Tex-Mex "deep-dish" pizza

This is an another photo of Deep Pan Pizza. I took this yummy pizza at a nice place in front of Copenhagen Central Station in Denmark. Back when I was on a plane from Los Angeles, America to Bangkok, Thailand, a passenger next to me was a Thai girl who was on the way home from Chicago via L.A.. We had more than 18 hours to kill on the plane, so we had a wide range of conversations. One of them was about Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. Mouth-watering. I've never been to Chicago, but I found a place in Copenhagen, Denmark. They had a lot of flavor. I chose Tex-Mex. A very good spicy one.

Impulse shopping

The photo shows a part of the Fisherman's Bastion (Hungarian: Halászbástya) in Budapest, Hungary. The place is located on the castle hill in Buda side. Before I got there, I dropped by a souvenir shop and bought a nice mug on impulse. I really loved the illustrations on the mug and I still love it. Seeing the mug reminds me of beautiful Budapest a lot. Anyway, the Fisherman's Basion is a fabulous Neo-Gothic style terrace and is situated near Matthias Church. Matthias Church is famous for its tower, so it's easy to spot.

Highlight of Soi 9

A street sign in Pattaya, Thailand looks like ship's wheel. The photo shows the street sign on the entrance to Pattaya Soi 9. Thai word Soi means street in English. Generally, I stay in a hotel on Soi 9, so this view reminds me of my time in Pattaya a lot. Soi 9 is located in between a huge shopping mall and Pattaya police station. Convenience stores and a local super market were just a stone's throw away from Soi 9. Also, there were lots and lots of food stalls on Soi 9 early morning to late at night. During lunch time and dinner time were sort of the highlight. Check it out!

Meet someone's requirements

When I was making plans for my trip to Scandinavian countries, I made reservations on the Internet. I wanted to get to Copenhagen, Denmark via Bangkok, Thailand, so I chose Thai Airways International without thinking. I would definitely choose Thai Airways again even if I had choices in other airlines. After the flight booking, I started to choose hotels in Bangkok and Copenhagen. In Copenhagen, I wanted to stay near Copenhagen Central station and wanted to have breakfast at hotel. I browsed through the website then found a nice hotel which met my requirements. The photo shows my hotel and a train. Everything was okay.

Topography of Terror museum

The photo shows a part of the Topography of Terror (German: Topographie des Terrors), in Berlin, Germany. The Topography of Terror is an outdoor museum. When I attended a half-day bus tour of Berlin with a local guide, I visited this place as well. It was a sobering experience to be there. The wall was quite high as I gazed upward. I've visited several cities in Germany such as Munich, Sankt Goar, Frankfurt, Cologne, Bremen, Dresden, Fussen and so on, then I'd say I had a totally different experience at the place where the photo shows.

I had a Japanese experience in Lumbini, Nepal

Guess what? I took this photo at my hotel room in Lumbini, Nepal.  It was a Japanese-style room you might see anywhere in Japan, but I was in Nepal, so it was kinda weird. There were shojis, tatamis, futons, a low table and such. On the table there were a Japanese-styled tea set. So, let's clarify some Japanese word. Shoji is kind of like a door and it's designed to slide open. It's made with wooden frame and thin traditional Japanese paper called washi. Tatami is kind of like a floor mat which made of rice straw. You must go barefoot on Tatami mats. Futon is like a bed. In Japan most people lay futons on Tatami mats. During the hot and humid summer days in Japan, a lot of Japanese prefer to nap on Tatami mats without futons.

The Pantheon in Rome, Italy

The photo shows the Pantheon in Rome, Italy. One afternoon I visited a lot of Rome's must-sees and the Pantheon was one of them. An outside view of the Pantheon was this gorgeous, and inside of the Pantheon was quite intriguing because of its special ceiling and its hole. The ceiling of the dome has a big hole at the center and the hole is like an open window. The sunlight shining down on the floor through the hole and the view of that was fantastic. The hole is called Oculus. It's a latin word means eye in English.

You can't have it all

I've had lunch at a riverside place in Vientiane, Laos while staring into Thailand over the Mekong River. I ordered a bottle of Beer Lao and Pad Ped. Laotian word "Pad" means stir-fried, "Ped" means spicy, so Pad Ped is kind of like a stir-fried something you'd like with red curry paste. Pad Ped can be served with many types of meat or fish or seafood and veggies. Red curry paste is the key to the taste. I wanted to take a nicer photo of a bottle of Beer Lao, Pad Ped, a view of Laos overlooking Thailand, but my photo couldn't get any better. I learned the hard way that you can't have it all.

