The closing post in 2010

I was thinking for about 10 minutes what I shall write on the last post in 2010 and now I just gave up and do the same old thing. The photo shows my last dinner at a fantastic restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal. This is called Polvo a Lagareiro. Polvo means octopus. I really enjoyed the dinner, and I really didn't want to leave Portugal. It was very nice place than I expected and I thought everything was awesome. Food, landmarks, people, beer, buildings, cobblestone lanes and more. I really wanna return some time.

That fits the bill

I've got asked from my acquaintance why there weren't my pictures from my trips. Not only one reason actually. I almost always go on a solo-trip, and I'm not photogenic and also I personally believe that landscape photographs look way nicer than my portraits. I took this picture in Athens, Greece. This is the Caryatids of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis. Obviously, this is one of the must see sights in Athens, so there were so many tourists around me, but I didn't ask them to take my picture in front of this beautiful place. I definitely didn't want to do that.

Time doesn't heal all wounds

I've sprained my knee while I was skiing. Actually it was many moons ago, and I don't remember that the knee sprain happened to my right knee or left knee, but after that I'm afraid of every winter sports. I think it's like some sort of trauma and realized that time doesn't heal all wounds. By the way, I took this picture in Lucerne, Switzerland on the way to my hotel on the Mt. Pilatus. I finally realized that how come this picture looks a little funny; gondola lifts without snow seems like oxymoronic in a way.

Ever-popular pad ka prao

Ever-popular Thai food named Pad ka prao kai (Thai: ผัดกะเพราไก่) can be eaten everything on a plate like the photo shows; put it on rice with an over well egg. In such case, it's called Pad ka prao kai rad khao khai dao (Thai: ผัดกะเพราไก่ราดข้าวไข่ดาว). Sometimes in English can be called stir-fried basil and chicken served with steamed rice and an over well egg or something like that. Pad (ผัด) means stir-fried, Ka prao (กะเพรา) means basil, Kai (ไก่) means chicken, Rad (ราด) means like put something on something, Khao (ข้าว) means steamed white rice, Khai dao (ไข่ดาว) means over well egg. I took this photo at a hotel's restaurant near Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport. I'm gonna return to this hotel next month just before my flight to Copenhagen, Denmark. The hotel provides free transfer from and to the airport and it's convenient for me. I've stayed there twice.

Am I interrupting?

When I was in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, I went to see this place twice. For the first time, a city tour bus took me to the place. An English speaking guide stopped the bus, and explained to us about this place which was one of the famous film locations in Los Angeles. We didn't have a time to get off the bus, so I returned to the place another day to take some more pictures and looked a little closer. It reminded me of the Cinderella-like story so much. When I took a picture, and more I took a picture, and I tried to take one more picture from a different angle, a passerby did a double take.

So worth it

I've been to Salzburg, Austria from Munich, Germany by a train as a one-day excursion. I really liked stunning Vienna, so I just wanted to go to Austria again before I left Europe and I decided to go on the one-day excursion. It was actually not so very close, but it  wasn't too far in a way. Compare to the capital Vienna, Salzburg was a kind of cozy and quiet place. I'd say they didn't look similar, they looked rather different, but just like Vienna, Salzburg was a picturesque place. Look! This view was so worth it.

Viewer discretion is advised

In Negombo, Sri Lanka, I needed to use mosquito coils to repel mosquitoes. It's shaped like a coil exactly like the photo shows. First, hold it at the center. Next, light up at the outermost tip. Then, it starts to burn slowly toward the center just like an incense. So then, put it on a floor or somewhere else as you like, but be careful it's burning. Besides, in Unawatuna I used a bug spray for the same purpose. I was not able to find any bug zappers or kind of like that stuff in Sri Lanka, but the mosquito coils and the bug spray were quite functional. Again, don't put mosquito coils on a bed or a sofa. Viewer discretion is advised.

Self-explanatory

I bought a couple of tall boy cans in Tel Aviv, Israel. The black one was called Goldstar. Even before I bought this beer in Israel, I knew about this beer. A couple of years ago, I've talked about this beer with an Israeli. I love to see the letters that I can't read, so I quickly found Hebrew letters on the middle of the emblem and asked what it meant. The answer was Goldstar. Self-explanatory. The red one has Hebrew letters on the side, but it seems like a Danish beer. I'm gonna go to Copenhagen next month, so I might be able to enjoy the red one again.

