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

Packing light for a short budget trip with a Low Cost Carrier....... Low Cost Carriers or LCC (a.k.a. Budget Airlines) offer a cost effective way to travel. While my personal preference is always to travel with a full-service airline due to a myriad of reasons, there were times when flying with a LCC became a necessity due to the travel location. This can be because only LCCs provide flights to the destination due to its low travelers' turnover or that the price differential for a ticket to fly to that location between a full-service airline and a LCC was just too great, such that opting to fly budget was the only sensible choice. However, flying budget has its cons. The key ones being the really no-frills part. If one is to start adding the small frills such as check-in baggage, more hand-carry luggages, seat choices and some simple onboard food and drinks, then the cost for the so-called budget air ticket begins to escalate quickly. At times, the final price one has to pay...

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. Glencore is named after the River Coe which runs through it. 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 Highlands of Scotland, including the dark episode known as the  Massacre of Glencoe . View of some of the peaks in this part of the Scottish Highlands along the A82, Glencoe, Scotland, UK (2011) We stopped along the highway to stretch our legs ...

EL AL is the flag carrier of Israel. The airline began its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in 1948 and today flies to more than  50 destinations worldwide. Its main hub is at Ben Gurion Airport  (IATA: TLV, ICAO: LLBG) in Tel Aviv. The airline operates an all Boeing fleet including the 737-800, 747-400, 767-300ER and 777-200ER. Newer planes such as the 787-9 Dreamliner model have started to enter service with the airline since the second half of calendar year 2017.  I have personally not flown with EL AL before although I frequently saw EL AL planes at the Z ü rich Airport (IATA: ZRH, ICAO: LSZH), Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport (IATA: BKK, ICAO: VTBS) and Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport (a.k.a. Hong Kong International Airport) during my business and leisure travels. Here are a few photographs of an EL AL Boeing 777-200ER plane I spotted at the Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH) taken in Dec 2015 while I was on transit returning ...

I've always been interested in ancient civilisations and human history. Amongst these civilisations is the Maya civilisation of the Americas.  Maya civilisation developed over several defined periods in history dating from around 8000 BC at its earliest to the year 1697 when the last Mayan city fell to the Spanish following a military assault on the Itza capital of Nojpeten. In today's context, Maya civilisation covered areas from southeastern Mexico to western Honduras and El Salvador. It also encompassed all areas that are the countries of Belize and Guatemala of today. Budget and time meant that a trip to the Americas to see the excavations and sites of Maya civilisation is not feasible for me. Thus, the most convenient way that I can get to see historical artefacts of any ancient civilisations is by visiting museums.  During one of my trips to Singapore's National Museum in April 2016, there was an exhibition on ancient civilisations. A selection of art...

Near to Hida-Takayama in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan, is the region of Okuhida. This rustic area includes the mountains of what is known as the Northern Alps of Japan. Early autumn, Okuhida, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014) Famous in Japan as a hot spring destination, there are many outdoor onsens (aka baths) in this region. Many of these are natural outdoor onsens that offer awesome views of the surrounding mountainscapes. These views are usually made more spectacular during autumn when the trees of the mountains start to give up their green colours to take on a multitude of other colours in varying shades of yellow, orange and red. If you are planning to visit this region, I would recommend a stay of at least a few days in the many cosy family-run Japanese Ryokans which offer onsen experiences like no other places can. And if you can, do visit during autumn. But autumn is not the only or best time to visit. Winter in this region is the time for snow and every...

While visiting Orlando to attend an industry conference, I literally ate my way through the one week that I spent in this beautiful city.  There were so many nice food to be found everywhere I went in Orlando. And all at prices that were really affordable. The best part about dining in America is the serving size. As I am a small eater who do not eat much at each seating, I almost always had to tell the restaurants and eateries to reduce my serving size so as to cut down on unnecessary food wastage. An alfresco dining area at a restaurant near the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, United States (2016) From local fast food outlets to fancy restaurants, I just could not find fault with any of the delicious servings placed before me on the dining table. I particularly loved the seafood, especially the juicy lobsters and crabs. And there was iHop. Their pancakes, waffles and crepes were unbeatable. I ate these for breakfast almost everyday I was in Orlan...

Hyde Park is the largest Royal Park in London. The park was established in the year 1536 by King Henry VIII and it was first opened to the public in 1637. Today, Hyde Park is popular both with local Londoners as well as visitors to the city. While on a trip to London in May 2017, I was early for dinner and decided to take a stroll inside Hyde Park next to the areas of the park that borders Bayswater Road and near to the Italian Water Gardens. The time was somewhere between late afternoon and early evening just before 6pm. My walk was delightful as I took in the tranquility and greeneries of the gardens. But it was made more interesting by the many squirrels which darted about in the park. Some of these squirrels had obviously got use to the presence of humans and were brave enough to approach park visitors, apparently looking for food. Because I was on my way to dinner, I only had the cameras on my mobile phones to photograph these beautiful fur balls. Due to their speed of mo...