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

Inspiration from Travel Programmes....... For most travellers, their typical travel itineraries will be planned around famous landmarks or icons. Some intrepid travellers will go further to explore the lesser known places, to experience things that the typical travellers will not get to enjoy. If we were to stay away from the famous landmarks and icons and instead ventured to explore the back alleys of the cities we had visited, what will be the kind of travel experiences that we will have encountered? Taking cues from some travel programmes which featured unexplored areas or back alleys of popular tourist destination cities, I had explored the suburban and back alleys of some of the cities I had visited. These included Nakano Ward of Tokyo which is just minutes away from crowded Shinjuku but seems like a world away when it comes down to ambience and crowd. A small shrine along the road, Nakano, Tokyo, Japan (2017) I had also travelled away from the city centre of G...

Beitou is a district of Taipei located to the north of the city. Although well-known with locals and travellers for its hot springs, Beitou is also home to the "green" library of Taiwan. Designed with eco-friendly features, the Beitou Branch of the Taipei Public Library is outfitted to be both energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Beitou Branch of the Taipei Public Library, Beitou, Taipei, Taiwan (2018) Beitou Branch of the Taipei Public Library, Beitou, Taipei, Taiwan (2018) Besides its eco-friendly features, the library itself is an architectural marvel and definitely the most distinctive feature in the Beitou landscape. Visitors to Beitou just can't miss this architectural landmark. The Beitou Library, Beitou, Taipei, Taiwan (2018) Shelves of books lined the Library's interior, Beitou, Taipei, Taiwan (2018) The spacious interior is designed to be energy-efficient based on the Library's overall eco-friendly concept, Be...

There were gasps as a fast flying raptor that flashed shades of red, orange and brown streaked through the sky before making contact with the surface of the calm waters of the cove. Our small boat with its load of tourists, including myself, our guide and boatman were excited but calm. Seconds later, a second raptor joined the first and we were treated to a front-row seat of a real-life wild documentary  in action as the pair of raptors before us fished for prey in the waters. A pair of  Brahminy Kites, Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia (2002) The Scene We were in Langkawi, enjoying a day out in the sun cruising along the coast and the many coves of this Malaysian island situated in the Andaman Sea, off the mainland of West Malaysia, somewhere in the north-western region of the peninsula.  The Trip My trip was stretched over a short weekend, courtesy of a free stay at a newly opened five-star resort on Langkawi. Only the resort stay was free, thanks to my r...

" For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilisation, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints.” ―  Robert Louis Stevenson Pebbled bank of a freshwater stream in Okuhida, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014)

Staycations....... A relatively easy way to travel without actually travelling. That is the essence of staycation. The term has slightly different meanings in different parts of the world. But the common denominator to all the various interpretations of the word is that you actually travel without venturing far from home. And yes, you can safely leave your passport at home. In Asia, a staycation typically means checking into a local hotel near home. This way, you have the feeling of being away from home and yet home is often just a short drive away from your staycation accommodation. Staycations can be fun too. You get to be away from home, explore new areas in your neighbourhoods, enjoy sumptuous buffet breakfasts in the morning and you do not have to do those cumbersome household chores during your staycation period. And it is a relatively low expense activity when compared to traveling overseas. There are no airfares to book, visas to be arranged and foreign currency to...

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To travel is to live.” ―  Hans Christian Andersen,  The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography Forest in Takashima, Shiga Prefecture, Japan (2018)

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 l...