Yummy melty cheesy lunch in Lucerne

I tried a something famous at a cool restaurant in Lucerne, Switzerland. The dish was called Fondue de Fromage (a.k.a. Cheese Fondue). The photo shows a small pan over a portable stove or something like that, and beside the pan there are some pieces of bread in a basket. I skewered a piece of bread by a long fork which looked like a stick, and dipped some melty warm cheese from the pan. How interesting cheesy sauce! It smelled like white wine and full of cheese. I'm no linguist, but I've heard that fondue is a French word means melt in English. Without further ado, Let's bon appetit.

It was all much ado about nothing

Here's another gastronomical lunch at a hotel in Negombo, Sri Lanka. During my time in Sri Lanka I woke up around 7:00 a.m. and had Sri Lankan breakfast and tea. From about 9:00 a.m. I went to the beach and enjoyed the sunshine, the monsoon wind and just vegged out on the beach or walked along the shore for a couple of hours or so. After that, I took a water shower at my hotel room and enjoyed a lunch around 1:00 p.m. By the way, full moon day is called Poya day in Sri Lanka. It's a Buddhist public holiday. Almost Sinhalese don't work on Poya days, and drinking alcohol is banned in Sri Lanka. It happens once a month because of the full moon. Before I get to Sri Lanka for the first time, I was very worried about it. I'm a beer addict, so I was thinking aimlessly like "Oh boy. How can I do without beer?" However, it was all much ado about nothing. I really love Sri Lanka including Poya days. There's no other place quite like a Utopian island, Sri Lanka.

Eight days a week

The photo shows a rice and curry lunch plate at my favorite hotel in Negombo, Sri Lanka. There is a bowl of water on the near upper right corner of the photo. It's not a drinking water, it's used for rinsing my fingers after the lunch. It's called a finger bowl. I'd say a featured stuff on a Sri Lankan dining table. Generally, I eat rice and curry by my right hand do as the Sri Lankan locals do, so I need this. Also, there's a cup of tea. The waiters don't ask me like "Tea or coffee?", they always ask me just "Tea?". It happens all the time in Sri Lanka. In fact, Sri Lanka is formerly named Ceylon, and has huge tea plantation in Nuwara Eliya. They drink tea eight days a week. I was a coffee person, but Sri Lanka changed my liking. Come to think of it, if you take a Sri Lankan airline, you'll be able to enjoy some high quality Sri Lankan tea on the plane as well. It was really nice, so I got some refill.

Ruwanwelisaya Stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

I've visited Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It was about five to six hours drive from Negombo and this city is a UNESCO World heritage site. The photo shows the Ruwanwelisaya Stupa. This very beautiful big stupa is located in the middle of ancient town and white enough to make an impact. I think it symbolizes a big historical story of an epic battle, great king and his son. I visited there in a cloudy quiet day. There were not so many people in Anuradhapura, but I was able to understand why people want to visit or revisit there. Unfortunately, history is not my specialty, but I think I was able to understand why the area is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. I have some more pictures of Anuradhapura, so I will upload them some day.

I'm not a shutterbug, but...

I really loved to take a stroll along the shore of Indian Ocean aimlessly especially in Sri Lanka. One sunny and bright day, I found small crabs on the Negombo beach in Sri Lanka. They quickly buried their body in the sand, so it was a little difficult to take a photo of them. I caught a break just once. Can you see a crab in the photo? The crab is very small and similar in torn to the sand. I know it's very less-visible, but it's on the upper side of the center of the photo, juxtapositional to my footprint. Can you see it?

