Tapas Garlic Mushrooms

I took this photo at a very nice bar in Barcelona, Spain on La Rambla. The photo shows one of the most popular Spanish tapas: Garlic Mushrooms. Tapas are a wide variety of Spanish appetizers. First, I ordered a cold beer and Shrimp tapas. Then, I had a tasty Valencian Paella. It tasted like a heaven. After that, I enjoyed a huge glass of Sangria and a Garlic Mushrooms. It may sound an erratic behavior to have tapas before and after Paella, but I think to each his own. One of my Australian acquaintances has a sweet tooth and she orders a dessert as an appetizer.

What is it called?

The photo shows a unique vehicle in Lisbon, Portugal. I took this photo from Restauradores Square. I didn't have enough time in Lisbon, I mean I just had only a couple of nights in Lisbon, so it was only opportunity that I've seen this unique shape of vehicle in Lisbon. It seemed like a lot different from normal trams, but something looked like a tram. I'm not sure what is it called, but anyway, I knew I couldn't take a nice photo of it, but I liked the shape of the vehicle, so I bought a beautiful postcard and sent it by myself. The photos on the postcard are the vehicle, Padrão dos Descobrimentos (a.k.a. Monument to the Discoveries) and somewhere breathtaking place in Lisbon. A very nice postcard. I still have it. Thinking back now, sending a postcard by myself sounds a bit ridiculous, but at that moment, I was totally serious.

I think we've met somewhere before

I took this photo in Buddha Park, Vientiane, Laos. The park is also known as Wat Xieng Khuan in Lao. Wat means temple in English, but the park is not a temple. It's a place where you can see a hundred of sculptures of Hinduism and Buddhism. A very quiet and interesting place. Vientiane is the capital of Laos, but compare to many other Asian metropolises, there weren't so many people. I've ran into the same European tourist in different places such as Lao National Museum, a restaurant nearby my hotel as if. We made small talk about it.

How it reminds me of fabulous Greece

I took this photo in my hotel room in Athens, Greece. There was a hook on a pinkish wall in my room and a white wall was decorated with a giant jigsaw puzzle. Then I hit on the idea to decorate the pinkish wall with a Greek flag which I bought at a stall on a street and I gave it a try. At that moment, the room looked very Greece. I brought back the flag as my souvenir, so right now the flag is decorated in my apartment. Seeing the flag reminds me of Greece so much. Hopefully, I'd love to return to Greece in 2014. Next time, after Athens, I'd love to visit the place where the jigsaw puzzle shows. I'm sure once you visit Greece, you'll find good reasons to go there again and again.

When it was light enough

I took this photo in Copenhagen, Denmark. A beautiful street lamp on a street. I loved the design. I had a unique start of my first day in Copenhagen, Denmark. My flight from Bangkok, Thailand flew in Copenhagen at 6:35 a.m. I caught a train from Kastrup airport station and headed to my hotel near Copenhagen central station. I reserved my room from the day before, so I was able to check in without any hassle. First of all, I took breakfast at the hotel, then waited at room till the sky was brightening up. After a couple of hours into the waiting, the color of the sky still seemed to be a little dark, but I noticed that the sky was probably already light enough. Then, I got out of the hotel to see the city. Thus I have experienced Scandinavian winter for the first time in my life.

The national animal of Bhutan; Takin

I took this photo at a takin pasture in Thimphu, Bhutan. I described the place as a takin pasture, but it didn't look like a pasture I've seen, it more like national home of takin, but there were fence between us and Takins. I don't know the official name of the place, though. The takin is the national animal of the Kingdom of Bhutan who has stubby legs and blackish nose. My Bhutanese guide told me that they were ubiquitous long time ago, but they are way fewer nowadays. Who is at the top of the food chain?

Walk, walk, walk, till my stomach growling

The photo shows water front view of Zurich, Switzerland. I took this photo after an hour walking in the largest city in Switzerland, then I continued to walk till my stomach growling. I've tried Fondue de Fromage (a.k.a. Cheese Fondue) in Lucerne, so that time in Zurich, I wanted to have something different, but something special of Switzerland. So, I chose Zürcher Geschnetzeltes for lunch. It's kind of like a specialty of Zurich, and the German term means Zurich styled slice meat in English. The cream sauce brought out the flavor of meat and mushrooms. Also, it really matched with Swiss style hash browns.