Sound like a broken record

I wrote a lot about Negombo, Sri Lanka, and I know I sound like a broken record, so this time I try to write different side of Negombo. The beach area was sort of self-sufficient, but when it came to currency exchange, I needed to go to Negombo town. I'm fond of walks, so I always enjoyed the way to the town on foot; the town is about three kilos away from the beach area. There were lots of opportunities to see unusual animals or birds in Negombo. Once, an owl was sitting right in front of my balcony. When I picked up my camera, the owl's gone.

Polar opposite

I saw a fireplace for the first time in Inverness, Scotland, the UK. I was there in April, but the hotel still had to open fire in the fireplace. It was so cold and reminded me of a joke that lawyers have their hands in their own pockets. Speaking of cold weather, I'm gonna go to Copenhagen, Denmark for seven days in January 2011. Also, from there I might go to Malmö, Sweden by a train as a one-day excursion. I can imagine it'll be my coldest experience in my whole life. I'm gonna fly into Copenhagen from Bangkok. Basically, Bangkok's average temperature is around 32 degrees Celsius during the day time. So, the difference will be like night and day. I think it'll be so much fun.

Stick out like a sore thumb

This is not the Great Sphinx of Giza. As you know, the Great Sphinx of Giza is the largest one and its nose is missing. This is the Alabaster Sphinx of Memphis. When I went to Memphis, Egypt, the Sphinx lay in the museum without a roof; I mean right under the sizzling sun. By the way, before the trip I was wondering what I shall wear in Egypt at the beginning of October. People looked at me as a tourist, so I didn't have to dressed modestly all the time, but I sort of thought that at least covered shoulders and knees was a better idea, because when I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and stuff, I stuck out like a sore thumb in Cairo and more.

Fingers were made before forks

In Europe, I always try to find and eat something different food at each meal. However, I took this Roast duck three days in a row in Prague, the Czech Republic. When I went to Prague, I asked a tour agency at the Prague railway station and I was able to find a nice inexpensive hotel with quite good location. Near the hotel there was a cool place to have a dinner with Czech beer. The Roast duck tasted like heaven. It was a bit too hard for me to eat it using a knife and a fork. I often hear it said that fingers were made before forks, though.

World-famous under construction

I went to Spain to eat and drink, but I did some sightseeing just like everybody else. As for Barcelona, the Sagrada Família was so stunning, Park Güel was unique, and Port Vell was gorgeous. The photo shows beautiful stained glass windows in the Sagrada Família. I arrived to the station around 10:20 a.m., and after that, I needed to wait in a line for about 40 minutes to get an entrance ticket. While I was waiting, I took some pictures from outside of the church. People around me were speaking in many different languages. Also, I saw a lot of people still continued the work to take care of unfinished epic vision of Antoni Gaudí. Fabulous.

How to get to Soi Buakhao?

I took this picture on the Pattaya Beach Road, Thailand. One of the Pattaya's huge shopping places turned on lights in a tree at night. A lot of people were taking pictures in front of the tree, so I did the same. As I mentioned before, I often get asked for directions. That day a Caucasian guy who was riding a motorbike stopped his motorbike right next to me and asked if I knew how to get to Soi Buakhao. I know it's hard to pronounce Thai. In my personal experience, it'll be easy to show Thai letters for Thais to ask directions. For example, Soi Buakhao can be written ซอยบัวขาว in Thai. Happy holidays.

Twas NOT the night before Christmas

It's Christmas once again. I took this photo in Sri Lanka. When I went to a one-day excursion to Chilaw from Negombo, I found a lot of Santa Claus in front of a shop. I asked my tuk-tuk driver to stop his vehicle for a while and I took the picture. Compare to ever-expanding tourists trails in Sri Lanka, Chilaw had a low-key atmosphere in a way. The town was much quieter than any other South Western beach resorts, and had some interesting places to visit. It was a one-day excursion, but I rent a beachfront room for five hours and spent some time in a cosy balcony.