I like to make the most of my time in Thailand

One day in Pattaya, Thailand I bought a Thai grilled chicken called Gai Yang at a street stand. Also, I bought a can of Chang Beer and some fresh chilies at a supermarket. These were my favorite kind of lunch. You are able to get some alcoholic drinks from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. & from 5:00 p.m. to 00:00 a.m. in Thailand which means you are not able to get some alcoholic drinks from 00:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. & from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Thailand due to a law of it. I know about the law from scratch, but oddly enough occasionally it slips my mind and I unconsciously go to convenience stores or something like that to buy some beer around 2:30 p.m. that's I'd say the hottest time of the day, but they never sell alcoholic drinks during the restricted time. I should need to be more careful about the law to make the most of my time in Thailand.

She sells seashells on the sea shore

The photo shows Pattaya beach from my lounge chair. I ordered a bottle of Singha beer and vegged out as usual. If a place has a hot weather, blue sky, good beer, and nice spicy food, that will be my Shangri-la. That's just my two cents, but Pattaya is one of them. Actually, it's a unique place. The beach is juxtaposed to the urban entertainment area; plenty of eateries, bars, banks, hotels, convenient stores, shopping malls and Thai massage centers are just cross the street from the beach. Also, Pattaya is not too far from a big city Bangkok and Swannaphum international airport. That's a good point, so I think Pattaya lives up to the hype.

Different countries have different foods

When I was in Bhutan, I only ate Bhutanese cuisine. Never ordered continental breakfast or all-you-can-eat buffet or something like that. I went there to eat Bhutanese food like Ema datshi and red rice or something like that. I personally believe that Ema datshi and red rice are the staple foods in Bhutan. I think you can imagine what red rice is, but probably you are not able to understand what Ema datshi is. I'm no linguist, but Ema means chili, datshi means cheese. I've heard of it from a Bhutanese. So, Ema datshi is kind of like Bhutanese chili con queso, or I'd say Bhutanese cheesy curry, but they eat it with rice. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of Ema datshi, because I was overzealous to enjoy my dishes. So, the photo shows Bhutanese dry chilies. Bhutanese seemed to be thinking that chili isn't only a spice, but vegetable. I really love chilies. That's why I think Bhutan is a gastronomical paradise.

A glass of Beer Lao with a big head, because...

I took a photo of my Beer Lao in Vientiane, Laos while I was waiting the head would shrink down. Someone told me that two to eight is the best rate for a glass of beer, but the other one told me that three to seven to four to six is the best. We need to find a happy-medium, but actually in this case, my glass of beer looked like five to five. I can't stand a glass of beer with a big head, though. Also, I know it was my fault. That's because it was my first lunch of my second visit to Laos and I was so excited to drink Beer Lao again. Then, it happened, you know why. Can't do anything. Then, I put a positive spin on it. I was able to got my hands-on experience; SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE.

Match made in heaven

This is a lunch packet of rice and curry. I bought it in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka that's the place where you can enjoy cool pristine water, white sand, blue sky with patchy cloud and palm trees. The beach is hidden from the Galle road. Generally, for a lunch they sell this kind of packet on the roads or in shops. It's wrapped in a news paper and plastic. It's easy to spot especially around time for lunch in Sri Lanka. I love it. I bought this kind of packet sometimes and often ate it in a balcony of my hotel with bright sunshine, a breeze monsoon and beer Lion. Match made in heaven.

As Thai as ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง

The photo shows a popular Thai cuisine named Pak Boong Fai Daeng on the rice and a cup of ice water. I took this photo in Thonburi district next to Bangkok. Pak Boon Fai Daeng is a stir-fried Asian green vegetable. Rice is the staple food in Thailand, so generally, most people eat it with rice, or on the rice. This is really nice and famous local food in Thailand. Usually when I return to Thailand, I order this receipt for the first dinner. Then after that, I'm able to get back into the swing of things. I miss the taste all the time. I believe that Thai vocabulary may come in handy some day, so I'm gonna jot it down for you.