Go boating on Phewa Lake

A sunny day in Pokhara, Nepal, I took a boat and went on Phewa Lake (sometimes it's spelled Fewa Lake). There were a lot of boats available around the lake, and people could hire oarsmen as well. I must admit that I was not really sure if I could row a boat by myself, so I hired an oarsman. It was very relaxing. Go boating on Phewa Lake is a great idea. I could see the a panoramic view of Pokhara on the boat; the blue sky, the clouds, the Himalayas and all. There was an island in the lake and people could reach there by boats.

Prayer Mani wheel

The photo shows a view of Wangdue Phodrang, Bhutan. The buildings in Bhutan were looked like this and they looked so beautiful and interesting for me. Color, design, and everything was so nice. I really enjoyed to see buildings and its details in Bhutan. Also, there was a huge place for prayer Mani wheel. Prayer Mani wheel is also called Mani wheel or Prayer wheel. Small prayer Mani wheels are hand-held. I often saw small ones in Bhutan and Nepal, but I didn't often see this much large one. It was huge.

Exact position

The photo shows the Little Prince Statue and a view of Buda Castle (Hungarian: Budavári Palota) and the river Danube. I took this photo on the flat pest side in Budapest, Hungary overlooking the hilly Buda side. The kid-sized little statue was sitting on the fence along the river Danube. When I was looking for the Little Prince statue, I didn't know its exact position, so I just walked along the river Danube then finally found it. Budapest was really nice place to take a stroll around, so it was fun to walk for a long time.

Sandwiched between beautiful buildings

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. I walked along the street sandwiched between beautiful buildings. Come to think of it, one of my British acquaintances always mixes up with my pronunciations such as WORK v. WALK. He said WORK has exactly the same sound as BIRD, and WALK sounds exactly the same as HORSE. With that, I asked my American acquaintance how to pronounce WORK and WALK. He said WORK has exactly the same sound as BIRD, but WALK has kinda same sound as CHALK, but it more sounds like WOK as in super-popular Chinese restaurant. Is that true? It beats me. Always. I'm not a native English speaker and pronunciation has never been my forte.

Wat That Luang Tai

The photo shows the brilliant golden gate of Wat That Luang Tai. After I visited That Luang in Vientiane, Laos by tuk-tuk, I took this photo under the gate of Wat That Luang Tai. Wat That Luang Tai is one of the temples beside That Luang. There are a couple of temples and the other one is named Wat That Luang Neua. The Laotian word "Tai" means south, "Neua" means north, so Wat That Luang Tai is located on the south side of That Luang, Wat That Luang Neua is located on the north side of That Luang. "Wat" means temple.

Can't do any better

This is my another photo of Patale Chhango (a.k.a. Davi's Falls or Davis Falls) in Pokhara, Nepal. Patale Chhango is a waterfall that's the place where a lot of water is coming from Phewa Lake and the water pressure here is often quite strong and dynamic like the photo shows. The place is a little far away from common tourist trails in Pokhara, but I'd say it's definitely a must-see. When I took the photo there was a rainbow over the falls, but the color of the rainbow was quite thin, so I couldn't take a picture any better.

Israeli salad

The photo shows Israeli salad. I ordered this salad in Jerusalem, Israel with Goldstar beer. Actually, I'm a meet eater, so my main dish was kinda grilled beef, though. Israeli salad looked interesting. Tomatoes, cucumbers and such were chopped into tiny dices and were convenient to eat. The place was located in Mamilla Mall which is a long shopping street in Jerusalem. There were lots and lots of shops, eateries as well as places for a drink. There were a bunch of people on so-called Mamilla Avenue including a lot of tourists.

Do you have a room available?

I took this in my hotel room in Vientiane, Laos. The hotel was this close to Nam Phou (sometimes it's spelled Namphou). Nam Phou means fountain in English and it's situated in the heart of the capital Vientiane. I asked at a receptionist of a hotel near Nam Phou that if they had a room available, but the rooms were fully booked. Then I went to the next hotel and asked the same thing. In Lao. I speak Lao. Fortunately, I was able to get a cosy room at the second hotel and it cost 10 bucks per night. The room was simple, but it had a touch of Laotian culture exactly like the photo shows.

Time feels tight

The photo shows an artistic exterior appearance of a restaurant in Lucerne, Switzerland. There were a lot of restaurants and shops in Lucerne, but this artistic wall was so high-profile and I liked it. Lucerne is one of the cities that I really want to revisit some day, because I didn't have enough time to look around the city. There were nice beautiful buildings, interesting places to see, also Swiss cuisine was that good. So, one day wasn't enough in Lucerne. Totally. Another cities that I really want to revisit are Lisbon, Portugal and Athens, Greece. Time felt tight in these cities. Also, Barcelona, Spain was quite unique and Venice, Italy was fantastic. One of my American acquaintances told me that he had visited more than 70 countries. It's impossible for me. I wanna revisit some places that I've been to, and then some one day.

