Can I get a rain check?

I've been to a wooden shoes workshop in North Holland. I saw a great surprising work to make a wood shoe from scratch. A guy described how to make a wood shoe and he made a shoe in front of visitors. was impressed and I really wanted to buy them, but when I arrived in Holland from Germany by a coach, my suitcase weighted more than 19 kg; I mean almost 19.5 kg or a bit more. After Holland, I was planning to go to London via Belgium and France, and after that I needed to take an airplane. I'm always an economy class passenger, so my suitcase have to weigh under 20 kg. So, I was thinking for minutes to manage my situation, but I just gave up. Anyway, those shoes and his work were awesome. I still remember vividly.

The humongous pumpkin of Buddha Park

I've been to a unique and interesting place in Laos. It's called Buddha Park (a.k.a. Wat Xieng Khuan) and is located in outskirts of Vientiane in a way. There were more than hundred statures of Hinduism and Buddhism. The first eye-catching stature was a humongous pumpkin. I went inside from the huge amusing mouth and climbed onto the top of the pumpkin. It was about three meters high and I was able to see the entire park form there. I had a whale of a time in the park and this happened to be my 100th post.

Take me to an Isan food restaurant

The northeast religion of Thailand is called Isan (or sometimes it's spelled Isaan, Thai: อีสาน) and has my favorite kind of spicy food. We can find a lot of good Isan restaurant in Bangkok as well. The photo shows Green Papaya Salad, Spicy Minced Pork Salad, Grilled Chicken and their staple sticky rice. All of them are speciality of Isan. I took this photo at a good Isan place near Ratchadamnoen Muay Thai Stadium in Bangkok. Green Papaya Salad is called Som Tum (Thai: ส้มตำ), Spicy Minced Pork Salad is called Laab Moo (Thai: ลาบหมู), Grilled Chicken is called Kai Yang (Thai: ไก่ย่าง). Kai Yang is a very common street food, so I think we can find all over Thailand. Thai sticky rice is called Khao Neow (Thai: ข้าวเหนียว). Then now, what else I can jot it down. So, Isan food restaurant is called Ran Ahan Isan (Thai: ร้านอาหารอีสาน). I hope those words come in handy some day.

Just like UNESCO World Heritage Site

Personally I believe this is the must see site of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka; Rankot Vihara. The biggest Dagaba of Polonnaruwa. Many moons ago there was the capital of Sinhalese Kingdom and now Polonnaruwa is one of UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka. I went there after Anuradhapura before Sigiriya. Sri Lanka is famous for its beautiful beaches and some beach resorts have been attracting a lot of vacationers. On the other hand, there are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Like I said, I love beaches and I love sitting on a lounge chair or stuff like this and doing nothing. Actually, I don't know much about histories or ancient ruins or epic battles, but I was impressed to be there. I'd like to visit there again.

Dining at a hotel

I took this nice Rice and Curry at an ocean view hotel in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The hotel was really nice. There were a lot of helpful staff and great chefs. They taught me how I can write my name in Sinhalese. All rooms were ocean view and had a balcony or terrace. The restaurant is amazing. There were some tables in a terrace as well and I was able to see the Indian Ocean in front of me. The beach was just one step down from the terrace. Sometimes I wanted to take a break in the afternoon, in that case I had some cups of Ceylon tea and enjoyed the incredible scenery with sound of waves to unwind.

Beady eyes, floppy ears, and a gigantic body

I love elephants, so I was really excited to see this at the main entrance of Ruwanwelisaya Stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. I've ridden elephants several times. The first place I rode an elephant was Ayutthaya, Thailand. It was about 15 minutes or so. The second place was Rose Garden in Bangkok, Thailand. It was so much fun and a lot of photos about it. The third place was Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo near Rose Garden. It was about 20 minutes or so. The fourth place was Chitwan National Park, Nepal. I did an hour Jungle Safari with an elephant twice. I found a deer and any other animals from the back of an elephant. The elephant was very smart and took care of me in the jungle. For example, the elephant removed spider webs for me. I was truly impressed. The fifth place was in the outskirts of Kegalle, Sri Lanka. It was the biggest male elephant I've ever ridden. I'm not sure, but it was about 30 minutes or so.