I'll take a : ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง

The blonde with the black skirt

I've visited interesting city Amsterdam, Holland. When I received a map of Amsterdam, I was really curious to take a stroll around everywhere to know the lay of the land. Juxtaposition of canals next to roads, not so complicated and it just looked like a kind of spiderwebby for me. In my point of view, it was the most extraordinary map ever. I think there's no other place quite like that in the world. I wish I was able to take a photo from above. With that, I was so busy to explore and walk around in Amsterdam. When I found a guzzlery, I was just thirsty, so I ordered a pint of stout and nachos to unwind.

It never ceases to amaze me.

The photo shows my lunch in Negonbo, Sri-Lanka. This is also Sri-Lankan rice and curry; there're a lot of another photos on this blog, though. I've stayed four hotels in Negombo and I took this photo at one of the hotels. Negombo is on the Southwest coat of Sri Lanka and about 30 minutes drive form the international airport. There are lots of hotels, eateries, shops and a beautiful beach and its sunset. Sri Lanka never ceases to amaze me. I've traveled to 19 counties and I'm thinking that Sri Lanka is one of the best countries in the world; weather, rice and curry, locals and everything. I can't forget how good they were.
See also: Labels "Sri Lanka" another photos of Sri Lankan Rice and curry are there.

Be ready to Rock'n Roll

The photo shows one of the unforgettable lunches in my favorite Sri Lanka, but I don't exactly remember where it was in Sri Lanka. It was after visiting a famous world heritage sight Dambulla. After the sightseeing I had a nice Rice and Curry in a hotel's restaurant somewhere on the road from Dambulla to Negombo. You can see Dal curry in the center foreground of the photo; which is my favorite curry that made from chickpeas. The photo may looks like a buffet style lunch, but not. This is Sri Lankan Rice and curry. We arrange the food on a plate and eat by right hand. When in Rome, when in Sri Lanka.

The most popular bridge in Budapest

I took this photo on the famous Chain Bridge (Hungarian: Lánchíd) in Budapest, Hungary. There are some more bridge in Budapest, but I've heard that this is the most famous and popular one. I went to Hungary to visit this bridge, Heroes' Square (Hungarian: Hősök tere), and to walk along Vaci Street (Hungarian: Váci Utca) and then some. In addition, I looked forward to have Hungarian cuisine like Goulash. Also, I tried to have Tokaji Wine as well and it was really sweet. I learned a lot from the national museum and I really enjoyed night scenery as well. I've heard an extraordinary story about the Heroes' Square from a Hungarian, so I hope I'll be able to write on this blog some time, but I want to save the best for last, so just bear with me please.

You are what you eat

The photo shows my buffet breakfast in Pattaya, Thailand. Generally, some restaurants have some tables on the terrace for smokers in Thailand. I don't smoke, but sometimes I prefer to choose patio dining for a change of pace. It was such a hot day, but one of my favorite experiences. That day, I choose a lot of tropical fruits like papaya, pineapple, melon and rambutan. Rambutan is a tropical fruit which has a red spiny peel. The peel is not so hard, rather soft. When you leave the peel, you can see whitish lychee like round body. Taste is a kind of like in between sweet and acidic. Sounds healthy.

Better late than never

This is another fried rice that I ordered in Vientiane, Laos and my favorite Beer Lao. Do you have any idea what the label says? It says Beer Lao in Laotian. Pretty simple, right? I'm no linguist, but I'd say Thai and Laotian are quite similar that's why I'm able to speak and read both of them. I must admit that all my languages are less than perfect. Even when I speak or write my mother tongue, I make a lot of mistakes, but still. I personally believe that my languages are functional in nearly every situations. If I had to guess, I'd say my only regret is English. I started to learn English officially from the end of October 2006; it about three to four years ago. It looks like too late, huh? Before that, I was not able to communicate with people in English. I'm hoping I'm OK now, and I noticed that better late than never.

