A view from the Fisherman's Bastion

This is a breathtaking view of beautiful Budapest, Hungary from the Fisherman's Bastion (Hungarian: Halászbástya). The place is located on the castle hill in Buda side of Budapest. The view include the stunning Hungarian Parliament building in Pest side of Budapest and the River Danube (Hungarian: Duna, German: Donau) that keep the two side apart. As can be expected from the picture, Buda side is kinda hilly and Pest side is kinda flat. The Fisherman's Bastion is one of the popular sightseeing spots in Budapest and it's considered that visitors can be enjoyed a panoramic view of beautiful Budapest.

Culture shock and reverse culture shock

The photo shows a view from my hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal is my third country that I've visited and it left me both of deep impression and culture shock. Therefore, after my trip I got a case of reverse culture shock. Back when I flew in to Kathmandu from Bangkok, Thailand, I headed to my hotel by car. Almost cars ran honking and cows were loitering around the streets and even on the streets. Also, there were so many people in the capital, Kathmandu and it was way more than I expected before. The day next I took this picture, I took a plane to Paro, Bhutan and returned to Kathmandu five days later and spent another 31 days in Nepal.

There's no time like now

This is my another pic of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. During my 53-day trip around Europe, I visited Vienna from Venice Italy by coach and spent a couple of nights there, then headed to Munich, Germany via Mauthausen Concentration Camp. I took this picture on my second day in Venice, the beautiful capital of Austria, Central Europe. It left a lasting impression on me, so at the end of my trip, I planned an additional one-day train trip to Salzburg, Austria from Munich, Germany. It wasn't on the itinerary at the beginning, but I thought there was no time like now.

Crowned Griffin sculpture

The photo shows a sculpture of a crowned Griffin. I took this photo at a place called Gustav Adolfs Torg in Malmö, Sweden; the largest square of the city. The Griffin is an ancient Greek animal, but actually it's kinda legendary animal which has a strong lion's body and majestic eagle's head and its powerful wings exactly like the photo shows. The Griffin is the heraldic animal of Malmö and the statue looks alike for their coat of arms. Surrounding the square is sort of a huge shopping district and is not so far from Malmö Central Station. You can't miss it.

MS755 CAI - LIS; Oct 2010

The photo shows an in-flight meal of Egypt Air flight MS755 Cairo, Egypt to Lisbon, Portugal (CAI - LIS). The flight used the fairy new terminal 3 and I had enough time to have breakfast at the airport, but I thought if I grabbed a bite to eat, a while later an in-flight meal would be served on the plane, and it would be too much. So, I didn't have breakfast at the airport. However, it was a wrong decision. This beef meal served a while before the plane flew to the destination. There was no alcohol service on board, so instead of that, I drank a wide variety of fruits juices.

A handsome brochure

This is my another pic of 1896 Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece. It's officially called the Panathenaic Stadium that the place where the first summer Olympic hosted in 1896. I visited there September 22nd, 2011, so It's been more than a year now, but I still remember as if it was yesterday and I'm always thinking that I'm gonna return to Greece some day. When I checked out my hotel to go to the airport, a receptionist gave me a brochure for my memory. The brochure was about Athens. It explains a lot about beautiful Athens and things to do. I've done many of them, but still. I'm gonna return to Athens one day.

Masada, Israel

This is my another photo of Masada, Israel. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Masada is an ancient Israeli fortification and it's situated on the top of huge rock like place, so I headed Masada by a cable car. First of all, when I arrived to my hotel in Jerusalem, Israel, a receptionist asked me if I wanted to join a local bus tour to get to the Dead Sea or Masada or somewhere else. I agreed with his suggestion and paid the cost in USD. The bus tour was on the next day of my arrival. A van picked me up at my hotel's entrance and took me to a meeting point. Then I crossed over to a bus and headed to Masada. After lunch at Masada, the bus took me to the Dead Sea. After that the bus returned to the meeting point, and I crossed over to a van again then the van took me to my hotel.

