artefacts found there, we gained insights into how people of the past lived and worked.  In the ancient ruins of Angkor Thom, I came face-to-face, literally, with hundreds of smiling stone faces. Said by some to represent the bodhisattva of compassion Avalokitesvara (or Lokesvara), the 216 stone faces engraved onto the towers of Bayon stood smiling serenely, as they had for more than 700 years, silent witness to the history of humankind. Bayon was built as the Buddhist temple of the Khmer at Angkor Thom. Located near present-day Siem Reap, Angkor Thom was the capital of King Jayavarman VII.  Infused with both historical and mythological wonder, Angkor Thom is one of the most visited sites for visitors to Siem Reap. And when one mentions Angkor Thom, the images of Bayon will undoubtedly flashed through the minds of almost everyone who had visited thi...

Finland & Estonia, Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea The ocean has more often than not, invoked a sense of romance (travel-wise) for me. And for someone who was born and grew up in a part of the world near the equator and in South-East Asia, the northern seas of Europe are often seen as exotic and exciting. Thus, when I was planning a trip to Finland for spring of 2017, I just could not resist including a short sailing trip across the Baltic Sea, just for that personal vanity of checking off another item on my travel bucket list. Besides the bucket list tick, of course I did get to visit Estonia as well and walked on the famed cobblestone streets of Tallinn's Old Town, another item on my bucket list! To be honest, I did not actually get to sail right across a large swathe of the Baltic Sea, but only that tiny fraction from Helsinki to Tallinn across the Gulf of Finland to be be exact. But because the Gulf of Finland is technically classified as the easternmost part of the Baltic Sea,...

Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Izu Peninsula Geopark - UNESCO Global Geopark After a sumptuous breakfast at a local Ryokan in the hot spring resort town of Ito, we packed our stuff, checked out of our accommodation and drove to our next intended destination, the Izu Peninsula Geopark.    Visitors to the Geopark crossing the Kadowaki Cape Suspension Bridge, Izu Peninsula Geopark, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan (2017)   Designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark, the Izu Peninsula Geopark spreads over a large area on this peninsula located in the south-eastern of the main island of Honshu. The Izu Peninsula is the only part of Honshu that geographically sits on the Philippine Sea Tectonic Plate. The peninsula itself has been constantly shaped and re-shaped due to the geographical shifting of the tectonic plate on which it sits on. These constant volcanic activities and tectonic plate movements account for the abundance of natural hot springs that are found in the peninsul...

Reminiscing my past travel trips and looking back at some of the photographs I took during these trips, I came across this photograph of a polite queue of visitors. The folks seen in this photo were all waiting patiently in line for a photograph of themselves with the Floating Torii Gate of Itsukushima Shrine to commemorate their trip to Miyajima (a.k.a Itsukushima). And why shouldn't they? After all, this is considered one of the three best views of Japan. Partaking in the fun, I joined the queue soon after I took this photograph. And I was rewarded with that memorable picture of myself with the Floating Torii Gate. :-) Queuing for  a photograph with the Floating Torii Gate of Itsukushima Shrine, Itsukushima, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima  Prefecture, Japan (2019)