Mark my words

The photo shows my another photo of Patale Chhango (a.k.a. Davi's Falls or Davis Falls) in Pokhara, Nepal. Patale Chhango is a interesting place where you can see this much dynamic waterfall. The water is coming from Phewa Lake and the water pressure here is often quite strong and often makes huge noise. If you wanna go there, just watch your step. We can't control the forces of nature, so mark my words. Anyway, Patale Chhango is located in the outskirts of Pokhara town. I mean Patale Chhango is a little far away from the areas of common tourists accommodations. However, I'd say half the fun is getting there. Patale Chhango is not the be-all and end-all. The point is you'll be able to enjoy the great scenery of Pokhara, Nepal on the way to Patale Chhango. There's nature. That's it exactly.

Which means?

I took this photo at the entrance of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. In front of the gate, there was an information board like the photo shows and the information board showed that "Tivoli welcomes you back 14th of April 2011". Which meant I couldn't go inside. I was there in the middle of January 2011 and I had only a week there. The other place where I couldn't go around that time was the black and golden spire of the Church of Our Saviour which is so-called Kirke's tower. However at least I could take some photos of both of them from outside.

It's easier said than done, isn't it?

I took this photo in Budapest, Hungary. It was supposed to be the most beautiful photo of the Hungarian Parliament Building at night, but it was easier said than done obviously. However thankfully, I could take at least this kind of photo for my memory. The real beautiful view is still in my mind, so I think it's all right. I'm good at putting a positive spin on everything. Anyway, it sounds like a broken record, but I personally believe that the Hungarian Parliament Building is the most beautiful political building. During night as well, but my photo.

Give someone a crash course

I took this photo on a street toward Nam Phou in Vientiane, Laos. Nam Phou is a fountain which is located at the heart of Vientiane. You can see it in the center of the photo. I've been to Vientiane twice. On my first visit, after unpacked a suitcase, I got out of the hotel to find a place for lunch and also to see the Mekong River. I found a nice Laotian place near Nam Phou and had tasty Laab for lunch. I went there slightly different from other people's lunch time, so the wait staff members had time on their hands. I speak Lao and everybody showed an interest in foreign languages. After lunch, they started to ask me about things in Lao, then I gave them sort of a crash course using a pen, note and our oral communication skills. First of all, it started from a few people, in the end several people joined together. Hopefully it'll comes in handy some time.

It was my choice

The photo shows beautiful a view of Lucerne, Switzerland along the Reuss river. I'd say this kind of view is one of the prime examples of Swiss sceneries. Just my two cents, but I love viewing stunning landscape just like Lucerne has. I still remember that the beautiful buildings,  clean air, relaxing atmosphere and then some. Come to think of it, when I visited Frankfurt, Germany for the second time, I had much spare time to enjoy one day excursion to neighboring country. Lucern was a candidate site, but I chose Zurich just to visit another city of Switzerland. Right now, I wanna return to Lucern.

TG951 CPH - BKK; the 2nd meal; Jan 2011

The photo shows an in-flight cuisine of Thai Airways International flight TG951 Copenhagen, Denmark to Bangkok, Thailand (CPH - BKK). It was about 10 and a half-hour flight and the photo shows the second meal on the plane. What a big sausage. Back then I was traveling, the average Copenhagen temperature was around freezing point, and the average Bangkok temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius. So, the point of departure and my destination were worlds apart. I was wearing a T-shirt under a fleece jacket and took off the jacket right after the landing.

You can't pull the wool over my eyes

I took this photo in Rome, Italy. The eyes of something famous. The photo shows only a tiny part of the world-famous sculpture, but you might be able to take a guess what it is. The sculpture itself is about a meter or so, and is located in the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Also, it's famous for its mouth. Yep. The photo shows the eyes of Bocca della Verità. Italian word Bocca means mouth in English, and Bocca della Verità means the Mouth of Truth. The mouth is known as a lie detector, so I thought I'd better took a photo of the eyes, not the mouth.