Get a bum rap

The photo shows my hotel room in Giza, Egypt. After getting stuck at the airport because of a bum rap, finally I arrived to my hotel around 3:30 a.m. I booked a pyramid view room, but a valet told me that I couldn't see the Pyramids till morning, so I just taking pictures of my room to kill time and this is one of them. A couple of beds, a sofa, a stool, and all. When I stay in a hotel room, I always doubt that how many pillows do people need to promote comfortable sleep. I need just one pillow, but generally, a hotel room has more than one, sometimes three or four, or more. That makes me confusing.

A view of Unawatuna near the post office

I took this picture in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka near the post office and the place of Unawatuna railway station. The post office in Unawatuna is on the main road (a.k.a the Galle-Matara road) and it's within walking distance from the Strand (officially named Yaddehimulla Road). I think it's less than a kilometer away toward Galle from the strand. It's on the right. The strand is the place where a lot of cool accommodations and nice eateries are. A lot of tuk-tuk drivers are waiting their customer as well, so if you don't want to walk, ask them the price for ride. Tuk-tuk is also called auto rickshaw or three wheeler. It's a motor vehicle looks like the photo shows. They are everywhere in Sri Lanka.

TG795 LAX - BKK; the 2nd meal; Nov 2010

The photo shows an in-flight cuisine of Thai Airways International flight TG795 Los Angeles, the States to Bangkok, Thailand (LAX - BKK). It was about 18 hour-flight and the photo shows the second meal on the cabin. Thai Fried Rice with Prawns (Thai: ข้าวผัดกุ้ง, can be pronounced Khao Pad Kung or Khao Pad Goong) and some fruits. I'm a huge fan of Thai Airways International because of their VERY delicious in-flight meals and elegant cabin attendants. Also, I love that I'm able to enjoy authentic Thai cuisine with my favorite Thai beer before I fly to Thailand. It's just awesome.

In the right place at the right time

It's been almost a year since I traveled around Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV, the States. It was so much fun traveling a couple of popular cities in America and also I'd say I was in the right place at the right time to enjoy Halloween season. It was my first time to spend Halloween abroad, so everything was new and intriguing for me. I took this picture at a lobby of my hotel in Hollywood, CA. A cute Halloween decoration under the antique clock. There were some more Halloween decorations in the hotel and city. I enjoyed a lot of them.

Leave a lasting impression

The photo shows the Rossio railway station near Restauradores square in Lisbon, Portugal. I took this picture right after my dinner at a nice delicious restaurant. I liked their taste and went to the restaurant twice. The restaurant was this close to the place where the photo shows. The Rossio railway station doesn't look like a railway station, because it's so beautiful. I just wanted to see beautiful Lisbon as much as long, so I took dinner at the outside terrace of the restaurant. Lisbon, Portugal left a lasting impression on me.

It's up to you

I took this photo on a narrow street in Nice Old Town, France. I arrived in Nice from Lyon via Avignon by coach late afternoon. In the first evening in Nice, I went to Monaco to have a nightlife in the fancy city. It was fantastic, but I like to let loose, so I was a bit uncomfortable with my clothes which I chose for Monaco. Anyway, after taking stroll around the fancy streets, I returned to Nice by coach and spent a night there. I didn't drink much and didn't spend much in Monaco, so the next day I woke up early and had a fabulous fine day in Nice. Nice is known as its beautiful beach, but Nice Old Town is also very enjoyable. I'd say there are full of shopping streets. The streets are kinda narrow just like the photo shows, but it's intriguing to take a walk. You can easy to find a place to buy, place to eat or place for something else. It's up to you.

I gotcha man

The photo shows the entrance on the road of my hostal in Madrid, Spain. There were three hostales in this building and mine was one of them. When just arrived there with a suitcase, I was confusing how to get to my hostal. Just then, a parent-child tourists opened the door and said there were three hostales in this building and I could use the lift over there. Later I've heard that this like type of accommodations are pretty common in Spain and there a lot in Madrid. I didn't know that before, though. Anyway, I had a great time at the hostal near the Puerta Del Sol.

