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

Singapore, Tanglin, Singapore Botanic Gardens -  UNESCO World Heritage Site Singapore is a small city-state where land scarcity is a perpetual issue. However, in the midsts of all the buildings and structures of concrete and glass, city planners somehow managed to find space for beautiful gardens and reserved primary and secondary forests. The Singapore Botanic Gardens is one such place and is amazingly located right in the fringe of town. Flanked by foreign embassies on one side, a busy and world renowned shopping stretch on the other, a hospital on another side and private landed bungalows along much of its perimeter, this tropical oasis of a garden took pride of place right next to a bustling world city. Swan Sculpture in the middle of a lake within the Gardens' grounds, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Tanglin, Singapore (2023) Growing up, visiting the Gardens were a fairly regular activity for me, from school excursions to family outings during festive periods. I always loved these ...

  " It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves." -  André Paul Guillaume Gide, French Author and Nobel Prize laureate Tree-lined Boulevard, Toulouse, France (2004)

When I traveled to Siem Reap in May 2022 to visit the famous archeological and historical sites at the Angkor National Park, I found the place fairly deserted of international tourists. This was in start contrasts to my first trip there in 2015 where the whole area were basically swarming with lots of visitors, most of whom had travelled there internationally. Seizing upon this rare opportunity, I had a great time photographing the temples at the sites, including closeups photographs of the many intricate and stunning wall carvings, paintings and sculptures that had stood for centuries. For me, one of the most impressive sites at the Angkor National Park is the Baphuon Temple. Built sometime in the 11th century by Suryavarman I, Baphuon was originally dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. If one exits the temple at its west side and goes further back, an impressive sculpture of a reclining Buddha measuring approximately 9 metres by 70 metres can be seen. According to historians, this recli...

Travel Trip Plannings......  Much has been said regarding how the anticipation and planning of a leisure trip are the most enjoyable parts of a trip, any trips. From my personal perspective, I would say the finalisation of the major components of trip planning comes with an exhilaration that is most satisfying. With most pandemic-related travel curbs removed and revenge travelling reaching a crescendo, securing those previous seats on flights to popular destinations can be a challenge. This is more so for those of us like myself trying to make every travel dollar stretched. I had personally witnessed air tickets and accommodations prices rose like a bull rally on the stock markets. Each day I login in to the airline and hotels websites, I saw prices climb until they were out of reach of my limited travel budget. Thus, it was with much relief when I managed to finally secured my air tickets to Tokyo in end-July this year. The peak summer travel period! I need to get to Japan in Augu...

Following my first-ever cruise trip in July 2022, I embarked on my second cruise vacation in end-October 2022. Despite this being my second cruise holiday, I had actually booked this trip way back in January 2022 before I even booked my first cruise trip for July 2022. Ah, the irony of life! 😁 Like my first cruise, this trip was also on the same ship, Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas. Unlike my first cruise, this was a slightly longer trip for 5 nights onboard, 2 nights more than the previous trip. Deck 15 of Spectrum of the Seas as seen through the glass canopy of the North Star , Phuket, Thailand (2022) No longer a cruise virgin and having been onboard the same ship just months earlier, I had matured into a seasoned cruise pro. Boarding on sailing day was a breeze, I had my essentials packed and was all ready to enjoy my holiday. View of Marina Bay Cruise Centre as Spectrum of the Seas pulled out of port, Marina Bay, Singapore (2022) Cabin Classes I had booked myself and m...

Japan, Shiga Prefecture, Moriyama This article was originally published in this blog in May 2019. It chronicled my visit to Moriyama, a city in Japan's Shiga Prefecture. I had arrived in Moriyama from Takashima, another city in Shiga. My 2-day stay in Moriyama was planned to be a leisurely stop in my itinerary with nothing much planned except to enjoy the beautiful views of Lake Biwa. However, this short stay turned out to be a rather interesting part of my overall trip as I discovered lots of things to see and do. As I checked out of my hotel in my third day here for my onward journey to Tokyo, I left knowing I will return because there are still much to see and do here.  ****************** First Impressions My first view of the city was when the hotel bus rolled into the city over the scenic Biwako Ohashi Bridge over Lake Biwa. I had boarded the free shuttle provided by the Lake Biwa Marriott for hotel guests at Katata Station on the Kosei Line. With...

  "Let your wanderlust take hold and bring yourself to places unknown....... " - Timothy Tan, tankstraveltales Stairs, Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia (2017)