Peradeniya Botanical Gardens in Kandy, Sri Lanka

One of the must see sights in Kandy, Sri Lanka is a huge flower garden named Peradeniya Botanical Gardens (a.k.a. Royal flower garden or something like that). Kandy is known for an ancient city of Sri Lanka and has a lot of great important histories for Sinhalese. When I arrived in Kandy, I thought that the city was not so bustle, and as quiet as a mouse. I don't really know how I can describe clearly, but I'd say Kandy has a different appeal from Colombo. I went to the flower garden to see a lot of tropical plants and flowers. It was such a huge, gigantic garden that I needed to go to a loo during my stay in the garden. I was totally blown away, because first of all I was thinking that going to the flower garden was a kind of quick stop before check-in to my hotel, but the garden attracted me a lot. I ended up spending for a long time in the awesome beautiful garden which has a ton of can't-miss things. It's worth going. Seeing is believing.

The Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya, Thailand

This gigantic architectural structure is on the north shore in Pattaya, Thailand. It made of wood and is still under construction like Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. I went there a few times to see the great work. The area is a kind of huge, so I took a donkey-drawn carriage to look around. There are English guides, eateries, loos and a pond. In the pond there are some dolphins and they have dolphin shows twice a day. Before the show I shook hand with a well-trained dolphin and feed them. Dolphins are really smart, cute, and quite warm like humans. It's just my perspective, but dolphins are able to smile like us. During the show the host speaks both Thai and English. I highly recommend to get there. It's a short motorbike taxi drive from the center of Pattaya entertainment district. I believe that local language may come in handy some day, so I'm gonna jot it down in Thai.

••• Take me to : ปราสาทสัจธรรม •••

Don't be afraid of something unknown

Generally, I love to try something new, or something unknown, so when I was in Switzerland I ordered some bottles of beer at my hotel which was located on the top of Mount Pilatus. Half the fun was getting there. There was Gondola Lift system to get to the top of the mountain except after evening to morning. Which means I was not be able to go back to the foot of the mountain until the next morning; The guests shall enjoy wining and dining at the hotel. Also, there was a unique restaurant decorated in Gondola Lift compartment style with a great snowy view and brilliant sunshine. Oh, before I forget, the soup was really nice. I'm a beer guzzler, so I don't order soup so often, but sometimes.

City of canals

I've explored Venice (Italian: Venezia) and it was one of my unique experiences. My hotel was not on the island, but not so very far from there. It was just a hop, skip and jump away. The island was amazing. There were a lot of nice cafes, eateries, buildings, narrow streets and then some. The surprising fact was canals. I know everybody knows that, but I just wanted to say Venice was quiet. That's because there was no cars and no noise pollution. Of course Venice is one of the common tourist trails of Italy, so there were a lot of tourists who were talking, laughing, eating and drinking, but still. I took a stroll around and thought seeing is believing. Venice was a noiseless city.

Beer Lao goes well with everything in Laos

When I ordered a fried rice and Beer Lao at a restaurant in Vientiane, I was starving and thirsty. I'm not a meteorologist, but I've heard that in April and May are the hottest season in Laos. According to the locals the temperature often reaches 40 degrees. No doubt about it, you could fry eggs on the sidewalk. The second time I visited Laos was at the end of May, so I know a little bit about it as a vacationer. So now, how to describe such hot days and what I did. Well... I personally felt like you know? A can of beer was not enough, a few more cans of beer were still not enough and it lacked of something. Then I drank some more beer, and then... crashed out; I repeated the process till the cows come home.

Why don't you take a river cruiser in Bangkok?

I've taken dinner cruise ships in Bangkok, Thailand several times. Two of them were in small ships, two of them were in huge ships. In the ships, I chose a buffet style dinner once, full-course dinners twice, and celebrated my birthday night once. Also, I was able to enjoy seeing Thai traditional music, dance, beer, and then some. I can't forget one of the experiences that starts and finishes at a five-star hotel on the banks of Chao Phraya. There were no other guests for that night and my dinner cruise ship happened to be a chartered for a couple of hours or so. I've chosen the same dinner cruise ship at the same hotel about a few years later, so I know their services were absolutely the same quality even I was the only guest. Variety is the spice of life.