Choose dinner on a street stall

The photo shows my dinner in Pattaya, Thailand. I bought yummy Thai food at a stall on a street and had dinner at my hotel room with cans of Thai beer. Khao Pad Kung (sometimes it's spelled Khao Pad Goong, Thai: ข้าวผัดกุ้ง) and Pad Ka Prao Kung Rad Khao (Thai: ผัดกะเพรากุ้งราดข้าว). Pad Ka prao is sometimes spelled Pad Ga Prao, Pad Gra Prao, Pad Kra Prao, or something like that. A popular Thai food Khao Pad Kung is kind of like a Thai flavored fried rice with prawns. Also, Pad Ka Prao Kung is kind of like a stir-fried basil leaves with prawns. Rad Khao means put the stir-fried basil leaves and prawns on some rice exactly like the photo shows. My favorite.

Get the wrong idea

I took this picture in Florence, Italy. There were a couple of big bottles of Chianti on a street. Generally, wine is my Kryptonite, but I enjoyed some red wine in Italy. Come to think of it, when I was in Italy I was misunderstanding about Sangria. Sangria is a Spanish styled wine punch, but I got the wrong idea and I was thinking that Sangria is an Italian styled wine punch. During my dinner in Rome, I found Sangria on a menu and had it before pasta. It was so nice, so I enjoyed the Sangria after pasta as well. Sangria is not an Italian style wine punch, though.

The tip of the Himalayas

This is my another photo of the Himalayas. I took this photo in Pokhara, Nepal. The right side of the photo shows the tip of Machapuchare (a.k.a. Fish Tail, sometimes spelled Macchapucchre); 6993m and the center of the photo shows Annapurna I; 8091m and Annapurna South; 7219m. Clouds covered the Himalayas, but I was able to see the tip of the Himalayas. Interesting. I went to Nepal to see the Himalayas and to enjoy Nepali cuisine. I visited several cities in Nepal, and Pokhara is my favorite. A relaxing place.

Let loose

I took this picture at my favorite hotel in Pattaya, Thailand. The photo shows a beautiful spiral staircase next to the poolside restaurant and its fabulous swim up bar. I've stayed in this hotel several times and spent more than 50 nights in total. The hotel is juxtaposed to the largest shopping center in Pattaya and a few-minute walk from the beach. When I found this nice hotel for the first time, the shopping center was being built, though. I've stayed in several hotels in Pattaya, and each of those hotels were so nice, but I really love this hotel's location and relaxing atmosphere, so after I found this hotel, this hotel is my all-time favorite and I've been choosing this hotel ever since. I always think that how I love to let loose on my vacation. I feel relaxed especially while I'm staying near beaches.

Butterfly effect

I took this picture in Vientiane, Laos. It was at the end of May. April and May are considered the hottest months in Laos and Northeastern Thailand. By the way, I'm no expert, but I've heard about a story of rainy season in South East Asia. I'm not sure, but someone told me the rainy season in SE Asia is caused by Monsoon. Monsoon is a seasonal wind coming from the Arabian Sea or somewhere else. The Monsoon wind passing through Sri Lanka and hit to the Himalayas and makes an overcast sky. Then, the overcast sky formed to produce rainfall. The story sounds like true, but I'm not sure. Is it sort of the butterfly effect?

Matthias Church

The photo shows Matthias Church (a.k.a. the Church of Our Lady, Hungarian: Mátyás-templom) in Budapest, Hungary. It's located on the castle hill in Buda side and is close to the Fisherman's Bastion (Hungarian: Halászbástya). The photo shows the tower of the church, but when I was there, the church had been under renovation. After taking a picture of Matthias Church, I visited the Fisherman's Bastion and looked down the beautiful Budapest and the River Danube (Hungarian: Duna, German: Donau) from above.

It's been decided

The photo shows the Erechtheum (a.k.a. Erechtheion) of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. When I was thinking about my routing; especially how to get to Israel, my Israeli acquaintance recommended to me to get there via Greece. It was sort of a nice recommendation. I wanted to visit the Acropolis at least once in a lifetime also I was interested in Greek cuisine. It's been decided. I chose ElAl Israel Airlines to get to Tel Aviv from Athens and I had a window seat on the plane to see the Aegean Sea and beautiful Greek islands from the windows. It was just so nice.

