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

Do what you want on you travels....... Travelling for me, has always been to do what I want and not what others think I should do. For that reason, I seldom signed myself up for package trips. While package trips are good for some destinations where I can just leave it to the tour agent to plan everything as I sit back, relax, and enjoy what the trip has to offer, these trips do also include certain stops or activities on the itineraries which I just do not find joy in partaking. Thus, for the most part, I always book my own air tickets, hotel accommodations and jet off to the destination to enjoy the trip at my own pace, space and time. For some difficult-to-travel-to locations for sight seeing, I may sign up for a day trip. But that's about it. Most of the time, I prefer to enjoy trips at my own leisure. Having said that, I did thoroughly enjoy myself on some package trips including escapades to Nepal for trekking and white-water rafting. And there were also the packag...

"Its not the destination, Its the journey"  - Ralph Waldo Emerson Bayon, Angkor Thom, Cambodia (2015)

Visiting Iwakuni and its famous Kintai-kyo Bridge was another item ticked off my personal travel bucket list. Besides visiting the world famous bridge, hiking Mount Yokoyama and getting the  official stamp of the Iwakuni Castle on my Japan travel journal, I also spent time walking around the neighbourhoods near Kikkou Park.  Most of my neighbourhood walks in cities I visited were meant to acquaint myself with the local history and lifestyle. During these leisurely walks, I often kept a lookout for photo opportunities. These photo moments could be anything from the local architecture, famous landmarks, nature, markets or even the mundane rubber ducky as seen in this photograph taken with my DSLR. What are the memorable photo moments encountered in your travels? Rubber ducky on a small outdoor water feature, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan (2019)

When the name Miyajima is mentioned, more often than not, images of the Great Floating Torii Gate  (a.k.a. Itsukushima Floating Torii Gate) and the associated Itsukushima Shrine comes to mind. While the purpose of my first ever trip to Miyajima in July 2019 was to visit the Itsukushima Shrine and the Great Floating Torii Gate, with both being items on my personal travel bucket list, I also took time to explore the island. For that reason, I chose not to be a day tripper to Miyajima but stayed over on the island for 2 nights at the Hotel Miyajima Villa. My stay on the island allowed me to hike around on personal exploration trips. While trying to escape the summer heat and the crowd in the areas around the Itsukushima Shrine, I chanced upon the Imaise Shrine. Nestled at the top of a small hill, Imaise Shrine is accessible after climbing a relatively steep staircase. Here, there were no crowds. I had the whole area to myself, except for the company of a young fawn. For those...

Vacationing....... in your home city's less visited neighbourhoods....... When we think of going on a vacation, it is usually about taking off to some distant destinations. While it is the much accepted idea of an "ideal" vacation, there are times when we couldn't just pack our holiday bags and go off to that far-flung dreamed destination. We are all bound by commitments such as family, work or budgets. So if you only have the luxury of a day or two for a break and are limited by constraints such as family and budget, how do you take a "vacation"? Over the years, I had found myself in similar situations. When budget permits, I typically booked a nice local hotel for a luxurious staycation. In times when budget got a bit tight for me, I just took a day off work and visited local neighbourhoods for walks. Often,  I found that I could enjoy myself just as much as going off on some distant holiday trips. A throw-back to what Singapore was like ...

"We cannot extend our lives. But we can certainly expand it. Travel!"  - Anonymous (verbally related to me by a friend who heard it from someone he met on his travels) The Author in front of the Kintai-Kyo Bridge ( 錦帯橋 ), Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan (2019)

Of all the cities in the world that I had visited so far, none other than Taipei managed to always evoke that sense of nostalgia in me. I can't explain that feeling. In fact, the first time I visited Taipei was in 2015, way past the times of my growing up years! Cityscape of Taipei, Ximending, Wanhua District, Taipei, Taiwan (2015) As to what kind of nostalgic feelings that Taipei has for me is difficult to describe in words. It probably is a combination of the old school streets and their layouts, the friendliness and unassuming attitude of the locals which is a rarity in most cities in today's materialistic-driven world, the food, the number of small bookstores tucked around in almost every corner of every street and a lot more. My connection to all things in Taipei probably also stemmed from my childhood years when I grew up watching Taiwanese dramas and documentaries on TV, most of which centred around life in Taipei. Advertising billboards screaming for at...