It has a touch of Swiss National Flag

I have a thing for National Flags. Each flags have interesting meanings and I love to learn some about it. When I was in Switzerland, I saw a lot of flags here and there. Also, they make many things in the motif of National Flag. When I stopped by souvenir shops in Lucerne, I was not able to stop looking around and bought a nice notebook, cowbells, a bag, chocolates and then some. Those souvenirs have a touch of Swiss National Flag. I really love their design sense. I found those cool lounge chairs in a large yard in front of my hotel. Awesome job. I took a picture and was relaxed on it.

The train was about to leave

This is my last photo in Budapest, Hungary. I took this shot on the train that ready to headed for Prague, the Czech Republic. It would be a long journey, so I prepared some snack and a couple of tallboy beer cans. Obviously, the beer weren't enough for seven hours train ride, but there was no fridge on the train, so I thought sometimes less is more. It was an interesting experience crossing borders by train in Europe. After the train left Budapest, a guy opened the door of my compartment and said "Hello, I'm Hungarian. Passport please." He totally blindsided me, but after that I got used to show my passport to an immigration officer on the Euro Rail. Later, a Slovakian and a Czech Republican officers came to my compartment one after another. They said hello to me and stumped on my passport. That was so much fun. They were wearing different national characteristic uniforms. I was wondering where they were sitting on the train; I mean in the same compartment or the different one?

Wine is my Kryptonite

I'm a beer addict; I don't care that it's another way to say alcoholic or not whatever, but what I'm trying to say today is about wine. Wine is my Kryptonite. Beer makes me happy, but wine turns my face red easily, and sometimes it gives me a serious type of headache or horrible kind of hangover, so I can't stand that. However, according to an Italian guy, when we drink red wine we'd better eat Parmigiano-Reggiano (a.k.a. Parmesan cheese) together to avoid to have a terrible hangover in the next morning. I ordered some red wine in Rome to enjoy my own Roman Holiday and it was no problem. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. In that case, wine wasn't my Kryptonite in Italy, but I think it was an exception or something like that. I'll need to be more careful when it comes to wine.

Catch-22 situation in Sri Lanka

If I order Rice and curry in Sri Lanka, my table will filled by several dishes like this. It always looks like for a couple of people, but it for one person. Obviously, to eat all of them is impossible, so I was always wondering should I eat all rice or should I eat all curry. It was a kind of catch-22 situation for me. The point is I love rice and I believe each grain of rice has seven gods. Also, I love curry and I believe Sri Lankan curry is the best curry in the world. However, I can't eat all of them for a lunch or a dinner. That's why it was a catch-22 situation.

Give my liver a rest for a change of pace

Here is another Sri Lankan chicken curry and fried rice with papadum (a.k.a. papad). I don't remember why I ordered a bottle of water instead of beer Lion. Did I order both of them? It totally slipped my mind. Spicy food goes with beer, right? So, I don't know, I don't know. However, I remember this restaurant very well. It was in a hotel on the Negombo beach, Sri Lanka. First of all, I booked a hotel room for the first two nights in Sri Lanka, but my stay was extended and I stayed in this hotel for 33 nights in total of course back and forth between Negombo and any other cities in Sri Lanka. The good points were clean rooms, sound of waves, friendly staff and this nice restaurant with a great chef.

Curry and curry and curry and more curry

Like I said, I went to Sri Lanka to eat curry. I love every Sri Lankan food and its taste. The photo shows a simple menu; Chicken curry, Garlic fried rice with spicy omelet. I ate curry countless times in Sri Lanka and I always feel like still not enough. I wanna eat Sri Lankan curry again and again for the rest of my time on earth. I'll be able to return to Sri Lanka this autumn for 26 days and I'm planning to eat curry at least 51 times, up to 76 times. Do you have any idea where did I get this specific number? I counted all my lunch and dinner; I'm hoping to eat curry in the morning as well.