It's still so light out

It was so much fun to take a stroll around Germany, because I love to see beautiful buildings and German architecture there were quite so nice to see and take a lot of pictures. I took this photo in Frankfurt; the largest city in Germany. When I took a stroll around aimlessly, I found this little clock tower on a street which was similar in tone to the neighboring scenery, but it stood out due to the height. I just couldn't believe it was almost 8 p.m., but I was able to enjoy sightseeing while it was still so light out.

Unweathered ancient scripts

I took this photo in Niglihawa, Nepal. When I headed to Lumbini from Chitwan National Park by car, my Nepali guide and a driver and me stopped by Niglihawa to see some ancient ruins of Ashoka era. One of the must-sees in Niglihawa is a couple of broken Ashokan pillars and the photo shows one of the pillar. The pillar was that long and it was laid flat on the ground. An interesting fact of the pillar was that an illustration and ancient scripts were still unweathered and they were visible like the photo shows.

The 2nd class sleeper train in Thailand

The photo shows the 2nd class sleeper train (Thai: รถนอนชั้น 2 or รถนอนชั้น ๒) in Thailand. I took this photo at Nong Khai station (Thai: สถานีรถไฟหนองคาย) while I was waiting the departure time of a train. Nong Khai is known as the town of Thai-Lao border. After spending a few days in Vientiane, Laos, I caught a red-eye back to Bangkok Central Railway Station (Thai: สถานีรถไฟกรุงเทพ). Bangkok Central Railway Station is also called Hua Lamphong station (Thai: สถานีหัวลำโพง) which is situated near Chinatown in Bangkok. The train ran all through the night. The next morning, I was in Bangkok and had Thai noodles for breakfast.

Feel short on time

The photo shows the beautiful windows of my hotel in Thimphu, Bhutan. The hotel was located in the heart of the city. My room had a queen-sized bed, a sofa, a desk, a chair, and such and it was pretty comfortable. The receptionists were skillful at the job and they were very helpful. I exchanged my money into Bhutanese ngultrum at the reception. One ngultrum coins looked so nice and I loved the design. Also, I felt short on time and asked the receptionists a favor to go send some postcards. It was really considerate of all of the staff members.

Pseudo dining car experience

I took this photo at my hotel's restaurant on the top of Mount Pilatus near Lucerne, Switzerland. I reached to the top of the mountain changing a cableway and a gondola. I truly enjoyed panoramic views of the Swiss Alps and everything from the windows. The hotel there was considered the highest hotel in Europe due to the altitude. I took meals at hotel's restaurant. The restaurant was unique. It decorated in railway style. Over the cross-seats there were overhead racks like the photo shows and I felt like I was having a meal in a dining car.

A half-day excursion to Potsdam

I've been to Potsdam, Germany to see Cecilienhof Palace (a.k.a. Schloss Cecilienhof) where the place that the Potsdam Conference was held in 1945. Potsdam is kinda suburban city of Berlin and Cecilienhof Palace is in the Neuer Garten Park. First, I headed to Potsdam from Berlin zoo by S-Bahn. Next, I had Thai lunch at Potsdam Central Station (German: Potsdam Hauptbahnhof) and then walked toward the park. It was kinda cold day and it was drizzling, but the park was so beautiful and it was interesting to see a lot of things in Potsdam.

photoshopped

This is my one more photo of the Chain Bridge (Hungarian: Lánchíd) and the river Danube (Hungarian: Duna, German: Donau) in Budapest, Hungary. I really loved the night view of Chain Bridge, so I have some pics of it and this is one of them. When I went to Budapest, I forgot to take an explanatory leaflet of my digital camera and I had no idea to take nice photos during night time, but I just wanted to see the famous night view of Chain Bridge, so I visited there and popped shutters, then now I photoshopped the photo to publish.

Rock Temple in Gampaha, Sri Lanka

The photo shows a view from the rock in Gampaha, Sri Lanka. I've been to so-called "Rock Temple" in Gampaha from Negombo by tuk-tuk. The place has a huge rock and a white stupa right in the middle of a palm tree jungle. Let's clarify this. Negombo is so-called a beach resort where 30-minute tuk-tuk drive from the international airport. A lot of people would love to spend their Sri Lankan first night in Negombo. Gampaha is a small village near Negombo. It takes about 40-minute tuk-tuk drive from Negombo. You'll be able to reach in a tropical jungle.

Less than five-minute walk from the Duomo

I took this photo near the Duomo (a.k.a. Florence Cathedral or Brunelleschi's dome) in Florence, Italy. The Duomo was the destination end-point of my half-day walking tour in Florence with a local guide. After enjoying the great view of the Duomo, I kept waling the street and continued taking a lot of photos. This is my first photo after the Duomo. One of the street views of Florence. There were a bunch of people around the Duomo, but the area where the photo shows was almost empty. It was this close to the Duomo, though.

