Guardian lion of the Chain Bridge

The photo shows one of the guardian lions of the Chain Bridge (Hungarian: Lánchíd) in Budapest, Hungary. I'd say the Chain Bridge is the most popular gateway between the hilly Buda side and the flat Pest side. There were big stone statues shaped lion at each of the abutments and they looked like the strongest guardian of the bridge. The Chain Bridge allowed people to walk and is lighting-up nightly. So after dinner, I returned to this area to see a stunning night view of the Chain Bridge. It was breathtaking.

From day one

I took this photo in my hotel room in Copenhagen, Denmark. I arrived early in the morning on the red-eye from Bangkok, Thailand. Generally, check-in starting times of hotels are noon to afternoon, but it was midwinter and I didn't want to be chilled to the bone, so I needed a room from right after my arrival, so I booked this room from the night before. When I checked in to the hotel, a receptionist asked me if I wanted to have include breakfast first. I said of course and had my first Scandinavian breakfast. Overall, everything worked out from day one.

Step in the right direction

I took this photo while waiting for the lights to change. I was heading over to the place called La Bocca della Verità (a.k.a. the Mouth of Truth) in Rome, Italy, and the directional arrow got me moving in the right direction. I needed to turn left after crossed the street. I thought it was kinda cool idea putting directional arrows on a traffic light. I remember that my hotel was in the outskirts of exiting Rome, and it seemed a little too hard to get to La Bocca della Verità on foot, but I tried. I walked as slow as possible to not miss the great sceneries in Rome.

Beyond expectation

The photo shows a part of the Chain Bridge (Hungarian: Lánchíd). I took this photo while I was crossing the River Danube (Hungarian: Duna, German: Donau). It was about five years ago, my Hungarian acquaintance and me talked about Hungary then he showed me some beautiful photos of Budapest on the Internet. One of them was stunning  night view of the Chain Bridge. He also told me a lot about Budapest. His story left a lasting impression about Budapest, so I decided to take in Budapest with my own two eyes. Finally, I crossed the Chain Bridge over the River Danube. I didn't expect the bridge was covered in graffiti, though.

Please pass my compliments on to the chef

Guess what? I had this very very yummy Italian pasta meal in Pattaya, Thailand, not in Italy. The fusilli with sausage tasted like heaven. A boiling hot day in Pattaya, Thailand I walked along the shore aimlessly then stopped by an Italian place for lunch. It was on the beach road and there were a lot of tables inside and outside of the restaurant, but at the moment there weren't so many foodies. I flipped over a menu and chose the fusilli with sausage. It was absolutely nice. I guess I overtipped, but I asked waitstaff to pass my compliments on to the chef.

Treasure every moment

The photo shows a tiny part of the largest city of Switzerland; Zurich. When I was taking a stroll around Zurich, I found a street which was lined by colorful buildings. I really love the places like that. So beautiful. I've taken my favorite kind of street photos in Prague, the Czech Republic and Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany and Lisbon, Portugal, Salzburg, Austria and then some and I realized that I love European streetscape. When I walk on a street like the photo shows, I always think that I'm going to treasure every moment.

Eye-catching display

I found this on-the-street gas lamp in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was there in midwinter and it was freezing out there, so the fire was kinda eye-catching. The gas lamp was in front of a restaurant. I'm not sure, but I thought the lamp was there to indicate there's a warm and cosy place to have lunch or something like that. Yep, I was definitely looking for a place like that. There were so many Northern European eateries in Copenhagen, and it was so much fun to choose one of them at each meal.

I just couldn't wait

I took this photo somewhere around Piazza del Duomo in Florence, Italy. I just couldn't wait to take a better photo of the Duomo (a.k.a. Florence Cathedral or Brunelleschi's dome) and already clicked the shutter. Of course I took another photos later, though. No less the square was very nice that you can enjoy sort of a panoramic view of Florence Baptistery (a.k.a. Baptistery of St. John or Battistero di San Giovanni) and Florence Cathedral. I know this is not a nice photo, but at the moment I was truly happy to be there.

