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

Preparing for my first trip and cruise of 2025.....  In a little over two weeks from now, I will be going for my first vacation for the year. And also my first cruise and probably only cruise for the year.  In term of preparation, nothing much. Just mentally psyching myself up to take as much enjoyment as possible from the trip. I will be sailing on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas on a return trip from Singapore to Indonesia's Bali and Lombok. For the trip, I will be bringing along my writing instruments to record my travel log and also for my journaling and writing. I will of course not be spending all my time writing but also will be out and about the ship, looking for fun stuff to occupy my 8-nights cruise. I intend to star gaze, if that is even possible considering how brightly lit modern cruise ships are and I am certain the Anthem of the Seas will be no exception. Then, there will be the late night dancing. I am not an alcohol drinker so no alcoholic beverages for m...

Thus far, my only cruises have been onboard Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas. Prior to this cruise, I had previously sailed thrice onboard the same ship, including a 12-night cruise from Yokohama to Singapore. These sailings had helped me made many friends including both fellow passengers and crew. I had met many wonderful people during these trips. Therefore, I decided to make one last sailing onboard the ship before it repositioned from Singapore to China in April 2024. This cruise was a 4-night sailing in March 2024 for a return trip from Singapore to Penang and Phuket. After three previous cruises onboard the same ship over a period of two years, I am rather familiar with the ship, its layout and its facilities. Thus, finding my ways around the ship was no issue. On the flip side, there was less exploring to do!  Entertainment-wise, I had actually watched all the onboard shows before but still watched them anyway during this trip. I did notice that even for the same shows...

Japan,  Iwakuni A beautiful wooden arch bridge, the Kintai-kyo in Japan's western prefecture of Yamaguchi was originally built around 1673. With a history dating more than 350 years, the bridge spans over the Nishiki River, overlook by the Iwakuni Castle on top of Mount Yokoyama.  The original article was first posted in this blog on 4 July 2021. ****************** When I travel, I typically do not have a fixed itinerary or a list of sights to experience. My preference being to wander around without any fixed plans while hoping to serendipitously chance upon local gems not listed in any travel guide books. But occasionally, I did have an item on my to-do-to-visit list which I usually picked up while browsing magazines or watching travel shows on TV. The  Kintai-kyo  is one such item. Having been "introduced" to this historical wooden arch bridge while watching a travel documentary on Japan's NHK channel, I decided that when the opportunity presented itself, I will tr...

For me, food is always a highlight of any trips. Local food, especially street food or hawker food is always a delight.  When it comes to hawker food, Malaysia certainly has a lot to offer. When I had a one-day stopover in Taiping  in Malaysia's Perak state during my South-East Asia Train Journey trip in May 2024, I seized the opportunity to savour as much local food as I possibly could eat. I was not disappointed, Every dish I ate was delicious and left me craving for more... 🍲 Claypot Rice, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia (2024) Chicken Noodles, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia (2024) Noodle Soup, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia (2024) Satay, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia (2024) Apom, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia (2024)

Starting a brand new travel year in 2025 with a cruise.....  While I did not get to travel much in 2024, I certainly am not going to be able to make up for it in 2025. I currently have two cruises booked for the year and will probably add a couple of short regional trips as the year progresses. And for the end of year travel period, I intend to visit Japan in winter. That's all for my travels this year. I am anticipating a very busy year on the work front. Thus the absence of any major travel plans, especially trips that may require a slightly longer itinerary. Less trips mean I will need to enjoy each trip more. A balance between quality and quantity. My upcoming trip will be a cruise from Singapore to Bali and Lombok and back to Singapore. A total of 8 nights, including at least 4 sea days. I am still deciding what I want to do on the scheduled port visits in Bali and Lombok.  While I had visited Bali multiple times, I had previously only visited Lombok once when I stayed in...

I had a rare opportunity to visit Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan with an overnight stopover while traveling by train through parts of South-East Asia in mid-2024.  Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan is the provincial capital of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province and is about 240km south of Thailand's capital city of Bangkok. In Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan, I stayed at a hotel by the beach with direct view of the Khao Chong Krachok Monastery which is located on the top of a hill. The next morning, I decided to climb the 400 steps up to the monastery and was rewarded with a bird's eye view of the town and the coastline. However, I was more amazed by the view of the monastery while on my way up the hill. This is the view that amazed me, Khao Chong Krachok Monastery,  Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan District, P rachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand (2024)

Often, when we travel, we will come across sceneries or structures where we just could not stop ourselves from taking that photograph as a memento. During a stopover while on my train journey through South-East Asia in June 2024, I came across this giant coffee cup at the Antong Coffee Mill in Taiping. Upon setting my eyes on this "giant", I told myself I simply had to have a photograph taken with the cup! And thus, many photographs of myself and the giant cup were taken. Photo opportunities not to be missed! Here are two of these photos for sharing. Giant Coffee Cup, Antong Coffee Mill, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia (2024) Giant Coffee Cup, Antong Coffee Mill, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia (2024)