I'm a huge fan of Mama Pad Kee Mao

One day in Thailand I went to Nakhon Pathom (Thai: นครปฐม) from Bangkok to have a dinner. Nakhon Pathom is famous for Phra Pathom Chedi (Thai: พระปฐมจดีย์) which is the tallest stupa in the world. In front of the stupa, there was a huge night bazaar and I took a Mama Pad Kee Mao (Thai: มาม่าผัดขี้เมา). I'm no linguist, but Mama (Thai: มาม่า) is a brand name of instant noodles, Pad (Thai: ผัด) means fry, and Kee Mao (Thai: ขี้เมา) means inebriated person (a.k.a. drunken man or kind of like this). So, Mama Pad Kee Mao is kind of like a spicy fried instant noodles. You can also ask a chef to fry it with seafood (Thai: ทะเล) or pork (Thai: หมู) or something you like. In that case you can say I'll take a : มาม่าผัดขี้เมาทะเล or มาม่าผัดขี้เมาหมู and so on.

Wat Ho Phra Keo in Vientiane, Laos

I've been to Laos twice and almost all my photos are Beer Lao and Laotian food, but I did some sightseeing just like everybody else. This is one of my photos of Vientiane. The temple is called Wat Ho Phra Keo. It's located within walking distance from Namphou, across from Wat Sisaket. Namphou is a fountain. It's located in the heart of Vientiane. There are a lot of nice hotels around there. Both time of my visit, I didn't make a hotel reservation in advance. I remember that for the second time of my visit, I asked a hotel near Namphou, if they had a room available, but they were fully booked. When I went outside, some Laotian locals were loitering and asked me to try the next one. So follow my logic here. It was a pretty nice hotel; A clean room with a bathroom, nice friendly receptionists, a free bottle of water each day, very convenient location, well, how shall I put it?

My plans are still up in the air

I'm planning to return to Sri Lanka in November. I'm gonna stay in Colombo for the first two nights, but after that it's up in the air in a way. So, let's pencil in Plan A for now. Well, from the third day I'm thinking that to go on a round trip. First, I'm gonna visit Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, then stay in Habarana for a night. Next, I'd like to go to Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya. I wanna stay for a couple of nights in a jungle near Sigiriya. After that, I'm gonna go to Kandy via Dambulla. I'd like to stay in Kandy at least three nights. Then after that, I'm thinking to go to Nuwara Eliya for a couple of nights and then down to the southern coast. I'm teetering between Unawatuna and Mirissa to stay for about 10 days on the beach. After the long stay, I'm gonna go to Galle and stay there for a couple of nights. Then, I think I might stay in Hikkaduwa for a couple of nights, then back to the airport area; I mean Mt. Lavinia, Colombo, Negombo, or Chilaw are possibilities. The photo shows Gampaha. It seems to be difficult to squeeze a plan to return there, but I might be able to go there during last few days from wherever I'll stay around the airport.

Machapuchare and Annapurna III

Here's my another photo of the Himalayas. My favorite Machapuchare (6,993m) and the other one is called Annapurna III (7,555m). I took the photo from Pokhara, Nepal at 7:00 a.m. It was in September, so only in sunny and bright early mornings I was able to see the Himalayas. Not every morning, but sometimes. I went to Pokhara by a car from Kathmandu via Chitwan National Park, Tilaurakot, One of the possible locations for Kapilavastu, Lumbini and so on. It took four days to get to Pokhara and it was fantastic, because such a long drive had such surprising experiences. Mark my words. So then, I spent 19 nights in Pokhara and returned to Kathmandu by Sita Air. It took about 30 minutes or so and a flight attendant gave me a candy.