Doggy poop bags

Madrid, Spain was a surprisingly clean city. A lot of cleanup workers take care of the streets very hard. I was there in a foliage season. I saw people who raked up fallen leaves, retrieved cigarette buts and such hour by hour. By their favor, Madrid was not only a beautiful city, it was also a clean city. Come to think of it, I saw a garbage box on the street and it had some doggy poop bags as well. Brilliant idea. Some people may looked at me and may thought why I took a picture of a garbage box. However, it was my first time to be Madrid, and I saw this kind of garbage box for the first time in my life. That's why it was time to take a picture of it. To each their own.

Look at the bright side

I went to Giza, Egypt to see the pyramids which is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the rest is history. I personally felt that compare to any other countries that I've been to, a lot of things went at a slow pace in Egypt. Generally, I don't like to wait and I hate to keep someone waiting, but things were different in Egypt. I quickly learned that I'd better do as the Egyptians do. When in somewhere kind of thing. All the waiting doesn't take all the fun. Just be patient. Look at the bright side. Look at the camels.

Thai rice noodles and seasoning

I took a Thai noodle at Hua Lamphong (Thai: หัวลำโพง) railway station in Bangkok, Thailand just after returned from three-day trip to Laos. The plate had a cute mark of train. This is one of the Thai rice noodles. Thai noodles are very popular and have various combination. For example, you can choose the type of noodles, noodle thickness, ingredients, and more. You can also choose with soup or without soup. Thai locals add seasoning on the table as they like. I think chili powder, sugar, nam pla prick (a.k.a. chili fish sauce or something like that) are common. However, I've heard that the most important seasoning is sugar to have noodles soup. When you add some sugar into your soup, the soup become an absolutely rich flavor. You'd better just do it, without thinking.

Sometimes less is more

On the second day in Los Angeles, California, I joined a city tour to see the city's must see sights at once. An English speaking guide and 10 to 12 fellow tourists from all walks of life went to beaches, downtown, olvera street, Holly wood, Beverly Hills, and such by a bus. The last stop of the tour was Rodeo Drive. The tour guide talked a bit about the pretty woman herself, and played a show tune and asked us to go shopping. He gave us 25 minutes on the fancy shopping street. Is it long enough to spend so much money? Anyway, fashion is all Greek to me, so I was just thinking about sometimes less is more.

Life isn't all roses

This is the wishing bridge in old Jaffa, Israel. It's within walking distance from Tel Aviv city center, but actually it's not very close. Just my two cents. The wishing bridge has like a superstitious story. When people cross the bridge, stop in front of their zodiac sign and look at the sea, and then touch their zodiac sign and pray for their wish to come true. I went there to see the bridge. I was thinking, and more I thought about it, but I didn't have any wish to pray. I know that life isn't all roses, but I'm happy with the status quo.

Live up to the hype

I usually flew into Sri Lanka from Bangkok, Thailand around midnight, so I used to stay in Negombo for the first night because it's just hop, skip, and a jump away from the airport. The last time was different. I stayed in Colombo for the first two nights for a change of pace. Before my trip, I sent an e-mail to my hotel to ask if I could eat something after midnight at the hotel's dining. The response from the hotel sounded really confident about their around-the-clock restaurant and its taste. In a nutshell, they were definitely right. I took a breakfast and a dinner at the place, and I thought their Sri Lankan cuisine lived up to the hype. The photo shows the dinner; Sri Lankan rice and curry. It was so nice.

I prefer to eat at a hole in the wall restaurant

Pattaya, Thailand is a really unique place. The entertainment district is just juxtapositional to the beach and has a wide variety of places to eat from luxurious eateries to hole in the wall restaurants. This is a real gastronomical paradise. Just my 2 cents. Night life in Pattaya is also nice and extraordinary. One night, I asked a motorbike taxi to take me to the viewpoint to take a picture like this. Some people may say that it is dangerous due to some disquieting news and unrest, but it was all much ado about nothing.

Tender and very juicy beef in Goulash

In Germany, Austria and Hungary, I took several Goulash and this is one of them. I took this at a beer restaurant in the center of Vienna, Austria. That day I didn't want to eat any more bread, so I was so happy that they served the Goulash with Knödel. The beef was tender and very juicy. In my humble opinion, the Knödel itself didn't have any special tastes, but I thought just right. Luckily, my table was in a window side of the restaurant, so I was able to see stunning Vienna city from the windows while I was eating.