First-timer

I took this photo at my hotel room in Athens, Greece. After lunch at a nice Gyros place, I went to a nearby supermarket and bought a few cans of beer  and a toothpaste. I don't know why, but Amstel beer was pretty common at many restaurants in Athens, but the other two were quite new for me. I think there was only one Greek beer out of three. The green one. I guessed it was because of letters on a label that I couldn't read. It was all Greek to me. Anyway, the three cans of beer were perfect for those who wanted to drink a lot of different beer, or for first-timers.

Enjoyable to watch and hear

This is my first photo in Bhutan. I took a Drukair (a.k.a. Royal Bhutan Airlines) flight from Kathmandu, Nepal to Paro International airport in Bhutan. Drukair is the only airline fly in Bhutan and their flights between Kathmandu and Paro are sort of "sightseeing flights". Passengers are able to fly in over the Himalayas. During my flight there were some announcements that passengers had been having a close encounter with Mount blah-blah-blah which was blah-blah meters high or something like that. It was enjoyable to watch and hear. Absolutely a fabulous flight.

The day's catch

I think one of the most famous statues in Copenhagen, Denmark is the Statue of the Little Mermaid which is a beautiful woman sits on a rock in a harbor and staring into space. The photo shows one of the other interesting statues in Copenhagen. I don't know what is the official name of it, so I will call it the statue of the fishermen couple. I found this statue while I was looking for Kirke's tower (a.k.a. Church of Our Saviour). The fishermen couple have an expressive face and looked like they were talking about their day's catch.

Hohenschwangau Castle

This is a picturesque view from Neuschwanstein Castle in Hohenschwangau, Germany. I think Neuscwanstein Castle is one of the most popular must-sees in southwest Germany such as Füssen, but the photo shows another one. The yellowish castle is named Hohenschwangau Castle (a.k.a. Schloss Hohenschwangau). It was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bravia. King Ludwig II is known for the king who commissioned the construction of several stunning castles. One of them is Neuscwanstein Castle. Great deeds.

Follow one's bent

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. An arched entrance to somewhere else. I was there without special plans, so I just walked around and took a lot of photos here and there. During my long trip, it's easy to lose track of time. Also, it's easy to get the days mixed up. That's because I don't have to go to work and I don't have to get out of my room at the same time each day. I can do almost everything spontaneous, because there's no solid plan. That day was no different. I followed my bent and visited Malmö, Sweden from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Drive with the windows down

It was kinda short stay in Lumbini, Nepal, but I saw a lot, heard a lot and experienced a lot there. The photo shows a part of famous garden in Lumbini. I've heard that Lumbini is the birthplace of Buddha and is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage. I saw the pond, the Bodhi tree, the prayer flags and then some and spent a night at a hotel in Lumbini. I went there by a non-air-conditioned car from Kathmandu via Chitwan. It was interesting to get Nepali winds through car windows along the way.

Just a quickie

I took this photo in Prague, the Czech Republic. I found this handrails on my way to city from Prague Castle and its surrounding must-sees. Prague Castle is situated on so-called Prague Castle Hill. Some of the cobblestone lane that I walked down consisted of miniature steps like the photo shows. It was kinda long way to back to the city, but I could enjoy great sceneries from a height. I don't know who made this handrail, but it was curious, so I took a photo of it. There were bunch of people in front of me, so I turned round quickly and popped a shutter. Just a quickie.

A foodie destination in Sin City

I took this photo at 844 feet above the bustling Vegas Strip with a great night view, clinks of dishes, hearing lively conversation in many different languages from all over the world, merry laughter and so on. It was my first night in Las Vegas, the States and I had gorgeous dinner on level 106 of the Stratosphere Tower. I heard that all the tables were fully booked. One of the very popular foodie destinations in Sin city. The photo shows their tasty crab cake; the second course out of four course tasting menu. The sauce brought out the flavor of the crab and it was pretty good.

Sunrise observation

I've watched a sunrise on the top of Mount Pilatus, in Lucerne, Switzerland. The location was surrounded by the Swiss Alps which means I was surrounded by the beautiful Swiss Alps mountain range. I'm sure it was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I woke up early and dressed warmly then got out of my hotel to watch a sunrise. It's often said that the early bird catches the worm, but I felt like I caught something very nice further away from the worm. I could be isolated in the Swiss Alps and was extremely happy about everything. Happy New Year!

Road to the future

I used to use this photo as a title image, because the hole looks like a road to the future or something like that and I love it. I took this photo in Tel Aviv, Israel while I was walking toward Old Jaffa along the beautiful boardwalk. A taxi driver in Jerusalem has told me that there's nothing to see in Tel Aviv, but the Mediterranean Sea. I don't exactly agree with his opinion, but Jerusalem has a lot of sites to see I must admit. Compare to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv looks much more relaxing due to the long seashore. Oh, by the way, happy new year to everyone.