Insane in the membrane

I've seen a double rainbow in Negombo, Sri Lanka. Insane in the membrane. I tried so hard to take a beautiful picture of it, and there are four pictures here, but the second rainbow has quite a soft light and difficulty seeing. I think this is my best shot of it from my hotel room. It's barely visible. I usually travel alone, so when I have this kind of lucky experiences there's no one to share or to talk to. That day, I was dying to tell someone about the crazy double rainbow, and I talked about it to an Indian rickshaw (a.k.a. tuk-tuk) driver.

Pronunciation is not my forte

When I was relaxed on a lounge chair at a hotel's poolside in Pattaya, Thailand, I had a small talk with a guy who was relaxed on the next lounge chair. He is Austrian and he tried to explain to me about Mozart. However, our pronunciations were totally different especially "Mozart", so when he asked me if I knew about Mozart, I said no, no idea. He was really surprised and showed me 1 Euro coin and asked me again if I knew his face. Of course I knew the face, that's him, Mozart. A famous musician. That's why he looked like a deer in the headlights when I said I had no idea about Mozart. Pronunciation is not my forte. I didn't know that Austrian 1 Euro coin has his face, though. Anyway, after three months I visited Salzburg and found Mozart's birth place (a.k.a. Mozarts Geburtshaus). It stood out on the road and had a long Austrian flag. Everybody took a picture, so I did the same. I'm not sure, but I've heard that the world famous musician was born on the fourth floor of this building.

Many moons ago, there was the capital of...

I've been to Queen's Pavilion (a.k.a. Moonstone Site) in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. I'm no expert, but I'm personally understanding that it shows us human deed or like desires, reincarnations, the other side in a way and so on under the scorching sun. When I stood there, I had no words to describe my emotions. Only thing I could do was taking a picture of it. I was in awe of the ancient moonstone and the ancient capital. Yes. Anuradhapura was the capital of Sri Lanka more than 2,500 years ago.

Nuwara Eliya had left such a big impression on me

I've spent one night in Nuwara Eliya. This place is famous for Ceylon tea factory and is located in a central highland of Sri Lanka. It's on a tropical island, but didn't have hot boiling weather. It was rather cool for me. With that, I thought the temperature of Nuwara Eliya was different from any other Sri Lankan cities, especially in the morning and at night. I didn't have any sweaters or cardigans, so I was kicking myself. I needed it at least one. In quite a nippy morning I took Sri Lankan curry with some bread at a hotel's dining and after that I went to see a gigantic beautiful tea plantation. The scenery had left such a big impression on me. I wanna go there again, but next time with a warm jacket.

One day excursion to a neighboring country

I've been to Salzburg, Austria where the place is known as the birthplace of Mozart and this led a lot of vacationers to visit the beautiful city. I got there from Munich, Germany by a train. It was my one-day excursion from Germany to Austria and it was so much fun to see a lot of things from the train windows. Just before I got to the heart of the city I found a cute bakery cafe and took a quick shot of it. The window decoration made me really happy and I loved it. Actually, I've been thinking that bakery shops are always seems like happy smiley places. They sell not only some bread, and give their customers pleasure and happy smile in a way. I'm not a bread eater usually, but I love the warm friendly atmosphere which I able to feel in bakery shops or bakery cafes.

Cheese and cheese and cheese and more cheese

Until I arrived in Holland, I didn't know that Holland is famous for cheese. My only a little knowledge of Holland were windmills, tulips, and the exotic law. My hotel was a little too far from the heart of Amsterdam, and it's in Monnickendam, but I felt very relaxed in the area. Just before I checked into the hotel, I went to see a nice craft center and took this photo. They sell so many different kind of cheeses and their customers are able to taste. Luckily, I don't have a lactose intolerance, and I love dairy products especially cheese, so the place looked like a little dairy paradise for me.

Stop to smell the roses in Chilaw, Sri Lanka

I've been to Chilaw twice. It's located on the West coat of Sri Lanka. In my humble opinion, Chilaw is not a common tourist trail, but has a calm quiet town, a nice market, and able to receive a low-key welcome from the locals. It's not in the same kind of atmospheres as metropolis, or like a popular beach resort, but it's rather favorable sometimes. Rice and Curry there had some dried chilies and small fish. That's interesting, because I ate Sri Lankan Rice and Curry countless times in several places in Sri Lanka, but I think I saw this kind of style only in Chilaw and it was extremely nice. I took this lunch at an oceanfront hotel's dining. My room had a balcony and I really liked sitting there and doing nothing.

