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

Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Izu Peninsula Geopark - UNESCO Global Geopark After a sumptuous breakfast at a local Ryokan in the hot spring resort town of Ito, we packed our stuff, checked out of our accommodation and drove to our next intended destination, the Izu Peninsula Geopark.    Visitors to the Geopark crossing the Kadowaki Cape Suspension Bridge, Izu Peninsula Geopark, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan (2017)   Designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark, the Izu Peninsula Geopark spreads over a large area on this peninsula located in the south-eastern of the main island of Honshu. The Izu Peninsula is the only part of Honshu that geographically sits on the Philippine Sea Tectonic Plate. The peninsula itself has been constantly shaped and re-shaped due to the geographical shifting of the tectonic plate on which it sits on. These constant volcanic activities and tectonic plate movements account for the abundance of natural hot springs that are found in the peninsul...

Prior to the current pandemic and the resultant international border restrictions to combat the spread of infections, my most recent flight was from San Francisco to Singapore via a stopover in Hong Kong. I arrived at the airport early, which was my standard norm to ensure that I had everything in order and plenty of time to navigate through passport control, customs and security screenings. After having completed all the usual administrative matters that were required of all passengers, I finally reached the airside of the airport.  Upon boarding my flight, I looked out of the window from my seat and took this photograph of a United Airlines 787-9 Dreamliner parked at the adjourning Gate to my flight. While I could not really get a clear photograph of the plane because of the glare and not-so-clean window panes next to my seat, I liked this photograph because I could see the port-side engine of the plane that I was in as well as the amount of airport equipment and vehicles on the ...

Travel plans for 2021 ....... When the pandemic first started rearing its ugly head in the early months of 2020 and governments worldwide started to announce local lock-downs followed by restricted borders, many travellers (myself included) soon started to realise that leisure travel for the year would not be possible. The hope then was the following year that will be 2021 is the likely timeline when we could all resume travel again. But as we head into the final week of January 2021 and are soon to bid farewell to the first month of the year, it seems highly likely that leisure travel this year is also not going to be possible. The pandemic is still raging and while there are bright spots in humanity's fight against the virus, the so-called and often touted vaccination bullet is still very much in its infancy stage. While many developed countries have started to vaccinate their population, for large swathes of the world's population, vaccination and hopes of an end to the pand...

We all are familiar with and have come to expect condiments to be provided as part of our dining experience in a restaurant or eatery. This has somehow become standard practice almost everywhere in the world, from large metropolis such as London and Bangkok to villages nestled along the trekking routes of the Annapurna Region and the foothills of Ubud. However, the amount of dining condiments provided vary widely. From simple bottles of pepper and salt shakers to a small saucer of ketchup. But when dining out in South Korea, expect the unexpected when it comes to the amount of condiments provided by the eatery. When eating out during my trips to South Korea, I was always pleasantly surprised and confounded by the mind-boggling array of condiments laid out before me. Of course, I enjoyed every single one of these condiments. This is one of the main reasons why I enjoy dining out whenever I was in Seoul, Busan or any other Korean cities. A mind-boggling array of condiments accompanying a...

  " Signs of Spring Sakura Blooming Strolling under the Spring Blossoms" -  Timothy Tan, author of this blog - tankstraveltales   Sakura blooming along the shores of Lake Biwa, Makino, Takashima, Shiga Prefecture, Japan (2018)

Visiting markets wherever I travelled to has always been a favourite activity for me. From Seoul to London, Basel to Tokyo, Fremantle to Taipei, Bangkok to Tallinn and many other cities, I always made it a point to visit the local markets. Mingling with the locals and enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of fresh local produce have been and will continue to be among the highlights of my travel itineraries. On a rare chilly January afternoon in my home city of Singapore, I was going through my digital archives of travel photographs and came across these photos of the morning market in the southern French city of Toulouse. These photographs were taken on my first trip to Toulouse many years ago when I was there to attend a work-related conference. Being a work trip, I had no time for much sight seeing. Thus, my visit to the morning market, on a weekend, absolutely delighted me because it provided me a chance to enjoy the city.    Fresh and locally-produced carrots, Toulouse, O...

Tiberias and Galille, Israel Growing up in a Catholic family, I had been schooled and taught the bible since young. Thus, while the lands of Tiberias and Galilee were foreign to me, the names definitely were familiar ones. Having an inquisitive mind and a streak of wanderlust in me since my childhood days, I had told myself I shall visit these regions when I am a grown up. This bucket list travel item was fulfilled in 2002 when I visited the region for the first time as part of a packaged tour group.    Statue of St Peter in Capernaum, Nahums Village, Galilee, Israel (2002)   The Tiberias of today is a city on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee with a population of about 45,000. The region and the Sea of Galilee were mentioned many times in the Bible. The Sea of Galilee was where Jesus walked on the water and the surrounding regions were where Jesus spent much time with his disciples.    Sea of Galilee with the view of the Golan Heights in the background, ...