Beer Lao truck

I'm a huge fan of Beer Lao; the national beer of Laos, so I found a track from the Beer Lao Factory on a street in Vientiane, Laos, I took a photo of the truck bed quickly. Luckily, I had a camera in my hand. If I kept the camera in my bag at the time, I guess it was too late to take a photo of the truck bed. Phew. The truck had a gigantic logo of Beer Lao and the logo was colored vibrant yellow. A very eye-catching cool design. By the way, upper side of the logo you can see a green ribbon and Laotian Letters in it. It says Beer Lao in Laotian letters. From my point of view, Laotian letters are quite similar to Thai letters, so I can read some of them. Generally, I could drink Beer Lao only in Laos, but somehow a couple of times I found Beer Lao in other country's Thai restaurants and I drank it. It was also nice, though.

Think out of the box

I took this picture in Malmö, Sweden. I posted a similar photo before, but this is another one. It was freezing morning, and almost everything looked like typical winter sceneries, but I found such a heartwarming place like the photo shows. The trees were decorated with illuminated gift boxes and the boxes had a various lovely color. I thought the place had a touch of Christmas and it was so cute. I like a way to think out of the box such as the idea of huge gift trees. I didn't spend long time in Malmö, Sweden, but I had a blast taking a stroll around.

Get a green light

The photo shows somewhere in between Thimphu and Dochula, Bhutan. Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan and Dochula is the place where the altitude is 3,150 meters high. Back then I headed to Punaka and Wangdue Phodrang District from the capital Thimphu via Dochula, I took this photo. There was sort of a tourist check point and I was waiting for getting a green light to go ahead. After a while, I was all set and hit the road again. Around 20 minutes later, I was on the top of Dochula and was surrounded by cloud.

Enjoy a box meal for a change

The photo shows a lunchbox from a Chinese place in Copenhagen, Denmark. There were several Chinese places in Copenhagen and one of them was kind of like a buffet corner on a pedestrian street. They prepared typical Chinese food such as fried rice, noodles, deep-fried food and then some and were all ready to eat. I bought a box of Chinese food and had them with a glass of beer at a bar. The bar was located on the inside of the buffet corner. It was kinda quick lunch, but crisp Danish beer made them look especially nice.

The Rape of the Sabine Women

I took this photo at the Loggia dei Lanzi (a.k.a. Loggia della Signoria) in Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. I could see a wide variety of statues in this square and the photo shows one of them. The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna. After I looked around the statues and the city itself, I chose a cosy restaurant for lunch and enjoyed some Chianti Rosso with very nice pasta arrabiata. I also had some beer and roast beef salad as well. It was kinda huge lunch, but I really love Italian cuisine, so I was totally satisfied with my choices.

Festive season

I took this photo at a huge shopping mall in Pattaya, Thailand. Pattaya is one of my most favorite cities in the world and the huge shopping mall is situated in a really fun entertainment district. I'd say the shopping mall itself is an entertainment. It's always fun to visit there. In December 2010, the area was decorated with lights arranged in the shape of reindeers and the garden had a touch of Christmas. I think Christmas isn't the most festive holiday in Thailand, but it was so nice seeing such beautiful Christmas decorations in my favorite tropical city.

In and out

My last trip was to go to Scandinavian countries; Denmark and Sweden. After spending a couple of days in Bangkok, Thailand I caught a red-eye and headed to Northern Europe. Come to think of it, I saw miniature Santa Claus climb up a ladder in Malmö, Sweden. I guessed Santa Claus got used to doing like that, and also I could imagine he was swamped at the moment, so the job looked like quite straightforward, in and out. I've never climb up a ladder, so if I need to do that, it'll be a time consuming-task. Well done, Santa Claus.