Cross the border to Scotland

When I traveled around the UK, I crossed the border to Scotland by a coach. Actually, I got off the coach and tried to cross the border on foot as well. I walked around the border rock, took a picture of it and was just staring into the horizon. I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere and was really excited about to get into fantastic North Britain to look around a fantasy world of the Loch Ness Monster and then some. Later, I might show you a photo of the Loch Ness without the famous monster. I was not able to take a picture of Nessie, because she is very shy.

What's on your side?

While taking a stroll around Prague, the Czech Republic I found a nice eatery to have a lunch with Czech Beer. I've heard that Pork Schnitzel (Czech: Vepřový řízek) is one of the Czech popular menus, so I took that and it was pretty good. I took some rice on my side, but generally the Pork Schnitzel is considered to go well with potatoes. Rice is my staple food, but in Europe rice was a side order. It was just unbelievable for me. Come to think of it, basically, I don't eat rice and bread together, but they served some bread as well.

Receive rave reviews

This is my very first photo of Europe; Notre Dame de Paris. I got to Paris via London. I took a ferry across the English channel from Dover, the UK to Calais, France. I spent a night in London near King's Cross station, then the next morning I took a coach and was headed for Dover. I saw the white cliffs of Dover as well, but there are no photos. I don't know why. Probably it was freezing out there and I didn't want to take my hands out of my pockets. With that, Notre Dame de Paris came to officially my first photo of Europe. I'm no expert, but this Gothic cathedral has been earning rave reviews from all over the world and is a part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites of France; Paris, Banks of the Seine. Sounds like my first photo of Europe.

Galle, Sri Lanka - An attractive featured city

On the way to Unawatuna beach I dropped by Galle to see one of Sri Lankan UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the old town of Galle. The photo shows All Saints Church which is located inside of the Galle Fort. Galle is located 6.3 degrees north latitude and the capital of Southern Province of Sri Lanka. It's located on a tropical area, but has a small touch of Europe due to Portuguese, Dutch and thus British colonial era. One of them is All Saints church. I don't know much about architecture, but I've heard that it's a Gothic building. One of the breathtaking sites of Sri Lanka.

To each his own

When I arrive at a hotel room in Thailand, sometimes there are some tropical fruits with a welcoming messages. The photo shows one of them. When I stayed at a hotel in central Pattaya, I found this dish on a table. It had a interesting seasonal fruits calender, a knife and fork, and a cloth napkin as well. Someone said that Thailand had hot season, hotter season, and the hottest season. I don't agree with that. I've spent in Thailand some part of January, February and some part of May to December off and on. I remember that May was extremely hot especially in northeast provinces, but from the end of October to the beginning of December was not so very hot, rather cool or like crisp especially in the morning and at night even in Bangkok. I love all seasons in Thailand. I think to each his own.

Early bird gets the worm

One of my favorite places in Germany is St. Goar (a.k.a. Sankt Goar) which is located in the Central Rhine Valley and the town is known for legendary the Loreley Rock. I've been there twice. One day at night I drank some beer at a hotel's bar space then a lot of tourists returned to the hotel and then the night happened to be a crazy dance party with abundant of alcoholic drinks includes fabulous German beer. It was one of my fun memories in Europe. After the crazy inebriated night, I woke up early and took a stroll along the river. I was able to take such beautiful pictures of the stunning town. Early bird gets the worm.

Let's eat out

The photo shows one of my breakfast in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The third time I arrived in Sri Lanka was around midnight. The next morning I went to Muslim curry place to have my breakfast. I was starving, so I felt really nice that there was a good place to enjoy curry breakfast on the Negombo beach road. 'Cause almost tourist hotels in Negombo beach area serve American Breakfast for tourists such as bread, ham, two eggs and tea or something like that. I was there to eat curry, so I had my breakfast outside of my hotel countless times.

