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

UK, Scotland, Inverness, Mythical Glencoe This article was originally published in this blog in October 2017. This relatively short article was a reminisce of my first and only trip to Glencoe in 2011. ****************** The A82 is a major road that runs between the cities of Glasgow and Inverness in Scotland, UK. Famous landmarks that are located within close proximity to the A82 include Loch Lomond, Glencoe (a.k.a. Glen Coe) and Loch Ness.  Considered one of the most beautiful places in Scotland, Glencoe is surrounded by mountains in the east from the A82. The village of Glencoe is located at the foot of the valley. In Scotland, Glen usually refers to a long and deep valley with a watercourse running through it. Glencoe is named after the River Coe which runs through it. Scottish Highlands, Glencoe, Scotland, UK (2011) Passing by Glencoe on the A82 while travelling to Loch Ness from Glasgow, I listened attentively as my friendly Scottish guide shared the history of this part of the H

It has been more than 5 years since I last visited London. There are many things that I missed about this city. From the great food, shopping, book stores, street scenes, parks and theatres to its tradition and culture. And of course, there are always that two major attractions for me in London, the Natural History Museum and the iconic British Museum. In all my trips to London, I had always spent time at these museums; marvelling at the displays, learning about its exhibits and getting enthralled by the richness of history. On each visit, there were always something new, something to learn, knowledge to gain and experiences to savour. I hope to be able to visit London again soon. And my first stop will undoubtedly be the British Museum. One of the iconic central pieces of the museum's exhibits that is always ready to greet each and every visitor who walk through its entrance, British Museum, London, England, United Kingdom (2017) 

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

Murals, when artistically and correctly placed, could add much character and colour to a location.  I have always appreciate well-designed and tastefully-coloured murals in all the cities I have visited. And this mural of a brightly-coloured and fiery tiger on a wall along the River Clyde was amazing. It brightened up an otherwise dull neighbourhood and somewhat added character and finesse to the locale. Tiger mural, River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK (2011)

London, England, United Kingdom I have always been fascinated with dinosaurs since I was a kid. Growing up, I would read lots of books and magazines about dinosaurs. I still do. :-) At public libraries or bookstores, any books or magazines about dinosaurs or with a dinosaur picture on its cover will made me stoped right in my tracks for a second look. Thus, when I fist visited London's Natural History Museum in 2011, I was thrilled. I spent an entire day at the museum, mostly at the dinosaur-section. From then on, every visit to London would not be complete for me without a trip to the Natural History Museum. Dinosaur exhibit, Natural History Museum, London, England, UK (2017) On each visit, I would spend the most time at the dinosaur exhibits. Over the years however, I have learned to appreciate and thus spent more time on the other exhibits such as the Earth Treasury (featuring minerals, gemstones and rocks), Volcanoes & Earthquakes (learning about the changing face of the pl

London, England, United Kingdom The West End is located north of the River Thames and as its name suggests, west of the city of London. Most of London's major tourist attractions and entertainment venues are found here. Watching musicals at the West End can fairly be said to be one of the most common entertainment experiences sought by tourists visiting London. And I was no different. However, I only managed to find the time to watch my first musical at the West End after numerous visits to London; although this was not the first musical I had watched, having attended performances of musicals back in my home city as well as in other cities around the world. But my first time watching a musical in the famous West End was only during my 8th visit to London and that musical was The Lion King . On subsequent visits to London, I caught performances of Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables amongst others. Posters featuring the Les Miserables musical at a West End theatre, London, Eng

United Kingdom, England, Wiltshire - UNESCO World Heritage Site Straight out of the history books and right before my eyes stood Stonehenge. That was what I experienced when I visited this neolithic era monument for the first time. Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England, UK (2011) It was the beginning of autumn in 2011 and the morning air was chilly at the site. Despite the cold, I bravely joined the crowd of visitors circling this prehistoric assembly of stones arranged in concentric rings, a monument both to its era and to the people who built it. Slowly observing and studying the site as my walk progressed, I compared what I had read and learned from books and documentaries to what stood before me. This allowed me to better appreciate the depth of the historical significance of the site. And no, I was no selfie-seeking tourist gunning for that breakout viral photo on social media. I was a student of history, at least for that brief moment in time. I remembered circlin

