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

Visiting cities all over the world provide great insights into the architectural styles that define each of these cities. From cities in Asia to the Americas and Europe, one can clearly see both the distinct similarities and differences in architectural styles that come about due to the historical, cultural and religious influences over the course of each city's development over its existence. A typical traditional architectural design that blends both western and eastern European influences, Helsinki, Finland (2017) Even within each continent, each city's architecture is different and unique even though they may all look the same at a glance. In the case of Finland's capital city of Helsinki, tradition and modernity often intermingled to create a style that is both very similar yet different from other cities in the Nordic countries and by extension, European cities. This design screams modern in every sense of the word. Sleek clean lines def...

Rail has played the role of a crucial means of transportation since the early 19th century with the invention of the steam engine.  Today, rail transportation no longer runs on steam engine except for a very few select lines around the world who still provide this service, usually to cater to the tourism industry. Typically, such lines are operated as a form of luxury travel for the select few customers who can afford to fork out huge sums of money to enjoy the unique experience.  For normal folks like myself, rail transport refers to modern electric trains. And nostalgia typically refers to the older models of the trains still running. Apart from the trains, the tracks on which the trains run on can be very photogenic subjects during our travels. Whenever I traveled, I usually enjoyed photographing the trains and also the tracks on which the train operated. This is especially when I visited places in rural areas, away from the main city and business centres...

Despite never having lived in a farm or rural areas before, I have always like the farm and rural life. Growing up in a city meant that I had little contacts with animals as a child except for common house pets such as cats and dogs. Whenever I traveled to rural areas, I was always excited to see animals, domesticated or wild; better if the animals were wild and living freely in their natural environments. I typically admired the animals from a distance, making sure that my presence would not alarm them or interfered with their activities in any way. For this reason, a standard zoom lens is a must when I travel, especially if the places that I am traveling to has a chance for animal encounters.  These photos of a herd of domesticated water buffalos ( Bubalus bubalis ) were taken in the outskirts of Luang Prabang. The animals were taking shelter from the hot mid-day sun when my vehicle passed by. I requested the driver to stop safely by the side of the road, w...

Islands, especially those that are not jam-packed with people, are always so peaceful, serene and therapeutic. Especially after a day of doing nothing but frolicking in the sea and bumming around on the beaches, clad in nothing but a pair of swim shorts, I can sit back and enjoy the setting sun.  As the sun sets for the day, it colours the sky in hues of pink, yellow and orange before darkness sets in, accompanied by the sounds of the nocturnal insects and the waves breaking on the beach. After dinner, there is basically nothing much to do but to sit around and have a good chat with friends over a cup of coffee or tea, read a book and simply just enjoy nature for what it is. Dusk on Pulau Lang Tengah, Terengganu, Malaysia (2004) Island life.......... so different from the rat race of the cities... And that is why I love taking short trips to these semi-secluded islands. And one of my most favourite islands in the region where I lived is the island of Pulau ...

Sightseeing vs Self-rejuvenation....... This issue of Travel Bits is about two vastly different types of vacation. Sightseeing vs self-rejuvenation.  We all know that friend or two who will meticulously researched on the travel destination weeks or even months before a trip. That person will have read and knew so much about the destinations that by the time he or she hits the location, each and every corner of the city will already be known by heart, including all the must-see places, must-visit museums or malls and must-eat diners or cafes. The travel itinerary of this person will be jam-packed with activities, typically starting from early in the morning until the wee hours of the day or the last hours when the places to see, to visit or to dine at have long closed for the day. Each day of the vacation will be a long checklist of to-do activities. The benefits of such trips will be that one gets to see, visit or eat at all the places that people talk or wrote about. One ...

It is generally agreed that most places look different in the day and at night. Experiencing cities at different times as the day wore on is like visiting two different places without actually traveling. In the city of Nara, the streets looked distinctly different between day and night. At dusk, when the streets light up and the shops, walkways and trees are illuminated by man-made neon lights, both the ambience and spirit of the place is totally transformed. It is almost like walking through a time portal and emerging into a different place through the fabric of time and space. Dusk paints a different picture, Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan (2018) Thus my personal take when traveling is I do not packed too much into my itinerary. I would rather take the time to explore a particular city at my own pace and see it in different lights; both literally and figuratively. When travelling, less is most often than not, more.

Views from the top has always provide a fascinating insight into the immediate surroundings of an area, be it stretches of sea that extends far into the horizon, man-made architecture of an urban cityscape or the expanses of greens of a tropical rainforest from a vantage point. In Singapore where the amount of lush forest is shrinking as a result of urban development, forested areas are becoming more rare and precious as the clock ticks. Apart from the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and other small pockets of forested areas still remaining on the main island of Singapore, the only other place with a sizeable amount of suburban and forested areas and is opened to public access is the island of Pulau Ubin. Here in Pulau Ubin near the mangrove areas of Chek Jawa stands a lookout tower. The view from the top of this tower provides a sweeping view of the forested areas of this small island. This awesome view never fails to provide me with a deep appreciation of the abundance of nat...