I was damn happy to be there

I've heard that Sri Lanka has eight UNESCO World Heritage sites. I've been to six places other than Sinharaja Forest and the newest one that was registered as a World Heritage site in this year. After Anuradhapura before Polonnaruwa I spent one night in Habarana. It looked like a small city, but I was able to enjoy a little bit of jungle walk and it was so much fun. I stayed at a nice tourist hotel and took a fantastic dinner at the hotel's restaurant. I took the Rice and Curry. The photo shows a lot of plates on the table. Believe it or not, those plates were for one person. I was damn happy to be there.

A very spicy Tom Yum soup of Ko Samet

I've been to Ko Samet via Rayong in Thailand. Ko means island in Thai, so Ko Samet is an island and it's not too far from Bangkok or the international airport. Many foreign tourists love to go to Ko Phuket, Ko Chang or Ko Samui, so I'm not sure, but Ko Samet seemed to be considered a kinda off the beaten track or something like that for foreign vacationers. Instead, there were a lot of Thai vacationers on the island. I went into a Thai food place at night. There weren't English menus on the walls; probably they were preparing some paper menus in English, but I didn't ask them coz I speak Thai. Anyway, I took a Tom Yum Soup, a Thai Omelet, some plain rice and so on. The foods were amazingly nice. Hot, spicy and it was authentic I must admit. Even Thai locals who were sitting next to me said that the Tom Yum soup was very spicy. It set our mouth on fire. I really loved it and I was satisfied at all.

What a small world..

I've been to Edinburgh castle in Scotland, the UK. A unique local guide who was wearing a Scottish traditional costume took me to the castle and showed me around. It was so cool. I found a beautiful coat of arms and took the photo of it. Come to think of it, I happened to encounter some Australian tourists by chance. First, we met in London and had a small talk about our trips. They got to Edinburgh via Manchester, I got there via York. Then, we met again at the heart of Edinburgh by coincidence. We were waiting for the traffic light to change on the both sides of the crossing. So then, they recognized me and waved at me. It really blindsided me. What a coincidence. Small world.

Not all day long, but everyday

The photo shows my dinner in Vientiane, Laos. I took a dinner at one of the Mekong riverside restaurants and ordered Beer Lao and Laotian food; Lab, cucumber salad and sticky rice. It was at the end of May. I've heard that April and May are considered the hottest season in Laos. I love hot countries, so it was really nice for me. During my vacation the sky was kinda cloudy. I wanted to see the sun set over the Mekong with a can of beer in one hand, but unfortunately my dreams were shattered due to the sky. Instead, I enjoyed beer Lao not all day long, but everyday.

I was in the city of beer; Munich, Germany

When I was in Munich, Germany I really enjoyed the nighttime activity due to some fantastic German beer, food and a popular huge guzzlery near the famous Marienplatz. That was my epitome of German holiday. During daytime hours, I tried to get to know the lay of the land for a little bit. I went to the Marienplatz to see the famous clock show on the New Town Hall (German: Neues Rathaus). I don't remember exactly, but it was around noon I think. Luckily it was a picture perfect day and there was not a cloud in the sky.

The color pops out at me

When I was taking a stroll around Nice old town, France, I found a greengrocery next to a cafe. I was there as a short-stay vacationer, so I didn't buy anything, but the colour of the greengrocery pop out at me, so I took a photo of it. I love vegetables and fruits. Nice old town was really unique place. If I took the first right or took the second left, I would find totally different scenery which attracted me a lot. I couldn't stop walking to see something new, something different, and something unforgettable.