Yaowaraj, Bangkok

Someone says that Bangkok is a notorious for traffic jam. Well...I love Thailand, but in this case I can't agree to disagree. Generally, there are a lot of buses, cars, cabs, motorbikes, Tuk-tuks (a.k.a. Auto rickshaws) and anything else. Sometimes, it's a little hard to cross the street. The photo shows a part of Yaowaraj (a.k.a. Chinatown) in Bangkok. Yaowaraj (Thai: เยาวราช) is a kind of huge area and has a lot of Chinese signes and Thai signes. I wanted to take a picture like this, but it was too hard to stop on the center of the street, so I hopped on a motorbike's backseat and took a quick photo. In Bangkok, I often take a motorbike taxi instead of a cab or a tuk-tuk. It's convenient, speedy, inexpensive and สบาย (English: I feel very nice).

Thai-styled fried fish called pla tod

One of my favorite Thai food is called Pla Tod. It's kind of like a fried fish, but in Thailand people eat them with various spicy sauce; Not always go with lemon wedge or salt and pepper. Also, The sauce doesn't have common taste and I think it depends on chef's sense or something like that. My favorite restaurant is in Yaowaraj (a.k.a. Chinatown), Bangkok. There are a lot of cool poplar restaurants in Yaowaraj and usually full of foodies from all walks of life. My favorite place is in a hotel, so I'll be able to escape the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan.

the Measurement

I really love this kind of unique land mark. I'm not a shutter bug anymore, but I took a quick shot of it in Pattaya, Thailand. According to the route marker, I was 43,250,000 kilometers away from Venus, 10,154 kilometers away from Paris and 3.75 meters away from a beer guzzelery. I'd like to take the word for it, but with a grain of salt; especially London and Paris. Not only that but, I found kinda similar route maker in the famous walking street (a.k.a. International meeting street) in south Pattaya. According to the amusing neon sign I was 0.1 km away from a drink center and also only 0.1 km away from beautiful girls. Actually, there're a lot of similar things in the world. I've seen one of them in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch on the Isle of Anglesey (a.k.a. Ynys Mon) that's the place it has the world's longest town name that I can't pronounce.

A fantastic view from the top of the Mount Pilatus

When I was in Lucerne, Switzerland I stayed at the highest hotel in Europe; it was not about the price, it was about the place. The hotel was on the top of the Mount Pilatus, so I was able to see the panoramic views of the Swiss Alps from there. In a sunny and crisp morning I woke up a little earlier than any other guests, and went out side to take a photo of the mountain range. I was blown away that how spaciousness the Swiss Alps was. This is the photo; I was able to take a part of them, but still. The early bird gets the worm.

Beer makes my own utopia, or like...

I've traveled from Hungary to the Czech Republic by train. After a long train journey, I checked into a cosy hotel in Prague. First thing I needed to do was not take a shower, not change clothes, but I wanted to get some beer from nearby mom-and-pop shop. I took a stroll around and found a nice shop to buy my energy. There were a kindly guy and a woman. When I picked and choose some tallboy beer cans randomly, they highly recommended to me to choose one of them. When I had the beer I realized that Czech beer has been underrated among my friends, because they've never been and they just don't know. Later, I told them about the fact. Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Paint a mental picture

I've traveled to one of the picturesque cities in Central Europe; Prague, the Czech Republic. I've almost forgotten the specific number, but it was about seven hours from Budapest, Hungary by Euro train. My hotel was luckily within walking distance from the old city, so I was able to enjoy my stay in the historic city. The photo shows Prague castle (Czech: Prazsky hrad) and the famous Charles bridge (Czech: Karluv most) over the river Vltava (German: Moldau). So, please just draw a mental picture of a sunny, bright day and uninterrupted cobblestone lanes in this stunning city. I personally believe that this is one of the breathtaking views in Prague.