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

Australia, Western Australia, New Norcia The original article was first published in this blog in December 2018.  This was an unplanned side trip that ended up as a personal bucket list item for me. While visiting Western Australia, I had planned for a trip to Rottnest Island. However, inclement weather on the day of my planned visit to Rottnest Island meant that I had to cancel my travel plans leaving me with a full day of free time in my itinerary. Someone suggested I should visit New Norcia. Until then, I had never heard of this town before. And since I had a rented vehicle for the duration of my stay in Western Australia, I decided that a drive to this monastery town was a good idea. Instead, it turned out to be a great idea. Besides enjoying the relatively long two and half hour drive (one way ) from Perth to New Norcia, I got to experience an actual monastery town for the first time in my travels. This trip...

Wrapping up my personal Travel Calendar for 2022......  As I wrote this blog post, I had just returned fresh from a long-postponed trip to Bali. I had booked and paid for my accommodation back in September 2019 for the trip that was originally planned for April 2020. But for reasons that were beyond anyone's control, I had to repeatedly reschedule the trip until this month when I could finally enjoy my beach vacation at my favourite beach destination! This Bali trip marked my fifth overseas leisure trip of 2022. I have another trip coming up in the last week of October. This is a cruise from Singapore to Klang and Penang (Malaysia) and also Phuket (Thailand). I had booked the cruise back in January when prices were still low because of continuing travel restrictions. It will be my last vacation trip of the year and I am looking forward to enjoy the upcoming cruise. I am likely to be spending most of my cruise time onboard the ship, only intending to disembark at Penang. I had just ...

Most hotels and tourist accommodations typically uses small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash. These small little plastic bottles are used once and discarded. Add the number of tourist establishments worldwide and the number of rooms each of these establishments have, the number of visitors they host every day of the year and it is a no brainer that we travellers are collectively responsible for generating a massive amount of plastic waste just by taking a shower each time! In my recent trip to Bali in October 2022 where I stayed at the Westin Nusa Dua, it was quite heartening when I found out that the hotel, instead of issuing small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash, had instead been using bottles that can be top up with these shower essentials. This demonstrates that the hotel is committed to sustainable travel. Kudos to the Westin Nusa Dua for their effort to help save our planet. 😀🌏 Re-useable bottles that can be top up with Shampoo, Condit...

  " Viva forever, I'll be waiting.. Everlasting, like the sun.. Live forever, for the moment.. Ever searching for the one.. " -  From the Lyrics of Viva Forever , a song by the Spice Girls Seashells, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2022)

This was a trip that was supposed to take place in April 2020. But to the COVID pandemic and the resultant worldwide border and travel restrictions, I have had to postpone the trip repeatedly in 6-monthly intervals. Finally, the trip was realised in October 2022, almost 3 years after I had first planned it in September 2019.  I had visited Bali many times over the years, this being my favourite beach holiday destination. This trip was no difference. I did not go around the island to sight-see. Instead, I simply relaxed at the beach resort, enjoying the blissful island life. The resort has everything I need including great facilities and awesome food. There is no need for me to venture elsewhere. Everyday, after  a sumptuous buffet breakfast, I will head for the lounge chairs by the beach; clad only in my swim trunks and with my book tucked under my arms. There, I spent my afternoon reading in-between swims in the ocean, ordering food and drinks whenever I felt hungry. In the e...

Switzerland, Obwalden and Bern, Mount Titlis The original article was first published in this blog in May 2017.  Even though I cannot claim rot be well-travelled, I had seen and on the rare occasions, climbed some mountains. Trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal's western region had brought forth a love for this mighty mountains that towered over us mere humans. I had also using just leg power, climbed South-East Asia's highest peak; Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia's Sabah state.  When I had the chance to visit and ascend to the peak (or near the peak) of Mount Titlis during a visit to Switzerland in 2009, it was like a dream came true. Another peak to add to my travel list. The fact that I took a cable car up this mountain and didn't climb up my way up Mount Titlis did not matter to me. A peak conquered is a peak conquered! Apart from Mount Titlis, the fairy-tale like village of Engelberg which serves as the gateway to ...

Woke up today to the news that my favourite travel destinations in Asia, Japan and Taiwan, will soon reopen to leisure visitors. As part of the re-openings, strict and cumbersome anti-COVID measures will be dropped or scaled back. It has been a long while since I last visited destinations in these regions of Asia. I love the food, culture, sights and sounds of Japan and Taiwan. Even though other regions of Asia, which are also on my favourite list, continue to remain shut to leisure visitors, I can at least explore more travel options for 2023. Sakura viewings in spring, Japan's hanabi  (fireworks) festivals in summer, hiking in the National Parks of Taiwan and spending a couple of nights in the magical town of Jiuefen. I can't wait to plan and book my trips! Ema (small wooden tablets used by worshippers to write down their prayers or wishes), Ueno, Tokyo, Japan (2017) The magical and lovely town of Jiufen, Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan (2016) Next and hopefully so...