Nepal has the Himalayas and then some

I've been to Nepal twice. First of all, I went to Nepal to get to Bhutan via Kathmandu. After Bhutan, I returned to Nepal to visit great places in the Himalayan country. The first day and the last day in Nepal, I was in the capital Kathmandu. I was in awe of it. Everything I saw was different from my past experiences. Curious to say, but everything was new for me, however on the other hand, staying in Kathmandu reminded me of good old days or the ancient beautiful world of many moons ago. I don't know why, but I guess that was because the city had a picture-book scenery that I've imagined not only once. The colour of the walls or the roofs were amazingly nice. I liked that brick-red city so much. The photo shows prayer Mani wheels. I took this photo at Swayambhunath.

Sticky Dal Curry and Dry Dal Curry in Frankfurt

On the 51st day in Europe I was in Frankfurt, Germany. That day I luckily found a curry place near the ECB (stands for European Central Bank). I went inside the shop and ordered a Dal Curry (a.k.a. chickpeas curry or something like that). I didn't know, but they had two kind of Dal curry. Sticky Dal Curry or Dry Dal Curry. They asked me which one I wanted to take. I'm a Libra and have a case of procrastinating personality sometimes, so I was not able to choose only one curry, so then ordered both of them. The photo shows the result. The left one was the Sticky Dal Curry, and the other one was the Dry Dal Curry. It was my first rice in a while, so I ate it for the sake of it. Thank Frankfurt, it was truly nice.

I think I already ate enough bread in my lifetime

I'm Asian, so rice is my staple food and I really love fried rice. One day in Sri Lanka I ordered a fried rice and a chicken curry. Then, the fried rice happened to be a garlic fried rice. I mean the chef put some garlic to make the fried rice. I don't know why it happened, but I really liked the taste, so I ordered it time and time again. I think it really went well with curry and Sri Lankan beer Lion. I remember that when I was in Europe for 53 days, I was not able to eat enough rice and I ate plenty of bread instead every single day. With that, after the long stay in Europe I was not able to eat bread for about a year or so. Now I'm okay, but at that moment I was really sick of bread. I'm sure rice is my staple food.

Half the fun is getting there

I've been to France via Dover by a huge ferry, so my passport stamp of France has a cute ship symbol in it. First, I arrived in Calais and went to Paris. It was my first time to get to the beautiful old continent, so I was really excited to be there. Paris was fantastic, but I was more into Nice. The photo shows a narrow alley of Nice old town. I was happy to get lost in the attractive town. There were so many cool cafes, eateries, souvenir shops and so on. I spent a long time alone to take a stroll around, but I was not able to know whole lay of the land. It was beautifully complicated. The point was the beach. If I got lost, I would be able to find the beach easily without a bulky map or something like that. For a lunch, I had a really nice French style sandwich, but I don't remember where the shop was. Half the fun was getting there.

The grass is always greener, isn't it?!

I have still not gotten used to serving food at a buffet style breakfast. The photo shows one of my results at an exotic hotel in Pattaya, Thailand. First, I took some fried rice and put some chilies on it. Then, I took some fried meat & vegetables and some fresh salad on my side. It looked like very Thai and it was so yummy, so I liked it, but I kept an eye on any other guests and I realized that Europeans and North Americans are very good at serving food at buffet. The grass is always greener isn't it?! Anyway, Thai fried rice is my favorite. It's called Khao pad in Thai. You'll find anywhere in Thailand, but I'm gonna jot it down in case.

I'll take a : ข้าวผัด

Let's get cool @ a poolside garden

The photo shows a hotel's pool and its poolside garden in Pattaya, Thailand. The place had a poolside bar and shower booths as well. I love beaches, but sometimes hotel's pools are more relaxing, more quiet and more convenient I think. I don't have to pay for a lounge chair, towels, taking a shower and so on at a hotel's pool but food and drinks are pricier than some stalls on a beach. They are different like night and day especially in Thailand. The long and the short of it that I love exotic tropical places, so I'm able to enjoy both of them.