I had a Shawarma in Tel Aviv, Israel

I arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel on Thursday. I didn't know that, but it was a holiday. Also, the next two days were weekends in Israel and the city was as quiet as a mouse. On Sunday, I finally found some Shawarma shops spread out in the city. I was there to eat Shawarma to find out differences between Greek Gyros, Turkish Kebab and Israeli Shawarma. It was one of the most important purpose of my trip. Another things I wanted to do were to drink Gold Star beer, to float in the Dead Sea, to eat Falafel and so on. I did all of them.

It wasn't a so-called "plastic meal"

On the second day in Paris, France, I took this Kebab for a dinner. I looked around the city all day long, and realized that everything there was a bit more expensive than I expected. Food, beer, entrance fees, and such. After exploring the ever-popular city, I found a Turkish place near my hotel. The Kebab didn't cost a fortune, so I chose it for my dinner in Paris. I ordered a to-go Kebab, so this picture looks like a plastic meal, but it was actually smoking hot and the taste was pretty nice.

Same same but different

When I took a stroll around Athens, Greece, I took this great Gyros Beef somewhere in between Syntagma Square and Monastiraki. I loved the sauce. Come to think of it, I've had similar food in Paris, France and Vienna, Austria and it was called Kebab in Turkish restaurants. Also, I had another similar one in Tel Aviv, Israel, and it was called Shawarma. In France I took Kebab to save money, in Austria I took Kebab to have something I was able to choose to go, in Greece I took Gyros to have Greek specialty, and in Israel I took Shawarma to find out the differences between Kebab, Gyros and Shawarma. What is my impression? Same same but different.

I think I need an elephantine memory

On the way to Monaco from Nice, France, I had a quick stop and took this picture. I don't know exactly where it was, but a stunning place. I've traveled to 15 countries in Europe, but I don't have all country's passport stamps. For example, I have a French passport stamp, but I don't have a Monacan stamp. I think Schengen agreement is very convenient to travel around Europe, but sometimes I can't find any believable records to find out I was where from when to when or stuff like that. I don't have a memory like an elephant.

The good times are killing me

My hotel in Rome, Italy was in the outskirts of Rome, and my free time was only a whole day. Well, it sounded like a catch-22 situation, but I truly wanted to make a most of my time in Rome. I was thinking to catch a bus to explore the ever-popular city, or to walk as much as possible. After much thinking, I traveled around Rome on foot to take a lot of pictures, to find a less-known delicious restaurant, to hear the noise of the bustle city and such. It was a long day, and the good times were killing me, but it was worth doing. For lunch, I took this fabulous seafood dish somewhere on a road lead to Rome.

My favorite coconut sambal

As you know, Negombo, Sri Lanka is a kind of common tourists trail. I've heard that almost tourists who arrive in Sri Lanka decides to stay their first night in Negombo, then after that they are headed toward their next destinations. I guess that's because two reasons actually. Most people think that Negombo is just a stone's throw away from the international airport, and taxi fare is cheaper than going to Colombo only for the first night. In addition, I guess that when they fly into Sri Lanka around midnight, it'll be a bit difficult to ask rates at good accommodations in their destinations like along the southern west coast or in the south. Because of the odd time. I think that's why a lot of people stay in Negombo for the first night and then move. I think Negombo is a good place to stay more than one night. There're many cool places to eat as well. I had very spicy coconut sambal that's the one on the right of the photo, and nice dhal curry in Negombo.

That's the one!

I've been to Romantic Road, Germany and the photo shows Neuschwanstein castle. Someone told me that neu means new, schwan means swan, stein means stone, actually I heard that more than three years ago, so I'm not sure, though. Anyway, I've heard that this beautiful castle is considered the epitome of Romantic Road. However, I didn't know that the castle is called like a world-famous theme park's attraction. Some time after I visited this castle, I talked about my trip of Germany with my acquaintance. Then he was continually saying that the nickname or something like that. I asked what he was talking about. Can you imagine what I felt when he pointed the picture? I was speechless.