The That Dam

The photo shows the That Dam in Vientiane, Laos. It's also called the  Black Stupa. The That Dam is located around the back side of Asian Pavilion Hotel and I'd say it's also this close to famous Kua Lao restaurant that the place where you can enjoy authentic Lao cuisine with half an eye on traditional Lao dancing. Beside the That Dam there was a nice eatery and I had authentic Lao lunch, dinner with Beer Lao several times. Yep, I took this photo after had lunch at the eatery. I enjoyed a very nice Laab Moo and Beer Lao at the time.

Ho ho ho

This year is almost over. After I returned from my trip to Scandinavian countries, I didn't travel anywhere and just have been getting sucked into the daily grind. Can't do anything. My hands are tied. Putting that aside, I took this photo in Bangkok, Thailand while I was killing some time to get to my Thai Airways flight headed to Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was at the end of October, but I unexpectedly eyewitnessed Santa Claus was all set for deliver gifts for Christmas by Finair rather than a sled drawn by reindeer. Ho ho ho.

It's a mirror image

The photo shows a view of Florence, Italy with the River Arno. I loved this view due to the mirror image. Stunning buildings, a bridge, and trees reflected on the surface of the river. It was very idyllic. As well all know Florence, Italy is really picturesque place. A lot to see, and a lot to know because of its history. I've joined a half-day walking tour of Florence and looked around the beautiful historical city. City's one of the most famous sites is the Florence Cathedral (a.k.a. Brunelleschi's dome), but there are so many other sites to see in Florence include streetscapes.

Unable to take one's eyes off

I took this photo while I was waiting for the main meal in Belém district, Lisbon, Portugal. The eatery was in front of Padrão dos Descobrimentos (a.k.a. Monument to the Discoveries), so the Monument to the Discoveries was right in front of my eyes at the moment. Great location. I drank beer without eating anything, coz I was unable to take my eyes off from the Monument to the Discoveries. It was just so nice and I was really happy to be there. The next day I needed to depart to Barcelona, Spain, so it was actually my last lunch in Portugal.

Dehiwala zoo

I took this photo at Dehiwala zoo (a.k.a. Colombo zoo, officially called National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka). The zoo is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka and had about 3000 animals. The photo shows a male lion. The king of the jungle. When I was there, the lion slept like a baby, but it was my first time I've seen a lion this close to me, so it was kinda scary, but also I was excited. More than 70 percent of the Sri Lankan population are the Sinhalese. They speak English, but their mother tongue is Sinahala and speak some Tamil as well. I've heard that Sinhala can be translated as lion. The flag of Sri Lanka has a lion on it and is also called the Lion Flag.

A view from Nyhavn 17

The photo shows a view from Nyhavn 17 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Nyhavn is one of the popular bars and restaurants areas of the city and is famous for its canal and vibrant colored buildings. Actually, the bars and the restaurants were mostly lined on the odd numbers side of Nyhavn. When I saw some beautiful pictures of Nyhavn on the Internet, I really wanted to get there. Then, when I was there finally, the canal was frozen hard and the streets were kinda icy, but the buildings looked so lovely exactly like the photo shows.

Spring has sprung

I arrived to the Netherlands by coach from St. Goar, Germany. I took my first step in the Netherlands at a rest area to have a lunch and to look around some Dutch souvenirs. I took some bread and soup for lunch and started to take a stroll around. One of the popular Dutch souvenirs is wood shoes. They were colorful, cute and well-made. Near a parking lot, I found a lot of dandelions and horsetails. I guess it was a bit earlier to see dandelion puff, but it was lovely to see unique plant like the photo shows. I thought spring had fully sprung in the Netherlands.

