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

I am someone who is totally hopeless when it comes to art; both in drawings and paintings. I do have friends who are extremely talented artists and I have always admire their art works and talents. Thus, it was kind of strange that I actually spent a large part of today, the last Sunday of 2014, browsing shops which supply and retail art materials. Those who live in Singapore or who have lived in Singapore before may know this place called Bras Basah Complex. Many bookstores and art supplies stores are located here which is just a stone's throw away from the central subway station of City Hall (also known as the City Hall MRT Station). After many hours spent in these shops, I actually bought a bunch of art materials. My artists friends invited me to spend some time drawing and sketching with them and I thought that is a really good idea; drawing inspirations and picking up a tip or two from these talented folks. After all, it is never too late to learn. I may not have the ...

Located in the eastern part of the island of Java in Indonesia, Mount Bromo is an active volcano. Its local name is Gunung Bromo. At an altitude of about 2329 meters (about 7640 ft), Mount Bromo is not a particularly high peak and is actually quite accessible to the average tourists. Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia (2002) I climbed the peak of Bromo during a visit in 2002 when I was visiting Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia after the capital, Jakarta. Mount Bromo is located within a nature reserve. We hired a local guide who drove us to the foot of the volcano, in the middle of a large plain. The guide then demonstrated to us by throwing a rock into the air and asked us to listen intently as the rock struck the ground. We were amazed that when the rock hit the ground, it made some kind of splashing sound; much like the sounds made when a rock was thrown skywards and dropped into a pool of water. This effect was due to physical properties of the soft volcani...

Bath is located about 156km west of London and I visited this city in September 2011. Actually, Bath was not on my planned itinerary during my trip to the UK. But I decided to drop by for a short visit as part of my out-of-London day trip which included a trip to Stonehenge. Like Stonehenge, Bath is a World Heritage Site. The city was designated in 1987 and this city is an extremely popular stop on the tourist map. As I arrived at Bath, I can't helped but marveled at the beauty of this city. I can't placed what actually made this city so attractive to me. It was probably a combination of factors; the architecture of the age-old buildings, the little sidewalk cafes, the relaxed lifestyles of the locals, the neat and prettily manicured parks, the clean streets and that romantic river that ran through the city! The iconic Bath Abbey, Bath, England, UK (2011) My first stop was at the Bath Abbey. This was originally a Norman Church and the current building reporte...

While traveling to Tokyo in October 2014, I chanced upon a seasonable promotion by Cathay Pacific (CX) which offered relatively reasonable rates on Business Class from Singapore (SIN) to Tokyo (TYO), with a stopover transit in Hong Kong (HKG). Although there will be a 3-hour layover at the Hong Kong International Airport, this did not deter me simply because I could make use of the Business Class lounges at the airport while waiting for my connecting flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo. And so I went on to book my flight tickets on 'I' Class. The flights on both legs of my trip from Singapore to Hong Kong onboard CX2710 and from Hong Kong to Tokyo's Narita airport (NRT) onboard CX500 were great. The service were as often, excellent and the inflight products were simply amazing. Here are some pictures taken of the inflight meals which I enjoyed en-route from Singapore to Hong Kong onboard Flight CX2710.  The Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 getting ready for passe...

Many beautiful tropical islands can be found in Malaysia. One particular island that I usually visit is located in the state of Terengganu in West Malaysia. Pulau Lang Tengah (or Lang Tengah island; Pulau is the Malay word for island) is located geographically about 40km north-east of Kuala Terengganu (the state capital of Terengganu). It is a much lesser known island compared to the nearby and more popular resort island of Pulau Redang. Pulau Lang Tengah is the perfect place for those looking for a quiet and small island paradise without the usual tourist traps. There are only a four small resorts here catering mostly to locals from the Malaysian mainland and these resorts are nowhere near the standards of 4 or 5-stars establishments. Instead, these are small family-run resorts with basic amenities and the local kampung (a.k.a. village) feel. A stay at any of the resorts will include accommodation and meals simply because there are no other shops or restaurants on the island. I...