Go with one's gut

I took this photo on a street in Malmö, Sweden. A huge menu board of a restaurant. I don't often see this much huge food menu on a street, so I was just curious and took a photo of it. Gorgeous. I love eating. I also love cooking, but when I'm abroad I stay in hotels, so normally I dine out. Sometimes restaurants have menus without any English, and full of   local language. In that case, I chose my meal from photos. Also, sometimes the menus are written in only local language and no photos. Well, in that case, I go with my gut and ask a wait staff what they taste like.

Stay in bed and eat Bhatmas

The photo shows my hotel room in Kathmandu, Nepal. After spending 20 days in Pokhara, I returned to the capital by air. I had 7 nights 8 days in Nepal's largest metropolitan without any plans to do. First things first, I chose a hotel and paid in advance. It cost 91 bucks for everything. The hotel was located at the edge of Thamel district. Thamel is the name of area witch is one of the most popular tourist trails in Kathmandu. Staying in that hotel meant I was almost there. Here. One night, I was staying too lazy and stayed in bed. Then, the phone rang. It was a receptionist and asked everything was okay and also gave me a recommendation about their rooftop restaurant. It sounded tempting. Of course I went there and had Nepali special set. It was full of Nepali food with good curry. It was totally nice, especially Bhatmas. I really loved it. Bhatmas is kind of like roasted dried soybeans tasted spicy and a bit salty. Once you start eating Bhatmas, you won't stop.

Worth a wait

I took this photo while I was waiting in a line at Casa Milà to get an entrance ticket. Casa Milà is a unique building in Barcelona, Spain which is designed by Antoni Gaudí. There was an information board beside the line and said "Aprox 30 min". I don't read any Spanish, but I understood that I needed to wait for about 30 minutes to get into famous Casa Milà. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so I thought worth waiting for 30 minutes. There was no direct flight from my country to Barcelona, Spain. How long was the total flight hours? I don't remember, but I'll say this, it was much more than 30 minutes. Half the fun is getting there. Worth a wait.

A breathtaking view from the Castle Hill

This is my favorite beautiful view of Budapest, Hungary includes the Hungarian Parliament Building, the Chain Bridge across the Danube. I took this photo from the Castle Hill. There was a breathtaking view from there. I personally believe that the Hungarian Parliament Building is the most beautiful parliament building in the world, so I was really happy to be there. The photo shows sort of a long-distance view of it, but still. I think it can't be criticized from any angle. The Hungarian Parliament Building is worth looking at again and again.

International Meeting Street

I took this photo at the end of Pattaya Walking Street (a.k.a. International Meeting Street) in Southern Pattaya, Thailand. You can enjoy the hustle and the bustle of Pattaya city at night on this exotic street. The street is kinda empty in the daytime, though. Also, it's fun to turn off and walk on Soi. Soi is a Thai word means side street in English. One of my British acquaintances has ever said that Soi 15 is the most interesting and unique Soi in Pattaya. I can't choose the most interesting place in Pattaya, because I love everywhere in Pattaya.

A pendant light in Venice, Italy

I took this photo in Venice, Italy because I found this nice pendant light above the narrow street. The pendant light was hanged in between a couple of face-to-face buildings. Venice is sort of a floating city and the Venetian boats (a.k.a. gondolas) are well-known as a transportation in Venice. However, there are complicated narrow streets for foot passengers. When I found the pendant light, I was walking on one of the narrow streets. I think maps won't do you any good in Venice, Italy. You'd better have fun getting lost in a way.

Pepsi bottle caps

The photo shows the Lao soft drink company in Vientiane, Laos. There were a lot of large Pepsi bottle caps on the fence and the color of the bottle caps looked pretty nice with a color of Lao flag. I took this photo on the way to Nam Phou (sometimes it's spelled Namphou) from Buddha Park (a.k.a. Wat Xieng Khuan) by tuk-tuk. Nam phou is a fountain which is situated in the heart of Vientiane and most tourists tend to say Nam Phou as their destination because it's easier to pronounce Laotian names of somewhere else.