Easier said than done

I took a picture of a cigarette vending machine in St. Goar (Sankt Goar) , Germany. I don't smoke, so I didn't know what this was, but when I looked closer it was a cigarette vending machine. Interesting. Cigarettes package images were way smaller than themselves and looked like something other than cigarette packages. Someone called "smoking cigarettes" as a guilty pleasure. It was funny he mentioned that. He smokes like a chimney, though. My guilty little pleasures are drinking beer, taking a nap, and doing nothing. There's nothing better than drinking beer after having a long day. Taking a nap couldn't get any better on holidays. Doing nothing sounds a bit of oxymoron like cold fire or happy funeral or like that, but I love doing nothing sometimes. In fact, not smoking, not drinking, not taking a nap are no-brainers I think, but it's easier said than done.

Fried quail eggs, Bangkok, Thailand

The photo shows fried quail eggs (Thai: ไข่ดาวไข่นกกระทา). Trays full of fried quail eggs are often sold on street food stalls in Thailand and they are considered one of the popular inexpensive nibblies. When I took a stroll around a night market in Bangkok, Thailand, I found a stall which was cooking and selling trays full of fried quail eggs exactly like the photo shows. Someone told me that quail eggs are a delicacy, but I got used to have them, so I'd say they are kinda less exotic and are pretty normal to have. Basically, quail eggs are quite ubiquitous from my childhood, so eating boiled quail eggs and raw quail eggs are pretty normal to me, and also they are pretty common, but I don't often see a tray full of fried quail eggs, so it was so interesting to see them and I took a picture of it. Gastronomical feast.

Get off the track as always

I took this photo on a beach in Tel Aviv, Israel and the photo shows an open air beach shower for a couple of people. I've experienced to take the same kind of beach shower at the Dead Sea, Israel and it was fantastic to take a quick shower under the sizzling sun. The Dead Sea is definitely one of the possible day trip destinations from Tel Aviv. I went to the Dead Sea from Jerusalem, though. Well, the point of this post might be off the track, but the point is I truly enjoyed the beautiful white sand beach in Tel Aviv. It was awesome.

What a shame I missed it

The photo shows the entrance to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen Denmark; the beautiful illuminated entrance at night. About a year ago, I decided to visit Denmark for the first time and after that I made reservations of flight tickets, hotel rooms and such on the Internet. Also, I bought a guidebook in Bangkok, Thailand and flipped through the guidebook on a plane. I learned on the plane that Tivoli is a seasonal theme park, and closes its gates during so-called winter season. What a shame I missed it, but at least I took some pictures like this from outside.

You learn something new every day

When I was in Pokhara, Nepal, I took this photo in my hotel room which is stuff I bought at a mom-and-pop shop. I bought some souvenirs in Nepal, but stuff on the photo weren't souvenirs, they were kinda basic goods such as bottles of drinking water and a bottle of shampoo. That said, when I'm abroad, even basic goods look totally different, or look like something new. I mean they don't look like my familiar stuff, so it's sort of exciting to get daily necessaries abroad. You learn something new everyday.

Go for quality, not quantity

The photo shows my hotel room in Paro, Bhutan. Paro has the only international airport of the country and the city was the last stop of my five-day trip to Bhutan. Five-day trip was kinda short, but I'd say it was not the quantity, it was the quality. Sometimes less is more. One of my interesting souvenirs from Bhutan is a Dzongkha - English Dictionary and I flipped over the dictionary in this hotel room on the last night in Bhutan. The day next, I needed to leave Bhutan and flew to Kathmandu, Nepal by Druk Air. It was a fascinating flight overlooking the Himalayas from above included Mount Everest.

TG642 BKK - NRT; Jan 2011

The photo shows an in-flight meal of Thai Airways International flight TG642 Bangkok, Thailand to Narita, Tokyo. It was a red-eye flight. After departed Bangkok around midnight, passengers were served a midnight snack and drinks. I drank Singha beer. Then after that, it was time for some shut-eye. So, actually the in-flight meal was breakfast. Surprisingly, the breakfast was nice rice soup with shrimps called Khao Tom Koong (Thai: ข้าวต้มกุ้ง). Thank Thai Airways, I'm infatuated with your fabulous in-flight meals and in-flight services.