Kick oneself

I'm kicking myself. I should have purchased this fantastic bathrobe at my hotel in Giza, Egypt. I've stayed two hotels in Egypt and the first hotel was a luxurious one nearby the three Pyramids. There were so many convenience goods and toiletries available in the room and the bathrobe was one of them. Of course I have bathrobes, but this bathrobe was especially comfortable. It was kinda thin, smooth, and easy-to-wear. It was easy to purchase this robe. Just press the service button on the phone. I don't know why I didn't do that. Too late.

If I couldn't read, I would get it

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. When I walked by a convenience store I sort of experienced a moment of deja vu because of the coffee ad. I wasn't sure that I've seen similar advertisement in other country, but the coffee ad was explanatory. There were many kinds of coffee available at the convenience store I got it from the ad even I couldn't read any Swedish. Speaking of coffee, I was a coffee person for a long time and didn't drink tea so much, but things are different now. After spending months in Sri Lanka, my taste changed and I started to drink tea as well.

Marine Drive, Colombo, Sri Lanka

I took this photo early in the morning in Colombo, Sri Lanka from my hotel room. Back when I arrived to the hotel, it was around midnight and it was drizzling. First of all, I got excellent service at the reception included fresh welcome drink, a greeting card and such then got into my room on the fourth floor. I unpacked my luggage, took a quick shower, then went to bed. Just like that. The next morning, I woke up early and opened the curtains. There was a curvy street, rail tracks, and the Indian Ocean in front of me. The area is the so-called Marine Drive. Viva Sri Lankan holiday.

Portuguese attentive service

The photo shows my hotel room in Lisbon, Portugal. I visited Portugal after Egypt before Spain and I only had a couple of nights. It was my first time to visit Portugal and I didn't know much about the lay of the land, so I chose the hotel through the Internet on a hit-or-miss basis, but I've definitely done something right. The hotel was located about a 20-minute walk from the heart of the city and the staff members were very considerate and sensitive to their guests. I was impressed by attentive receptionists from the very beginning.

Take a stroll around a pedestrian street

I took this photo in Sankt Goar, Germany nearby my hotel. The hotel was located along the Rhine and the back side of the hotel was a pedestrian street and on either side of the street were lined with inviting cafes, eateries and shops. The photo shows a part of the street. I loved taking a stroll around the street. Obviously, along the Rhine was so nice. I could enjoy long-distance view of ancient castles. I'd say Sankt Goar is a very quiet, relaxing town on the left bank of the Rhine. I've visited there twice and enjoyed the atmosphere with good German beer.

Wat Xieng Khuan in Vientiane, Laos

The photo shows a gigantic Reclining Buddha in Buddha Park. Buddha Park is also known as Wat Xieng Khuan and is located in outskirts of Vientiane, Laos. There are a hundred of statues of Hinduism and Buddhism. Laotian word Wat means temple in English, but the place is not a temple, it's a park full of sculpture. Some of them look like humans, some of them look like elephants, not only that, but one of the sculpture looks like a humongous pumpkin. The Reclining Buddha in the photo is 120 meters long. I've heard that the sculpture is not that old as it looks.

Buda Castle and its museums

I took this photo on the Castle Hill in Budapest, Hungary. Buda Castle is known as a historical castle and palace complex. Not only that, but Buda Castle is a home of Hungarian museums and institutions such as the Budapest History Museum, the National Library of Hungary, and the National Hungarian Gallery. Also, Buda Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's located on the southern tip of beautiful Castle Hill and visitors able to enjoy panoramic views of Budapest and the River Danube from there.

Sri Lankan rice packet

The photo shows my another photo of Sri Lankan rice packet. You can find this kind of rice packets at a lot of places in Sri Lanka. I bought this tasty rice packet in Chilaw, Sri Lanka for lunch. It was wrapped in plastic wrap and Sinhalese news paper. Inside of the wrap, it had full of rice with a few kind of curry tasted vegetable like the photo shows. Also, I bought a pack of Chicken curry; you can see it upper side of the photo. I mixed all of them with my fingers and had them at my hotel's balcony. In the balcony, a couple of chairs and a couple of tables were available, so I thought it was a nice place for Sri Lankan lunch. Oh, before I forget, the hotel faced the Indian Ocean, and Chilaw is a cosy relaxing town on the West coast of  Sri Lanka, so I had a great time with nice Sri Lankan rice and curry and famous monsoon breeze.