Rice, bread, potatoes

When I'm in Europe or the State, I always need to eat some bread or potatoes with my main dish, because rice is pretty rare in those parts. However, in Budapest, Hungary, I was able to eat rice not only once. The photo shows my last dinner in Budapest; steamed white rice with cooked potatoes and chicken. I could eat the meal in a restaurant, but I chose to go. As the photo shows, the restaurant gave me the bread as well. I don't usually eat bread and rice together, so it was a kind of unique experience, but the food and the bread was truly nice and I loved it. I miss all Hungarian food.

Just chillin' on "the Strand"

In November, I was in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka to enjoy the beautiful island and Indian ocean. I've been to Unawatuna three times to veg out on the beach, or beach side restaurants, hotel's balcony, and such. The beach is about four to five hours drive from the Bandaranaike International Airport; it depends on Colombo's traffic and weather. Last time I went there by a tuk-tuk from Colombo in a sunny morning, and it took three hours and 10 minutes or so. Accommodations and eateries are spread out on the Yaddehimulla road (a.k.a. the Strand), or along the Matara road. Yaddehimmula road and the beach are hidden from the main road, and it's a kind of difficult to spot. My driver didn't know the road itself, so just after he passed the corner, I needed to ask him to return.

Popular Thai snack Kheep Moo

Usually I don't eat between meals, but when it comes to in Thailand, it's not the case. A lot of unique snacks are spread out all over Thailand. The photo shows one of them and it's my favorite. This is Kheep Moo (Thai: แคบหมู); pronunciation: cape as in cape town, and moo as in moon in a way. In layman's terms, it's like fried pork rinds. It's very crunchy, and a little bit salty. I always buy at least a couple of bags like the photo shows and keep them in my hotel room to eat whenever I want. By the way, eating snacks is Kin Len (กินเล่น) or Kin Len Len (กินเล่นๆ) in Thai language.

Do you know how to get to blah-blah-blah?

Athens, Greece was a fascinating place to know the lay of the land. Like I said, I went to the Acropolis on the first day in Athens. The streets to get to the top of the Acropolis were a kind of complicated , but the acropolis was visible from many places in Athens, so I walked slowly with taking a lot of pictures. Half the fun was getting there. By the way, I often get asked for directions from totally strangers. I don't know why, but it happens all the time. I flew into Athens around 6:30 a.m., and this is my first time to Athens. I started to take a stroll around from my hotel, and soon I was asked a direction to get to Omonoia in a language that I don't understand. I could catch only Omonoia, so I gestured and said Omonoia station was down the street in English. I don't know I was able to help her or not, but it was around 8:30 a.m., just a couple of hours later of my arrival.

Jamón Ibérico

My flight from Barcelona to Madrid delayed for about one and a half hours or so. With that, my first lunch time in Madrid happened to be from 4:00 p.m.. I was planning to eat dinner as well, so I chose Jamón Ibérico for the late lunch. Actually, I really wanted to try this dish in Spain. Before I went to a restaurant, I was wondering about 4:00 p.m. was a little too late for a lunch, but the restaurant were full of people and luckily I managed to find a patio table for one. It was sunny and bright day, so I was able to enjoy my first meal in Madrid. I had a couple of draft beer with Jamón Ibérico and it really matched.

Geen Som Kung

So-called "Thai spicy soup" is not only Tom Yum Kung (Thai: ต้มยำกุ้ง). There are a lot and the photo shows one of them. It's called Geen Som Kung (Thai: แกงส้มกุ้ง). The soup has a lot of vegetables and prawns in it. It's sour and spicy, but sweet. Because of the plenty of vegetables. There's also Geen Som Pla (Thai: แกงส้มปลา). The soup has a lot of vegetables and fish instead of prawns. I really love Tom Yum Kung, but sometimes I feel like want to eat a lot of vegetables, so then take Geen Som Kung. I'd say I feel like having Tom Yum Kung, but much healthier in a way.