It's over my head

I took this picture at the first Olympic stadium in Athens, Greece. I guess it says something about ancient Olympics, but it's all Greek to me. I can't read at all. Some of Greek alphabets look very similar to English alphabets, but some of them have totally different shape from English alphabets. Some of them look like something about a symbol or something else for me and I think it's really interesting. Anyway, the first Olympic stadium in Athens is officially called the Panathenaic Stadium that the place where the world first Olympic hosted in 1896.

Trolleybus

I took this photo in Zurich, Switzerland. The photo shows a trolleybus in Switzerland. It was very interesting for me, because it seemed like a couple of buses attached to each other and it looked like a tram, but the bus was running beside the track. I've heard that the trolleybuses run around using electric power. They take the power from the wires above. I've taken a trolleybus once in Lucerne from somewhere near the heart of the city to the bottom of Mount Pilatus. In Zurich, I just walked around and didn't take any public transportation.

What a downpour!

The photo shows the Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) in Berlin, Germany. I'd say the gate is one of the most world-famous must see sites in Berlin. As you know, German 0.5, 0.2, 0.1 Euro coins have a symbol of the Brandenburg Gate on them. A very famous landmark nowadays. I went there by coach. When I was joining a half-day bus tour in Berlin, a German tour guide explained a lot about his beautiful places and landmarks in English. The Brandenburg Gate was almost the last stop of the bus tour. When I got out of the coach, I caught in an unexpected downpour. It was kinda scary.

Things to do before kick the bucket

I was using this photo behind the title of this blog for a few months, but I totally don't remember how come I took this picture. Probably something was interesting for me at the moment, but afterwards it's not anymore. Anyway, the photo shows a part of Las Vegas, the States. Going to Las Vegas was on my bucket list after I watched a movie shot in Las Vegas. The film was made with my favorite actor. So, he was the reason I was dying to go to Las Vegas. The movie is right up there on the list of my all-time favorites, but I'd say "Dude" is the best.

TAP746 LIS - BCN; Oct 2010

The photo shows an in-flight meal of TAP Portugal flight TAP746 Lisbon, Portugal to Barcelona, Spain. It was about less than a couple of hour flight, but a yummy fresh sandwich and a cup of fruits yogurt were served during the flight. Awesome. By the way, there was no passport control at the airport both in Lisbon and Barcelona due to the Schengen Agreement. I flew to Lisbon, Portugal from Cairo, Egypt, so I had a Portuguese arrival stamp on my passport, but there's no departure stamp of Portugal. Instead, there's a Spanish departure stamp on my passport due to I flew to Bangkok, Thailand from Madrid, Spain. Such an interesting Schengen Agreement.

Chiesa di San Moisè

The photo shows facade of the Chiesa di San Moisè (a.k.a. San Moisè Profeta). One of the beautiful Roman Catholic churches in San Marco, Venice, Italy. I was just impressed with the stunning details of this building and took a picture of it. Venice has kinda interesting geography and is divided into six areas. San Marco is one of them and is situated in the heart of Venice. I'd say it's a very popular area because of Piazza San Marco and its St Mark's Basilica. One of the popular activities for tourists in Venice is a relaxing gondola ride and I enjoyed it just like everybody else. For the rest of my time in Venice, I just took a stroll around and took a lot of pictures. The good times were killing me. I enjoyed yummy gelato for the first time in Italy. Gelato means ice cream in Italian language. I took a scoop of mint choc chip gelato cone.

Local currency

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. I was there in mid-January and some parts of the city were illuminated just like the photo shows. Early in the freezing morning I arrived to in Malmö and took a stroll around the city without any local currency. Although I had cards. Speaking of local currency, the Egyptian pounds had quite unique and beautiful design on them. Also, I love the design of Sri Lankan Rupees, Laotian Kip and then some. One of the most interesting coins was Danish 1 Krone. Surprisingly, it had a hole right in the middle of a coin. 2 Kroner coin as well.