Deer in the headlights

I took this photo at the Castle district in Prague, the Czech Republic. One of the breath taking areas of beautiful Prague. Before I visited Prague, I called Prague as Praha. When I talked with my Italian acquaintance, he let me know about the error and said the beautiful city is called Prague in English. These things happen occasionally. Another example is Vienna, Austria. I was thinking the capital of music is named Wien, but it was German actually. When I noticed about my errors, I was like a deer in the headlights, but anyway, thanks for the heads-up.

It's about another unforgettable brekkie

I took this photo in Wangdue Podrang, Bhutan. The town is located in central Bhutan and has nice breezes. I don't know why, but I guess the town has been topographically-affected and has the such nice breezes. I still miss the tasty breakfast at my hotel in Wangdue. In that morning, main dish was Bhutanese fried rice with veggie omelette. The fried rice was totally nice and was piled high on a big plate. I really loved it. I love rice. Come to think of it, the staple food of the Bhutanese is Bhutanese red rice. Red rice is not exactly red like the color of Danish flag or Swiss flag. I'd say the color of Bhutanese red rice is kind of like brownish pink, and the texture of Bhutanese red rice is a sort of sticky like Japonica rice. It went well with all tasty Bhutanese cuisine which I had in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

The more I know it, the more I love it

I took this photo when I had a great view of the Swiss Alps from Mount Pilatus in Lucerne, Switzerland. I've visited Switzerland twice and my first city was Lucerne. It was a beautiful cozy city in north-central Switzerland and luckily my hotel was on the top of Mount Pilatus, so I could enjoy the view, the sunrise, clean air, silence, and such. The night time was also amazing. I was under a sky full of stars. The more I knew Switzerland, the more I loved Switzerland. I've been loving Switzerland ever since.

Eat out

The photo shows one of the street view of Budapest, Hungary. I took this photo while I was waiting my meals for lunch. I'm no linguist, but cafe is Kávézó in Hungarian and this place was one of those places where I could enjoy Hungarian cuisine and some good beer. There were a few tables in front of cafe, so I took lunch at a table on a street. With that, I could enjoy street view while I was waiting, eating, and drinking. It was fantastic. I went into the cafe just once to use the loo. Other than that, I stayed outside.

A gateway to Chinatown in Bangkok

The photo shows the Chinatown Gate in Bangkok, Thailand. The gate is located at the very beginning of Chinatown in Bangkok and is sort of a gateway to get into a fabulous Chinatown in a huge Asian metropolitan. Chinatown in Bangkok is also known as Yaowaraj (also spelled Yaowarat). The nearest stations is Hua Lamphong which is the last stop of MRT (a.k.a. Bangkok Metro). The Chinatown Gate is about a five-minute walk from the station. Half the fun is getting there. There are a lot of places on the street to feel Bangkok. After pass over the gate you can see uninterrupted vista of Chinatown in Bangkok. Have fun.

Wirescape or dreamscape?

The photo shows a view from my hotel's balcony in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. Someone may care about the wirescape, but it doesn't matter for me. Just please draw a mental picture. Sri Lanka is a tropical island country in the Indian Ocean and has monsoon breeze all day long. When twilight came on, a lot of people backed to their room from the beach. Then accommodations and eateries started to put the light on. Some of the light were electric, some of the light were small oil lamps. When it grew dark, a lot of star appeared on the sky. Every day in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka was something like that. I really loved it.

Gray langur monkey

The photo shows a Gray langur monkey in the woods. Gray langur monkeys mostly populate across South Asia and in the Himalayas. I took this photo in Dochula, Bhutan. Gray langur monkeys have characteristic body parts such as black faces and long tails. When my Bhutanese driver and guide and me drove toward Paro via Dochula, they found a Gray langur and gave me a heads up. The monkey had beautiful whitish hair like the photo shows, but I don't think I could find the monkey without any notice from the locals. They have eagle eyes. Thanks for the heads-up.