Timing is everything

The photo shows my lunch at a nice restaurant in Copenhagen Denmark; Grilled King Prawns 12 pcs with skinny fries. It went well with delicious Danish beer. When I looking for a place for lunch, I was handed a paper lunch menu on a street. I didn't know much about lay of the land and places for lunch, so I decided to go to the restaurant on the paper menu and it was a good choice. I was thinking to go to the same place for dinner as well, but I went to an Indian place to eat rice and after that, I didn't have a chance to go to the restaurant of Grilled King Prawns. Timing is everything.

Home of Ferrari

I took this photo in Maranello, Italy. On the way to Venice from Rome, my coach stopped by Maranello to see some famous Ferrari places such as the factory, the Test Circuit of Ferrari; the Fiorano Circuit, the public museum; Galleria Ferrari and such. Unfortunately, the weather was like the photo shows, so I was not able to see any supercars at Ferrari's own testing track. Shortly after my trip, I talked with one of my Italian acquaintances about Maranello. He was really into Ferrari and Formula One, but he had never been to Maranello. I'm not into Ferrari and Formula One, but I've been to Maranello by coincidence, and took some pictures on a hit-or-miss basis. My goodness. Anyway, after Maranello, I visited Venice and the weather was picture perfect. Another photos are categorized into labels of Italy.

All-time favorite

The photo shows Thimphu Cinema. Back when I was there, this place was the only movie theater in Thimphu, Bhutan. By the way, I really love Hollywood movies, but I also love some Asian movies. My favorite Asian movie of all time is a Thai movie; รถไฟฟ้า..มาหานะเธอ (a.k.a. Bangkok Traffic Love Story). I watched the movie on Thai Airways International flight TG 795 from Los Angeles, LAX to Bangkok, BKK. I had about 18 hours to kill, then a passenger sitting next to me recommended to me to select the Thai movie. It was just awesome and now the movie is one of my all-time favorites.

Time lag

The photo shows Swedish posts. I took this picture in Malmö, Sweden. When I went to Northern Europe; Denmark and Sweden, I took my computer and my hotel offered free WiFi services entire of hotel, and I sent e-mails a lot, but I also sent a few postcards from Copenhagen, Denmark. According to my friend, a postcard arrived to her home while I was staying in Bangkok, Thailand and the postcard said "Finally, I'm in Copenhagen, Denmark. It's freezing" or something like that. Bangkok, Thailand is not cold at all, though. Anyway, I like this kind of time lag.

Lose track of time

The photo shows the Church of St. Leodegar (German: Hofkirche St. Leodegar) in Lucerne (German: Luzern), Switzerland. One of the most beautiful city's landmarks. Lucerne is located in north-central Switzerland and a beauty spot of Mount Pilatus in the Swiss Alps. Popular landmarks are the Church of St. Leodegar, the Chapel Bridge (German: Kapellbrücke), the Lion Monument and so on. Also, a breathtaking view from top of Mount Pilatus is must-see. The top of the Mount Pilatus can be reached with gondola lift. It's in the Swiss Alps, so able to enjoy a panoramic view of it. Beware of the last gondola bound for the top or the bottom, because it's so beautiful and just so nice. I mean it's easy to lose track of time. I stayed on the top of Mount Pilatus, so I didn't have any problems, though.

Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng

The photo shows one the very popular Thai food Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng (Thai: ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง). It's often shortly called Pad Pak Boong, Thai: ผัดผักบุ้ง). This is so yummy. It's kind of like a stir-fried water morning glory. Pad (Thai: ผัด) means stir-fried, Pak (Thai: ผัก) means vegetable, so in Thailand Pad Pak blah-blah-blah means stir-fried vegetable. Also, Fai (Thai: ไฟ) means fire, Daeng (Thai: แดง) means red, so Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng means stir-fry vegetable on a high heat. I took this picture at a cozy restaurant near Patpong (Thai: พัฒน์พงศ์). Patpong is a street where the place is known as a famous nightlife district in Bangkok, Thailand.

Take a picture on the bed

This is a view from my hotel room in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I took this picture on the bed. The hotel was situated next to the beach, so I could see the Indian Ocean from the windows. I flew in Colombo from Bangkok, Thailand late at night. So, when I checked in to my hotel near the midnight, I didn't really know my room had such a nice view. I stayed in Colombo for a couple of nights, then moved to Unawatuna. Unawatuna is the only beach in Sri Lanka which is hidden from the main road. So, the views from ocean front hotel were much different from Colombo.