United Kingdom, Scotland, Loch Ness Nessie, also known as the Loch Ness Monster is the legendary (or should it be mythical) creature that has fascinated me since I was a 9-year old when I first read about it in a magazine in my primary school library. From then on, I had believed in the truth and existence of Nessie. Well, I still do now. Just that, I also know that the myth of the creature is unlikely to be proven. Neither is it going away either. Thus, when I visited Scotland for the first time in 2011, my priority was to find a way to visit Loch Ness. Driving was not a very viable option as I was travelling alone. Thus, I decided on the easy way out by joining a day tour to Loch Ness from Glasgow. Reaching the famous Loch, I was extremely excited and fascinated as all those landmarks such as Urguhart Castle which I had seen countless times on books, magazines and the internet, materialised right in front of my very eyes. Finally, I had arrived at Loch Ness, home of Nessie

It was my kind of typical laid-back trip to London, to watch musicals at the West End, dine on delicious food, shop and take in the sights and sights of the bustling capital city of the United Kingdom. I had just arrived in London from Glasgow and fresh from ticking off a major item in my bucket list which was to visit the famous Loch Ness. Sadly, I did not encounter Nessie during my trip to the famous Loch. Otherwise, that would have been a bigger tick off a huge item in my bucket list! But a tick off an item in my bucket list was still a tick, considering that my bucket list was a long list with very few ticks here and there.  Moment of Inspiration While deciding what to do with the 5 days that I had in London, it dawned upon me that I did not have to spend all 5 days wandering the streets of London. I could book short day trips to the surrounding areas. A quick check on the internet followed and Stonehenge surfaced at the top of the search list. A few quick clicks later

Buildings and their architecture typically tell us much about the history and culture of their cities. In London, I love the many different styles of building architectures that derived from the rich and varied history of the capital city of the United Kingdom. Taking photographs of these beautiful structures as digital mementos of my visits has always been a favourite activity whenever I visited London. During one of my recent visits, I passed by the iconic Harrods Building at Brompton Road. Instead of taking the usual full-frontal photograph of this beautiful building, I decided to add a slightly different  perspective to my photograph and tilted the angle of my shot slightly. The result is a different view of the building and one which I like a lot more compared to the usual front-and-centre composition. Harrods Building, Knightsbridge, London, England, UK (2017)

Located just next to the busy Paddington Station is a quaint neighbourhood nestled amongst a mix of several canals. Little Venice, Paddington, London, England, UK (2017) Known as Little Venice, one can see many houseboats berthed alongside the canals or sailing in it. Some of these houseboats are actually Food & Beverage outlets which offer a nice English Breakfast that comes with a nice view. A Houseboat which is also a cafe, Paddington, London, England, UK (2017) Whenever I visit London, I will always take time to visit this part of the city. Sitting under the shade of the tress lining the canal while tucking into my breakfast of toasts and eggs and sipping my latte, I simply enjoy the beauty and serenity of Little Venice. Life is alway beautiful here and this is one of the many reasons why London was, still is and will continue to be a favourite vacation city for me. Breakfast set, Paddington, London, England, UK (2017) View of the con

While traveling to Loch Ness, I had the chance to briefly explore the Scottish Highlands. The highlands is a mountainous region north-east of Scotland. Bed and Breakfast Inn, Scottish Highlands, Scotland, UK (2011) My trip was too brief for me to even scratch the surface of the immense culture and history of this region. Even so, what I experienced during this brief sojourn through the highlands on my way to Loch Ness gave me an insight into the rich cultural and historical significance of the region. I shall plan and return on a longer trip  to explore the region. Until that entry in my travel bucket list is fulfilled, I will always look back at some of the photographs I took during my maiden trip through the highlands and  marvel at the magic that he region has to offer. The mountainous landscape that defines the Scottish Highlands, Scotland, UK (2011) Rolling meadows on the outskirts of Inverness, Scotland, UK (2011) Local inn, Scottish Highlands, Sc

2017 Travel Review....... In terms of travel, 2017 has been the year where I travelled the most in recent memory. For the year, I have clocked a total of almost 130,000 miles in air travel alone. I basically travelled at least once every month; for all 12 months of the year. Three-quarters of my travels in 2017 were for work with the rest being vacation trips. New cities I had travelled to included vacations to Atami and Ito (Japan), Helsinki (Finland), Luang Prabang (Laos) and Tallinn (Estonia). A street in the Old Town of Tallinn, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tallinn, Estonia (2017) The Helsinki Cathedral, Helsinki, Finland (2017) Vat Manorom Temple, Luang Prabang, Laos (2017) Other cities that I had travelled to in 2017 were mainly for work and they included cities which I had previously visited multiple times. The repeated visits to these cities did not in any way diminish the enjoyability of these trips and I did manage to snatch time out from my he