Out of common

The photo shows the joining section of a Trolleybus in Switzerland. I saw a Trolleybus for the first time in Lucerne, then I took a quick photo of it. It looked really unique for me, because it seemed like a couple of buses attached to each other. The Trolleybus ran on a street, so it looked like a tram, but it wasn't. I've heard that Trolleybuses take the power from the wires above, so they operate in a similar way with trains I think. An interesting transportation. I guess it's nothing new in Switzerland, but for a tourist like me, it was out of common.

Cool one's parched throat with a cold Beer Lao

I took this photo at my favorite Laotian eatery in Vientiane, Laos. The first day of my second visit to Vientiane, right after checked in to a hotel, I went to the eatery to have lunch. First, I cooled my parched throat with a cold bottle of Beer Lao and ordered Laab moo (it's also spelled Larb moo or Laap moo or Larp moo) and sticky rice. A while later the a waitstaff came back to me and said sticky rice hadn't boiled yet. So, I ordered white rice instead and enjoyed all of them. The eatery is located next to the That Dam (a.k.a. the Black Stupa). Check it out. You can enjoy authentic Laotian food with a cold Beer Lao.

There's nothing to spoil the site

The photo shows a construction site in Copenhagen, Denmark. The idea of the sound-proof sheets were awesome. It blended in well with the landscape of Copenhagen and harmonized with its aerial background. It looked like there was a guy peddles a bike, but the guy was also an illustration. Copenhagen is a town where full of bicycles, so as not to interfere with the famous view of a beautiful Scandinavian capital, the sound-proof sheet had an illustrated guy who peddles a bike. There was a construction site, but there was nothing to spoil the site. Creative.

Rub elbows with the Venetians

I took this photo at a greengrocery in Venice, Italy. The color popped out at me on the street and I stopped to look at yummy-looking fruits. There were a lot of pineapples, bananas, pears, apples and then some, and everything looked so fresh and nice. The greengrocery was in Rialto Market and was next to a local butcher. The market itself was really a fun place to walk around. I saw lots and lots of local products and knew the prices of them and enjoyed the atmosphere of a typical day in Venice. There was more than enough of rubbing elbows with the Venetians.

A field of flowers

The photo shows a flower garden in Germany. In that morning, I got into a coach in Lucerne, Switzerland then headed to Sankt Goar, Germany. After the coach crossed the border with Germany, I had a lunch break and took delicious Reisfleisch with a bowl full of veggie soup. After the good meal, I took a stroll around for a while with a full belly, then I found the flower garden which burst with spring color. It was a very beautiful place full of daisies and some dandelions. Spring has fully sprung.

PED XING

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. The street had several PED XING signs near the crosswalks. I think warning sings are commonly colored in vivid yellow or red and black, but on this street was not the case. The signs were colored in blue and black. They looked pretty nice, so I took a photo of them while I was crossing the street. Anyway, PED XING signs are sort of a universal design and is self-explanatory. That's why I can cross the streets in a country where I visit for the first time. Watch out for traffic.

Drink Center -> 0.01 km ->

I took this photo in Pattaya, Thailand at night. When I took a stroll around Pattaya Walking Street with a camera, I found this unique neon sign. It indicates Drink Center is 0.01 kilometer away. A funny stuff. Pattaya Walking Street is located in Southern Pattaya and is full of glaring neon signs exactly like the photo shows. There are full of places to eat, places to drink, places to have fun what you want to do. From my point of view, Pattaya, Thailand is the most fun place in the world. It's extremely right up my alley.

Tech-savvy

The photo shows ICE which is an outstanding innovation of Germany. ICE is stands for Inter City Express and is known as German bullet train. A super high speed train runs in Germany and runs to surrounding countries of Germany. I took this photo in Munich, Germany. As the sign board shows the train was going to depart at 12:56. I was planning to move to Frankfurt using this ICE. The train arrived to Frankfurt at 15:59. It was about three-hour train ride with a great German scenery from the train windows. Inside of ICE was extraordinary. Comfortable seats, comprehensible destination screens, and sort of a gorgeous loo. Everything was so nice and I was really impressed by German high technology. While I was traveling by ICE, I definitely understood that Germany is a tech-savvy country. By far the best. I just could believe my own two eyes.