Become captivated by Lisbon, Portugal

I took this photo in Baixa district in Lisbon, Portugal while I was walking around the city on my first day. My plane departed from Cairo, Egypt and the in-flight meal was served a while before the landing as lunch. The plane flew in Lisbon in the early afternoon. I took a cab and headed straight for my hotel to keep my luggage. Then, got out of the hotel to see Lisbon. After a second, I really came to like Lisbon. The city was picturesque, people were so nice, and I was really happy to be there. Also, the first dinner in Lisbon was so yummy. Within a few hours, I became completely captivated by Lisbon, Portugal.

I'd rather be a barfly in this case

I took this photo at a humongous beer hall in Munich, Germany. The beer hall is world-famous and is considered one of the must-sees in Munich, Germany, so I went there twice to have experience with good German beer. The beer hall was bustling and was full of beer guzzlers on each occasion. The second time I went there my table was kinda next to the beer mug lockers. What does beer mug lockers mean, right? From my point of view, the beer mug lockers were kind of like personal lockers to keep their own beer mugs at the beer hall. Each locker had a number and a padlock exactly like the photo shows. It seemed like a really unique service and obviously I've never seen such a unique system before, so I was blown away. I learned that while they were drinking, they were also talking, laughing, dancing and then some and having fun with beer.

A hidden delicious place

The photo shows Sri Lankan rice and curry. I took this photo at my favorite place in Negombo, Sri Lanka and I had this fantastic plate as lunch. The eatery is located in a hotel on the beach road and they served daily lunch special in a way and the ingredients of rice and curry changed with each day. I was totally happy to had rice and curry lunch at the eatery. One day, the rice was covered with my favorite ingredients such as chicken, lady's fingers, eggplants, and then some. It looked nice like the photo shows and tasted so nice as you can imagine.

Look like a total tourist

I took this photo somewhere in between the Cairo Tower and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt. The traffic signs were written in Arabic and I didn't have any idea what they were warning about, but the Arabic letters looked pretty, so I took a photo of it. I know I looked like a total tourist. Oh, come to think of it, crossing the streets in Cairo, Egypt was kinda so difficult for tourists because of the busy streets and their complicated systems. When I headed to an Egyptair office, I was stuck at an huge intersection. Then, an Egyptian local helped me to cross the street. He said he worked on the same street as the Egyptair office. As he said, after crossed the street after a second, he said goodbye and entered a large building. Thanks a lot.

Now why didn't I think of that?

The photo shows one of the very popular souvenirs of Thailand. I took this photo in the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand near Damnoen Saduak floating market. I've seen those such beautiful gigantic fans in a lot of places in Thailand and I'd really have some of them as souvenirs, but I've never bought them, because they are about one meter wide or more and they seemed like a little too hard to carry to my next destination. I was always thinking that they won't fit in my suitcase. However last time, I saw a Caucasian guy who tried to have this gigantic fan as carry-on luggage. I don't know where he was going to headed, but still. Now why didn't I think of that?

A lovely show window of Swiss watches

I took this photo in Lucerne, Switzerland. Switzerland is famous for its watches was as described. There were a lot of expensive watch retailers along the streets  in Lucerne and the decorations of the show windows had caught my eyes definitely. One of the show windows where I took this photo was decorated in lovely colors of Swiss flag and I liked it. Anyway, all of them were out of my budget, so I continued to walk around beautiful Lucerne and bought some small Swiss souvenirs instead of luxurious watches.

I'm afraid, but I'm not an American-made

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. One of the beautiful Swedish buildings. When I was in Malmö, the city itself was almost empty, but when I was walking near this beautiful building, a Swedish local talked to me in English and we had a small conversation on the street. It was about my trip and kinda himself. I learned an interesting fact in our conversation. He asked me when I would back to America. It was funny he mentioned that. I'm not an American-made. I'm often mistaken for Laotian, Malaysian, Nepali, Filipino, and so on, but never for American before that. For the first time.