Memoir of Ko Samet

The photo shows menus on the walls at a restaurant on Ko Samet (Thai: เกาะเสม็ด), Thailand. The menus were written in Thai. By the way, Ko Samet is one of the popular weekend resorts for Thai locals. Ko (Thai: เกาะ) means island, so Ko Samet is an island off the coast of Rayong, and is the third largest island of Thailand. I visited Ko Samet from Bangkok via Rayong (Thai ระยอง). I stayed in Rayong for a night, then moved to Ko Samet by boat. It was interesting days with nice food and great views.

844 feet above the Vegas Strip

This is a view of Vegas, the States. I took this photo at a famous revolving restaurant; Top of the World. The restaurant is located 844 feet above the Vegas Strip and it revolves three-sixty-degrees every 80 minutes. Which means I could enjoy their fabulous meals with superb panorama of Sin City. Breathtaking. I took my very first dinner in Vegas at Top of the World. I prepared a summer dress only for the purpose of dinner at Top of the World and kept it in my suitcase. After Vegas, after the trip, the dress has been hanging in my closet.

Chilaw Railway Station

I took this picture at Chilaw Railway Station. Chilaw is a small town situated in Western seashore of Sri Lanka and known for a huge Hindu Temple named Munneswaram. I went to Chilaw from Negombo by tuk-tuk and spent nights at an ocean front hotel. During my stay in Chilaw, I visited the Hindu Temple in Munneswaram village, a fish market, railway station, the beach and such. My hotel had a large restaurant, so generally I had Sri Lankan meals at my hotel. Sometimes I bought a lunch packet at a local place and had a rice and curry in my balcony.

Overview of Sankt Goar, Germany

The photo shows a view of Sankt Goar (a.k.a. St. Goar), Germany with a long-distance view of a castle ruin of Burg Rheinfels. The Sankt Goar is nestled in the Central Rhine valley and famous for a lot of beautiful old castles and the legend of the Loreley Rock. I've been there twice. A very relaxing cozy town. The riverside area was just so nice. No buts about it, it was just breathtaking. Also, the town itself was interesting. Sankt Goar is also famous for authentic German beer steins and I visited a shop of beer stains as well.

Caernarfon Castle

The photo shows Caernarfon Castle and its King's Gate in Wales, the UK; the castle capital of the world. There are so many castles in Wales, and this is the one of 400 or so. From what I remember, the King's Gate faces a city street and along the street, there were nice souvenir shops. I'm no expert, but I've heard that 5% of British population lives in Wales. and also the world longest town name can be find in Wales; Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch on the Isle of Anglesey (a.k.a. Ynys Mon). My English acquaintance has said the name out. It has kinda unique sound.

Guilty pleasures

I took this picture in Prague, the Czech Republic. The shop displayed so many bottles of beer. I arrived to the Czech Republic from Hungary by train. After the long train journey, I checked into a cosy hotel in Prague. First thing I did was not take a shower, not change clothes, but I went to a shop nearby my hotel to buy some cans of beer randomly. After that, I put some of them in a fridge of my hotel room and opened a can of tallboy. It was my first memory of the Czech Republic. When it comes to Thailand, I need to check the time first, because it's illegal to buy alcoholic drinks in convenience stores, supermarkets and such from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and also from midnight to 11 a.m. There's a strict time restriction to buy beer in Thailand. Anyway, beer is one of my guilty pleasures and I can't stop drinking, I don't wanna stop, though.

What's good about Hungary?

The photo shows the Hungarian National Museum. It was nearly five years ago, I started to prepare my trip around Europe. Back then in September 2006, 70% of my time I was thinking about my up coming-trip and in October 2007, 95% of my time I was thinking about Europe. Then, I met a Hungarian guy by coincidence. He told me about the beautiful chain bridge and the Danube River, the most famous street of Budapest named Váci and so on. Not only that, but some of his information was pretty interesting. It was about the history of Hungary. The knowledge gained from him came in handy at the Hungarian National Museum.