Got the change in Egyptian pound

The photo shows Luxor. As you know, Luxor is a city in Egypt, and also a unique hotel in Sin city, the States, not only that but, Luxor is a canned drink looks like this. My favorite kind of thing. I had it at a restaurant in Cairo tower after enjoying the city view from the top of the tower. It was on Saturday and I was a little short of Egyptian pound. Also, I didn't have any good ideas to exchange my US dollars to Egyptian pound on Saturday morning. So, I chose to visit Cairo Tower and paid everything in US dollars and got some change in Egyptian pound. Well, the change helped me to survive the rest of the day.

Through the roof

The photo shows my very first photo of Machapuchare. The beautiful mountain is considered a symbol of Pokhara, Nepal and it's 6,993 meters high. It is often said that something is through the roof, but in this case, I'd say Machapuchare is through the clouds. That morning I couldn't see the top of Machapuchare in spite of the wait for an hour due to the thick cloud layer. Common tourists accommodations in Pokhara, Nepal are mostly in Lakeside and Damside. Lakeside means around Phewa lake, Damside means around the dam. The photo shows a view from Damside nearby my hotel and a nice bakery cafe.

Double-edged sword

I took this photo in Nice, France. An eye-catching sign of a Mediterranean wine bar. Cool. By the way, the night before I took this photo I spent some exiting time in Monaco, so in that morning I felt a little sluggish, but I had only 24 hours left in Nice, so after the brekkie, I started to bum around in Nice. The French-style brekkie was a little too simple for me, so every eateries on the streets looked so yummy at that moment. When I walked around Nice, a tourist came to me and asked if I knew where a cyber cafe was. I didn't know much about the lay of the land, so I had no idea, though. On the following day, I was headed to Pisa, Italy. Why am I so in a hurry? I was joining a bus tour and the coach took me around Europe on schedule. To be honest, it was very convenient, but I felt short on time. In my thought, a bus tour is something of a double-edged sword. There are pros and cons to both. Just my two cents.

Relax at a nice inn

The photo shows my hotel room in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. In 2010, I spent 24 days in Unawatuna and I chose this hotel as a base. Actually, I've stayed in this hotel in 2005, so it was my second time to chose this hotel. The hotel is on the Strand (officially known as Yaddehimulla Road) and faces the Indian Ocean. When I opened the door to the balcony, there was the tropical ocean in front of me. A great location. The fan on the ceiling was fantastic, and the mosquito net was pretty convenient. I loved to spend time in the balcony.

At a stroke

I took this photo in Edinburgh, the UK. I've been to the UK 6 times and traveled around England, Scotland, Wales by coach. In Scotland, I visited Carter Bar, Jedburgh, Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Loch Ness, Inverness, Scottish Highlands, Isle of Skye, Glasgow and so on. In Edinburgh, I joined a half-day bus tour and visited must-sees at a stroke. The coach took me to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace (a.k.a. the Palace of Holyroodhouse) and then some and a local guide explained a lot about them.

A view from the Liberty Bridge, Budapest

The photo shows a view of Budapest, Hungary from the Liberty Bridge (a.k.a. Freedom Bridge, Hungarian: Szabadság híd). I've heard that there are 10 bridges in Budapest across the river Danube. The Liberty Bridge is one of them and has tramways on it. The bridge is situated around the southern end of this beautiful Budapest, so you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city from there. Yep, I enjoyed a long-distance view of the castle hill and its Buda Castle. It was stunning and I still remember how beautiful Budapest was.

A sacred Bodhi tree in Lumbini, Nepal

The photo shows a sacred Bodhi tree in Lumbini, Nepal. Lumbini is known as the birthplace of the Buddha and is one of the Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Also, Lumbini is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I've visited the village in August 2003. It was the middle of extremely hot season, so I still remember that it was a boiling hot day. I spent a night in Lumbini. Before Lumbini, I spent a couple of nights in Chitwan National Park to go wild activities such as elephant safari, jungle safari, elephant bathing and such. After Lumbini, I spent more than a couple of weeks in Pokhara to see the Himalayas. Lumbini was totally different place from many other places in Nepal. I'd say visit Lumbini was sort of a sobering experience. Lumbini Garden was very quiet and beautiful place and was full of prayer flags.