What's wrong with walking?

The photo shows a street view of Budapest, Hungary. I took this photo on the hilly Buda side nearby the famous Chain Bridge. When I took this photo, I was planning to cross the Chain Bridge to the flat Pest side where my hotel was. In Budapest, Hungary, I stayed at sort of a budged-minded hotel, so my hotel facilities were quite simple. There was a bed and a table in my room. Also, there was a shared bathroom apart from my room. I spent most of my time in Budapest, walking around the city until my shoes broke.

Look up at a World Heritage Site

The photo shows the Erechtheion from below. The ancient Greek temple is situated on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens and is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Athens, Greece. I looked up at the ceilings from below and used this opportunity to take a photo of it. What I found was the Acropolis of Athens is whitish, but the ceilings were brownish. The Acropolis of Athens was my first sightseeing destination in Athens, Greece. I chose to go to a place on the beaten track as my first destination just because I really wanted to see there with my own two eyes.

Hanami prawn crackers

The photo shows a couple of Thai snacks named Hanami prawn crackers. One of the very popular Thai crispy snacks. I bought these Hanami at a convenience store nearby my hotel in Bangkok, Thailand with some cans of Thai beer. Hanami prawn crackers have a wide variety of flavor and I love all of them, because Hanami goes well with Thai beer. It's like a snack such as potato chips, but the point is Hanami prawn crackers smells like a roasted prawn. By the way, the orchids on the table were complimentary flower gift from the hotel. Good arrangement.

Treasure in the moment

I took this photo somewhere in between Thimphu and Dochula, Bhutan. Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan, and Dochula is a pass point where connect to Eastern Bhutan from the capital Thimphu. There was sort of a tourist check point near the bridge in the photo and my Bhutanese guide went there to show a document. I got off the car and got out into nature. While my Bhutanese guide was talking to an officer at the check point, I had a few time to kill, so I took a photo of a river and a bridge. I was going to treasure every second in Bhutan.

Elephant safari in Chitwan, Nepal

I took this photo at the very beginning of my elephant safari in Chitwan, Nepal. When I took this photo, I was riding on an elephant. There were a few more elephants ahead of me, so I took a photo of them. There were kinda elephant pass on the ground. Speaking of elephant pass, there is a place called Elephant Pass in Northern Sri Lanka. It's exactly located at the gateway of Jaffna Peninsula and was a battlefield during the civil war. The place is called Elephant Pass because there's a only tiny road in a lagoon. It that tiny like an elephant is barely able to walk. Elephant Pass is the only one land route to get to Jaffna Peninsula from Sri Lankan mainland.

Dresden is known as Florence of the Elbe

This is my only a photo in Dresden, Germany. I didn't get around to taking more photos in beautiful Florence of the Elbe because of a major traffic jam. I started the day from a huge brekkie at my hotel in Berlin and got on a coach and headed to Dresden, but on the way the coach was caught in heavy traffic and I arrived Dresden hours later. In Dresden, a local guide got on the coach and we actually did the sightseeing from the coach windows in a rush. After that, everybody got off the coach for lunch. First things first, I stood in line at a comfort station, then after that, I grabbed a bite. Right before I backed to the coach, I realized that I didn't have any photos of Dresden. When I took this photo, I was walking with a camera in one hand, a German sausage sandwich in the other. Not only that, but it was drizzling, so I was holding a folding umbrella under my arm.

Trinità dei Monti

The photo shows the Trinità dei Monti (a.k.a. The church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti) in Rome, Italy. The church is located above the world-famous Spanish Steps which led me down to the Piazza di Spagna. I gazed up the church from the bustling Piazza di Spagna and took a photo of it. The Spanish Steps was packed wall to wall. I mean there was a crowd of people and I was one of them. I can't explain well how I was able to climbed up the stairs and got to Piazza Trinità dei Monti. It was like I shouldered my way toward up and up...