Make some plans on a hit-or-miss basis

I'm going to be able to return to Sri Lanka on the 4th of November. I chose a kinda big hotel in Colombo for the first two nights due to my flight schedule. I'm gonna fly in Sri Lanka around 10:00 p.m. using Sri Lankan Airline and after that I'll need to go to immigration, baggage claims, or something like that, so I didn't want to waste some more time to find a nice cosy hotel around midnight; it sounds exhausting. Obviously, I was teetering between Negombo or Colombo to stay for the first night. Negombo is closer from the international airport, but this time I will go to Colombo first and after that I'm gonna make some plans to enjoy Sri Lanka on a hit-or-miss basis. It'll be my 6th time to visit Sri Lanka and I'll be there for 26 days until the end of November. Just go with the flow. The photo shows a rice and curry lunch at my favorite place near the Negombo beach. I think I'll be able to return to this place as well.

It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack

I took a quick photo of something famous at King's cross station in London, the U.K. I think I'm not a witch and I don't know when they started to show the place for vacationers, but the place was extremely visible for me. I don't know it's weird or pretty normal, however I'm just able to say it was awesome and I was quite excited to be there. I had enough time to wait to take a photo of "them", but unfortunately it was impossible. There were so many people and the place was pretty famous. I'd say trying to find the boy was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It sounds like a mission impossible, right? So, I just gave up my dream to get inside or something like that and I painted the town red instead. My hotel was really close to King's cross station.

Hindsight is always 20/20

My first time visit to Vienna, Austria was right after Italy which is one of my favorite countries in Europe, so the first day in Vienna, I just missed Italy so much and didn't think much about things that was going on around me. On the second day in Vienna, I realized that Vienna has so many beautiful buildings and statues from place to place. So then, I started to take photos. Better late than never. I really love this photo and it was surely somewhere in Hofburg Palace, but I don't know the name of the statue. The woman's dress was amazing. It looked like a silk dress, but it made of stone or something similar. I needed to be more careful to know the history of Austria, but you know, hindsight is always 20/20, right? Maybe some other time.

Variety is the spice of life

When I return to Thailand, I usually eat Pak Boon Fai Daeng (Thai: ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง) for my first dinner. You can see the dish on the right side of the photo. I had this dinner at my favorite place in Pattaya, Thailand. The place is a little too far from beach side hotels area, so I often take a motorbike taxi to get there for the first night. I mean just after long bumpy flight from somewhere. That day I ordered a egg salad dish as well for a change. I don't know how do you say in English, but Thai call it Yum Kai Dao (also spelled Yam Jhai Dao, Thai: ยำไข่ดาว). I'm no linguist, but Yum (Thai: ยำ) means mix, Kai (Thai: ไข่) means eggs and Dao (Thai: ดาว) means star in English, so Yum Kai Dao is like deep fried eggs and mixed salad. Deep fried eggs has a scraggly shape and in a way it looks like a star, so it's called Kai Dao (Thai: ไข่ดาว). By the way, when you can see the menu includes the word "Yum" in Thailand, I'd say it's a spicy food and it's so yummy due to Thai chefs mix a lot of chilies in it. I love spicy food.

What are the differences between a resort and a town?

I ate breakfast at a Tamil curry place in Negombo town, Sri Lanka. Compare to any other curry photos of my blog, this photo doesn't look similar, it look rather different. Negombo has two different areas. Resort area has many kind of hotels, eateries, bars, some shops and the beach. Almost vacationers stay in resort area. It's convenient enough and very relaxing. Negombo town has a lot of shops, banks, eateries, markets and so on. It's a town that you can imagine about it. I'd say it's a kind of bustle and the crowd is like a sea of people. The town is 10 to 15 minutes tuk-tuk-drive from the resort area, so I took a tuk-tuk to eat this Tamil curry for a breakfast. It was really nice and I went there again and again.

The tropical paradise of the tropical country

The photo shows a beautiful tropical garden in Kandy, Sri Lanka. I'm thinking that this royal flower garden called Peradeniya Botanical Gardens is a tropical paradise of a tropical country. If you've ever dreamed about the tropical garden or something like that, this place would have something that you dreamed. I had never seen so many tropical plants, flowers, trees in my whole life, so I was really excited to be there. I don't know how big the garden was. I only know that I was not be able to walk around every alleys in the garden, even though I lost track of time.