Iberian ham hanging on the walls and walls

The photo shows a prime example of Spanish landscape. Lots and lots of Iberian ham hanging on the wall of a local butcher in Madrid, Spain. That was quite a sight. On the first day in Madrid, I had Jámon Ibérico (Iberian ham) for lunch. One of the purpose of my visit Spain was to have authentic Iberian ham with good beer, so I was truly happy to be there. I didn't expect before, but one of the famous places of Iberian ham was next door of my hostal by serendipity. Not only that, but there were a lot of places like the photo shows. I really envy Spanish people.

Public phone booths

The photo shows public phone booths in Athens, Greece. I took this photo near the National Gardens on my way back from 1896 Olympic Stadium. Public phone booths have been disappearing in many cities because of the ubiquitous use of cell-phones, so four public phone booths in a row was kinda interesting to me and took a photo of them. I was a cell-phone holdout actually, but a year ago finally I bought one out of necessity. I don't know from when, but I don't often see public phones like I used to. What's the matter with them?

Make a big deal out of everything

I took this photo on the first night in Copenhagen, Denmark while I was waiting for the traffic light to change. There was Hard Rock Cafe across from the place I was standing. At that moment, I was looking for a place for dinner. Having dinner at Hard Rock Cafe was tempting, but I just continued to walk aimlessly and found a cosy place for my first dinner in a Scandinavian country. On the first night, everything was new to me, so I made a big deal out of everything. Well, choosing a eatery was also a big deal. What did I choose for dinner? I had salmon steak with some cool beer on tap. It was marvelous.

Have one's head in the clouds

I took this photo in Bhutan. I saw a lot of prayer flags like the photo shows. At that time, I was in the place called Dochula for a short break of long drive back to Paro. The altitude there was 3,150 meters and I was in the clouds literally and idiomatically in a way. The air was crisp and I saw a few wild monkeys, cows, and such, but car except the one that I was getting in. There's no end in site to discuss the theme of coexistence of people and nature, but I thought a bit about it in some small way even I had my head in the clouds.

Sheeted rain

I took this photo in Bangkok, Thailand while the rain was coming down in sheet. Two days ago the raining I returned to Bangkok from Madrid, Spain, then I planned to fly to Los Angeles five hours later the squall passed. In that morning I had Thai Massage for a couple of hours at the hotel's massage room and had Thai lunch at the hotel. After that I was just relaxed in my room. It looked like a squally day and it happened, so I went down to the poolside to take a photo of the squall and enjoyed the experience of tropical downpour.

Get an idea from a map

The photo shows a map of Malmö, Sweden. I took this photo at the heart of the city while I was exploring Malmö without a map. After a while I got back to the Malmö Central Station and went to the other side of the station to get a hand-sized map from the tourist information center. The map was great for giving ideas. I took a stroll around Malmö on foot, so I think I could see only a tiny part of this beautiful city, but I saw a lot of nice places, beautiful colored buildings, interesting statues and so on.

A perfect place to get back to nature

The photo shows a view of Chitwan National Park in Nepal. I've spent a couple of nights there and had a great time. Back then I was there, I was very used to a convenient civilization, so things I had experienced in Chitwan National Park were full of cultural shocks, but the eye-opening differences were sort of lovely and I really enjoyed to be there. For a lack of better word, but when I took this photo, I felt like I was on Mother Nature. Of course I'm always is, but I believe you know what I mean. It was a perfect place to get back to nature. Just my two cents.

TG795 LAX - BKK; the 1st 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 first meal on the cabin. During the flight to Bangkok, I had three meals on the cabin. For the first meal, there were two choices and I chose Thai cuisine obviously. I wanted to eat some rice and also Thai flavor is my all-time favorite. Thai Airways serves authentic Thai cuisine as their in-flight meals and I'm always happy about that.