Strike a pose

The photo shows a camel who strikes a pose in front of a Pyramid in Giza, Egypt. The camel was the one I was going to ride on a back to got close to the Pyramids. The pyramids looked really close from the camel and me, but they weren't. They looked this close to me just because they were gigantic. If you love to walk on a desert for a long time or you have enough energy to get along with a harsh desert climate obviously you can do so, but in other cases, I recommend to hire a camel or a horse or a carriage to get to the bottom of the Pyramids. Speaking of camels, camel meat is eaten in certain regions. I tried it once. If I say so, most people ask me how's the taste like. I usually say that camel meat tastes like chicken and they say that's nice. I'm not an expert, but I've heard that camel meat is halal for Muslims. Halal is an Arabic term means permissible. In layman's terms, camel meat is edible in certain regions.

That's good enough for now

The photo shows the entrance of Tivoli Gardens. A famous amusement park in Copenhagen, Denmark. When I was in Copenhagen, Tivoli Gardens was closing till April 14th, so I couldn't see inside, because there was a tall fence at the entrance. By coincidence, I found out a special location where I barely able to saw inside of Tivoli Gardens. Across from Tivoli Garden, there was a square and there was a fountain. I took this photo behind the fountain. There were golden street lights along either side of approach. That was good enough for the winter-time.

Pattaya beach from above at night

The photo shows Pattaya beach, Thailand from above at night. One night, I showed a postcard to a motorbike taxi driver and said I would like to take a picture like that. Then, I hopped on a seat in the back of a motorbike and headed to the viewpoint on a hill. People are able to enjoy panoramic views of Pattaya from there. I think it's hard to walk to get there, but every motor bike taxi drivers in Pattaya definitely know where the viewpoint is. You'd better ask them for a ride. I've been there several times night and day by motorbike.

Morning view of Illuminated street

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. I don't know why, but the street illuminated by beautiful light across the street. I was there in the morning, but the light was still turning on. I thought if I was there in the evening, I could see the fantastic view on the street. I love to walk illuminated streets. In this case, I didn't do that because my hotel was in Copenhagen, Denmark, and I was in Malmö as a half day excursion from Copenhagen. It was nice experience to see a couple of popular Scandinavian cities in a day.

UL886 CMB - BKK; Nov 2010

The photo shows an in-flight meal of SriLankan Airlines flight UL886 Colombo, Sri Lanka to Bangkok, Thailand. It was a sort of a midnight flight for three and a half hours. The inflight meal was my favorite vegetable rice and chicken curry. Lucky follows me. I also had a cup of authentic Sri Lankan tea (a.k.a. Ceylon tea). There's one and a half hours time difference between Sri Lanka and Thailand, so I arrived in Bangkok 6:25 in the morning. Right after I got out of the airport, I caught a cab to Pattaya for pleasure.

Cloud-shrouded cow, Dochula, Bhutan

I took this photo in Dochu La, Bhutan. Dochula means mountain path in English. I was shrouded in the cloud of suspicion then I found this cloud-shrouded cow this close to me. In the cloud. As you can imagine, right behind cow was drop-off and the altitude there was 3,150 meters. I was relieved that the cow didn't come to me. Anyway I spent a few more time in Dochula to feel greet nature. Bhutan is a landlocked country which is located at the eastern end of the Himalayas which is well known as a national policy; Gross National Happiness.

Take the time to relax

I took this photo in Vientiane, Laos, because Lao letters on those signboards looked lovely to me. The signboards indicated a gallery and a massage place over there. Speaking of massage, I've had a foot massage and facial massage in a couple of places in Vientiane, Laos. My experience in both places were so relaxing. From my point of view, Lao foot massage was kinda similar to Thai foot massage. I don't remember about Lao facial massage, I think I almost like fell into a nap during an hour massage. It was nice as much as that.

Moon Over Athens

I took this photo from my hotel's balcony in Athens, Greece. It was around three to four o'clock in the very early morning. I opened the balcony window to let fresh air in. Then, I found the moon in the night sky. I really enjoyed the view of the moon over Athens. There was also a brilliant star beside the moon and it was also good to see. From my place, I saw some Athenians stayed in their balconies, and spent time as they please; reading, thinking, talking, laughing. I was all by my lonesome, but there was the moon and the star over Athens.