The Dead Sea's salt

The photo shows the salt of the Dead Sea. I've been to several beaches, but no other place quite like the Dead Sea. I saw this kind of crystallized salt like sea shore for the first time. I was blown away. I mean I was surprised and very impressed. Speaking of salt, after floating in the Dead Sea, I took my bag and stuff and took a shower of course, and then had a can of beer to kill time and backed to my hotel by a coach. Then, I found a lot of salt stayed on my bag. I think it was a drop of water at first. About one and a half months later, I looked the bag carefully and realized that some metal parts were getting rusty. Anyway, the bag was cheap and too old, so whatever the cause it was time to buy a new one.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos

On the second day in Lisbon, Portugal, I went to Belém district to see a couple of famous places. This is one of them; Padrão dos Descobrimentos. Visitors were able to go to the top of the monument, so of course I went to the top and saw the stunning city from above. Belém was a very quiet beautiful place along the Tagus river; the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. I got to Belém from Cais do Sodré railway station by a train. I was busy at the moment to see beautiful Portuguese scenery from the train windows, so I don't remember how long, but not too far. Also, I've heard from a hotel's receptionist that tram No.15 is a good way to get to Belém.

My first chili in the United States of America

One night in Las Vegas, I took an American favorite; Chili Con Carne (a.k.a. Easy Beef Chili). Come to think of it, I've learned that Con Carne means with meat. And also, Chili Sin Carne (a.k.a. vegetarian chili or something like that) means chili without meat. I've never tried Chili Sin Carne, though. I've heard that a lot of people like to have their chili with bread or cracker, but I took it with a bottle of Corona. I got used to eating spicy food, so the chili wasn't so spicy for me, but I was very happy to have a bowl full of chili in the States. As American as Chili Con Carne.

It's important to drink enough water

On the second day in Israel was 39 degrees Celsius at the end of September. It was not too far from the Judean desert, so it was boiling outside, and surprisingly dry. I went to Masada and the Dead Sea on the same day. For the convenience, I joined one day coach tour that guide speak English. According to a brochure, must carry tools are a hat, bathing suits, a towel and comfortable shoes. However, the most important thing for me was a bottle of water. A large one. Again, it was surprisingly hot and surprisingly dry.

Vegetable Roti

In Unawatuna, Sri Lanka, I started day by taking Sri Lankan breakfast every morning. The photo is one of them. This one is called vegetable roti or something like that. The bread like yellowish soft texture is called roti. Roti is kind of like chapati, but a bit thicker, but much thinner than Indian naan. Roti itself doesn't have any special taste, but inside of the roti, it has various curry flavored paste. For example, vegetable roti, fish roti, egg roti or something else. The paste is a kind of spicy, but very tasty. You can easily find them all over Sri Lanka.

I was self-sufficient in the hotel

This is my breakfast in Bangkok, Thailand. I took them in my hotel room. The hotel was self-sufficient and it had a small grocery store for their guests' convenience. Also, On the grand floor, there was a big barrel of hot drinkable water in front of elevators. With that, I bought a cup of noodles and a can of beer from the shop. The noodles' soup tasted Tom Yum Kung; one of the popular flavor in Thailand. The plastic fork was an accessory of the cup of noodles and I found it in the cup. Oh, I've got a question for you. How long do you usually wait to eat a cup of noodles? I mean after pouring hot water into the cup. I usually wait a minutes to one and a half minutes. That's it. I think it's the best timing to eat instant noodles. A little crunchy, and just right. That's just my two cents.

A john and a bidet in the loo of my hotel room

I arrived in my hotel in Giza, Egypt in the morning around 3:30 because of my flight schedule. I was not able to do anything till dawn. Fortunately, my room was unique, so first of all, I took some pictures of my room to kill time. You might think this is a bizarre photo to upload on this blog, but the loo was very interesting for me. It had a bidet next to the john. I've seen this type of loos in Italy and Portugal. I don't remember well, but probably in France as well. Anyway, I don't so often see them in my life. That's why it was time to take a photo of it.

Egyptian Lentil Soup

Some hotels prepare buffet style breakfast for the guests, and usually it's really satisfactory for me. One day for a lunch in Giza, Egypt, I wasn't hungry so much because of the breakfast, but I just wanted to take something light, and something special of Egypt. Then, I ordered an Egyptian Lentil Soup with fried bread cubes at the hotel's dining. There were a lot of folks and knives like the photo shows, but I needed to use only a soup spoon, so I wasn't confused about it. However, I was confused about the lemon wedge. In a nutshell, I didn't use the lemon wedge, and the soup tasted very rich and I was satisfied at all. Should I have squeezed the lemon juice before I took the soup? Mm..., beats me.