Just bear with me, please

I took this photo in Madrid, Spain. A cute traffic light which shows a walker and a bicycle together. I think probably it's nothing new for the Spaniards, but it looked pretty interesting to me. I had kinda aha moment on a crosswalk, and paused by a second to take a photo of it. Sorry to bother everyone. It was the day before my departure and it was Monday. The Museo del Prado (a.k.a. Prado Museum) is closed on Mondays, so I visited the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (a.k.a. Queen Sofia Museum) instead. After art, I walked around the city aimlessly. From my point of view, Madrid itself is also a piece of art.

What's in Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand?

I took this photo at the Temple of the Dawn in Bangkok, Thailand. The temple is also known as Wat Arun (Thai: วัดอรุณ) in local language. Wat means temple, Arun means dawn in English. Temple of the Dawn is in Thonburi district, west bank of the Chao Phraya River. There are ferries to get there from the other side of the Chao Phraya. Temple of the Dawn so called because when the first sunrise reflects the surface of temple, the view is breathtaking because the whole temple is decorated in colored ceramic. Temple of the Dawn is depicted on the back of the 10-baht coins. Check it out.

Lucky me

The photo shows a huge rainbow across Budapest, the beautiful capital of Hungary. I took this photo from Fisherman's Bastion (Hungarian: Halászbástya). When I was on the castle hill in Buda side, it was kinda sprinkling. From what I remember, one-fifth of people were opening their folding umbrellas around Fisherman's Bastion at the time. Because of the sprinkling rain at the time, I could see a huge rainbow behind Fisherman's Bastion. So then, I went up to the top of Fisherman's Bastion and took a photo of the huge rainbow. Lucky me.

A story that it good to tell

This is my another photo of Padrão dos Descobrimentos (a.k.a. Monument to the Discoveries) of Belém district in Lisbon, Portugal. I took a lot of photos of this stunning monument just because I loved the shape of the monument, the great history. Also, I loved a story which I've heard from a Portuguese travel agent long time ago. Even his job was a professional travel agent and he's been giving a lot of information to his many clients, the story was just awesome to listen to. It didn't sound like over-used expression about his country. That exactly led me to visit Lisbon years later.

Zurich trams pass on a street

The photo shows Zurich Trams pass each other on a street in Zurich, Switzerland. I don't often see trams in my life, so this kind of view was pretty interesting to me. I was thinking why trams were interesting to me. I think that's because some differences between trams and trains. First of all, rail tracks looked different. Tram tracks were not getting taller from the streets. Secondly, there weren't any fences or walls between trams and cars or passersby. I mean train tracks are normally getting taller than the ground, and normally fences or walls separate the trains from cars and passersby. Other cities where I've seen trams were Amsterdam, Holland and Budapest, Hungary and Prague, the Czech Republic, and Athens, Greece and Lisbon, Portugal and may be more. I've taken tram only in Prague, the Czech Republic. It was dreamy experience.

TG643 NRT - BKK; Sep 2010

The photo shows an in-flight cuisine of Thai Airways International flight TG643 Narita, Tokyo to Bangkok, Thailand (NRT - BKK). It was about 6 and a half-hour flight and I took the flight in September 2010. The inflight meal was fabulous Thai Green Curry which is officially called Kaeng Khiao Wan (Thai: แกงเขียวหวาน). One of the world-popular Thai cuisine. I was thinking I would have Green Curry in Thailand, but luckily I could already have it in the sky. Awesome. That's why I really love Thai Airways International.

Change of pace

I took this photo in Pokhara, Nepal. One day in Pokhara, I just spent time to walk aimlessly. I enjoyed idyllic scenery and breathed fresh air. Eateries are kinda grouped around in a certain area of Pokhara and normally I had lunch around Phewa Lake. There were Nepali restaurants, Italian restaurants, Tibetan restaurants, and so on and I was always teetering on what to eat. Nepali food was my favorite obviously, but sometimes I chose Italian place or Tibetan place for a change of pace. Variety is the spice of life.