Can I break a 100?

Jerusalem, Israel was surprisingly dry. I was there at the end of September, but it was still boiling outside. I usually don't drink water so much, but when it comes to Israel, it was not the case. At the Ben Gurion International Airport, I bought a couple of bottles of water on a hit-or-miss basis, but those were flavored water in a way. It was okay, but I needed some normal water as well, so I bought a large bottle in the city. Then, I lined up them on a desk in my hotel room and took a picture. It happened to be my first memorial photo in Israel.

I'm addicted to chilies

This is my favorite Thai food, fried rice chicken. I took this photo in Pattaya, Thailand. It was actually included breakfast at my hotel. I added some chilies on the side by myself. I bought some chilies at a supermarket and kept it in the fridge in my hotel room. I love something spicy, and chilies are addictive for me. Anyway, Thai styled fried rice is very tasty and one of the popular receipts in Thailand. It's called khao pad in Thai language. I'm gonna jot it down in Thai for your convenience.

• Fried rice chicken : ข้าวผัดไก่ (khao-pad-gai)

• If you'd like to take an fried egg as well : ข้าวผัดไก่ไข่ดาว (khao-pad-gai-khai-dao)

• If you are addicted to spicy food, you can say : เอาเผ็ด ๆ (ao-ped-ped), it means I'd like to eat spicy one.

I'm no linguist, but I think there are a lot of way to say "Not spicy enough!" or "Can I have more chili please?" or something like that, and เอาเผ็ด ๆ is one of them.

Don't knock it until you've tried it

One night in Barcelona, Spain, I ordered a squid ink paella. It was absolutely black like the photo shows, but it brought out the flavor of the squid and rice. Then, a couple of English speaking folks walked by my table. One of them looked at my half eaten plate and said "Look! The black one". His friend replied "Horrible". Don't knock it until you've tried it. On the other hand a distinguished Caucasian woman who was sitting next to me smiled at me and ordered a squid ink paella. I think to each his own.

First things first

I flew into Athens, Greece in the morning around 6:30. I was thinking of catching a cab to get to my hotel, but I found a Metro station in front of the airport, so I took a Metro to Monastiraki. When I got out of the station, I was able to see the stunning Acropolis above me on right. I didn't have a map, but my hotel was not difficult to spot. It was too early to check-in, so I asked a receptionist to keep my luggage. The receptionist asked me if I wanted a map. He hit the nail on the head. It was just awesome. Not only that, but on the map he jotted down an abundance of directions to get to Athens' must see sights. In addition, he added their business hours, costs, entrance locations, and so on. Also, he marked a couple of areas where I could find nice restaurants. How informative. I was ready to Rock'n Roll. First things first, I went to the Acropolis and this picture is Erechtheum from south. I was in awe of it.

What do you want?

I always drink beer and beer and beer and more beer, but in Las Vegas I wanted to drink a cocktail for a change of pace. The cocktail that I wanted to drink was named Nevada, the name of the state of Sin city. When a bartender asked me what I wanted, I said Nevada. He said "Sorry?". I said Nevada, then I spelled out N-E-V-A-D-A. He said he didn't understand what I wanted. My dream was shuttled. It's okay, it happens; because of my pronunciation. So, I asked him to pour some white rum and filled up the glass with ice and grapefruit juice. The photo is the cocktail. It was not exactly Nevada that I wanted, but I was able to feel like drinking Nevada in Nevada.

Rice is the staple food

This dish is called Vegetable rice or Fried rice vegetable in Sri Lanka. My favorite. It tastes like super spicy fried rice with vegetables. I usually took this for a lunch. I think I've mentioned that before, but again, Sri Lankan rice is amazing. Each grain of rice is not so sticky like Japonica rice, and not so long as basmati rice. Well, I'd say the length of rice is similar to Japonica rice, but texture is more like basmati rice. So, I think it's very good for cook fried rice, and it goes well with Sri Lankan curry and spice. I took this picture at my favorite restaurant in Unawatuna.