Cologne Cathedral

The photo shows Cologne Cathedral. It's a massive Roman Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany. Cologne Cathedral is known as the largest Gothic architecture hence this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I've heard that it's almost 160 meters high. It was truly impressive, actually. I started the day from Frankfurt then headed to Heidelberg by coach to see the Heidelberg Castle. After the castle, I explored a little around Heidelberg Market Square. After that, the coach dropped by Bacharach (a.k.a. Bacharach am Rhein) and I had a nice lunch there. The Goulash with Farfalle looked very pretty, tasted like a heaven. After Bacharach, the coach headed to Cologne and finally I visited Cologne Cathedral. It was kinda long day, but I really enjoyed the scenic drive in beautiful Germany.

It confirms where you are

This is my another photo of a bronze replica of Michelangelo's David. I took this photo in Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, Italy and it was actually my first David that I've seen in Florence. I've heard that there were four David in Florence though. Piazzale Michelangelo is a place where you can see whole beautiful Florence from above. The panoramic view from there was just breathtaking. When I saw Italian orange roofs, green river, and the famous Brunelleschi's dome (a.k.a. Florence Cathedral) from there I was thrilled. The view confirms where you are.

Port Vell

The photo shows Port Vell in Barcelona, Spain. It's known as old harbor in English because of its meaning. Port Vell is a common tourist trail in Barcelona. A lot of people walk toward Port Vell and shop around for something they want at the Miremàgnam. I'd say the Miremàgnam is an entertainment building. It's such a large shopping mall contains a lot of shops, restaurants, movie theater and such. My hostal was about 10-minute walk from Port Vell, so I went there more than once.

Doing nothing

The photo shows a view from my sunbed. I took this photo in pattaya, Thailand while I was drinking a bottle of Singha on a sunbed. My favorite way to spend during day time in Pattaya. After I relaxed on the beach for a while, I took a stroll around a little and had Thai noodles at a food stall on a street. Generally, there are a lot of food stalls all over Pattaya and I love to eat Thai food. Thai noodles are quite nice for lunch. In the afternoon, I returned to my hotel and had a bit of shut-eye. It sounds like I'm doing nothing, but I always have a blast in Pattaya.

With a chance of tropical showers

I took this photo in a huge flower garden named Peradeniya Botanical Gardens (a.k.a. Royal flower garden or Royal Botanical Gardens) in outskirts of Kandy, Sri Lanka. Kandy is known for an ancient city of Sri Lanka and one of the must sees around Kandy is the flower garden. I described the flower garden as "huge". That's definitely true. For lack of a better word, but I don't know any other words to describe Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. I couldn't see whole area of the garden obviously, but I've heard that the garden is about 600 square meters. Here, you can see a wide variety of flowers, spices, palm trees and such. If you're really into tropical plants and flowers, one day isn't enough I'd say. Mark my words. I wanna return there on a fine day in the future to see more flowers. When I went there, it was sprinkling. Tropical showers.

Frokosttallerken @ Rosenborg Castle

I took this photo at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. There was a place to eat and I enjoyed a course menu for lunch. The photo shows the starter. I ordered a glass of cold beer as well as always and it definitely went well with this beautiful starter. Rosenborg Castle is the place where the parade of the Changing of the Guard starts off and ends off. I wanted to see the departing ceremony and the ending ceremony, so in between the couple of ceremonies, I looked around Rosenborg Castle and had lunch there. After the lunch, I went to the gate to see the ending of the parade.

The hotel reminds me of...

The photo shows a hotel in Vientiane, Laos where I chose as my first hotel in Laos five or six years ago. That time, I flew to Vientiane from Bangkok, Thailand by Thai Airways International flight TG620. It was about an hour flight in morning and I had nice breakfast on the plane as an in-flight meal. Wattay International Airport is located in the outskirts of the capital of Lao; Vientiane. I took a cab from the airport and arrived to this hotel. The hotel is situated in around very convenient area to do everything what I wanted in Vientiane. Also, the staff members had very kind hospitalities. I enjoyed to talk to them as well. Two years later, I visited Vientiane again. For my second time, I chose a land route to get to Vientiane, so I took a red-eye train from Bangkok, Thailand. I slept on the upper part of a bunk bed on a train for the first time.