Out-of-focus photo

I took this photo somewhere in between Bath and Plymouth, the UK. The photo is kinda out-of-focus, but I have an excuse. I took this photo through a coach window while the coach was heading down the road at breakneck speed. You might not know what kind of photo I wanted to take. There was a flock of sheep in a field. I've seen similar sceneries at many locations in the UK, but I suddenly realized that it was my second last day in the UK. I was wondering, if I didn't take a photo of it at that moment, I wouldn't have another opportunity to take a photo of it. So, that's why. A flock of sheep is one of my great memories in the UK.

Unforgettable dinner under the lamp

I took this photo in Lisbon, Portugal. After I walked around the city for hours, I chose a place for my first dinner in Portugal and had fabulous Arroz De Bacalhau and cool beer. I don't know how to describe the delicious Portuguese food, but Arroz De Bacalhau which I've had in Lisbon was a type of boiled dish. First of all, it looked like a pot full of reddish-orange soup with white fish, but when I stirred the soup, I found some rice in it. It tasted like heaven. I always say that I wanna return to Portugal someday, and I always think that I'll have Arroz De Bacalhau again and again. Anyway, I took this photo after Arroz De Bacalhau, before the second beer.

TG951 CPH - BKK; the 1st 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 first meal on the plane. THAI took off from freezing Copenhagen in the afternoon and landed at Suvarnabhumi early the next morning, say, 6:30. I had a couple of meals on the plane. The first meal was turned into a fabulous dinner in the sky. Thai red curry with beef (Thai: แกงเผ็ดเนื้อ, Pronounciation: Gaeng Phed Nua) is one of my favorite Thai foods, so I felt very lucky to have it.

It turned into something interesting

The photo shows HSB Turning Torso. It's the tallest building in Scandinavia and is situated in Malmö, Sweden. I didn't have any ideas how to take better photos of this unique shaped skyscraper, but in a way this photo turned into something interesting. HSB Turning Torso looked totally different from lots and lots of buildings in Malmö, and I'd say it stuck out like a sore thumb, but actually I went there to see this unique shaped skyscraper this close to me. In one word, it was amazing. Speaking of unique shaped buildings, I saw a lot of them in Tel Aviv, Israel. I've posted some of them on this blog so far, but I think I have some more photos of that unique shaped buildings in Tel Aviv. They don't look similar to HSB Turning Torso, they look rather different, but I think they are also amazing architecture.

Get a sense of reality

I took this photo outside of my hotel in Hollywood, Los Angeles, the States. I flew in Los Angeles from Bangkok, Thailand by Thai Airways International flight TG 794. It was about 16-hour flight directly from SE Asia. The plane landed at LAX around 10:00 p.m., so my first day in Los Angeles was next to nothing. I took this photo early in the first morning. I got out of the hotel for breakfast and found a flag of the Stars and Stripes was hoisted above the entrance. Then, I really felt that I was in America.

Laotian tuk-tuk

The photo shows Laotian tuk-tuk. I took this photo in Vientiane, Laos near Patuxai. Compare to tuk-tuks in Thailand or Sri Lanka, Laotian tuk-tuks look more like motorbikes. Around the front wheel exactly looks like a motorbike, but around the back wheels looks like a rickshaw or a carriage. Lao tuk-tuks make a noisy sound like Vroom, Vroom and I think it's sort of a sound of Vientiane; the capital of Laos. Fun to hear, fun to ride. Tuk-tuks are ubiquitous in South and South East Asian countries. I used them a lot of times in Bangkok, Thailand, Vientiane, Laos, and many cities in Sri Lanka. I'd say tuk-tuks are roofed motorbike with three wheels. Very useful vehicles to look around a city. If you take tuk-tuks, it's important to negotiate a price in advance. That's the only thing you need to memorize.

I got a train to catch

I took this photo in Belém, Portugal right before I caught a train to Cais do Sodré station in Lisbon. When I was waiting a train bound for Cais do Sodré, a train came from Cais do Sodré stopped at Belém a bit earlier than the train bound for Cais do Sodré, so I just took a photo of it from the other side of the platform. There were so many tourists in Belém to visit world-famous must-sees includes a couple of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but the station itself wasn't crowded I mean almost empty.

Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia, Wales

I took this photo in North Wales, in the UK. In the morning, I headed off to North Wales from Liverpool, England by coach. I visited Conwy, Caernarfon and its castle then drove through Snowdonia National Park. I was so impressed during the scenic drive onto spectacular Llanberis Pass and I couldn't keep my eyes off from the coach windows. After enjoying the mountainous scenery of North Wales, the coach headed back to Liverpool where my hotel was. While I was exploring the city, I got lured in by the rich smell of curry and chose Indian Chicken Curry for dinner. I love the smell of curry.

Turn it on to attract attention

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden when I was walking on an empty street aimlessly. It was Sunday morning and almost all shops in Malmö were closed. However, the shutters of shops were kinda interesting exactly liked the photo shows. I was there a bit earlier than their opening time, but I could see inside of the shops through the shutters coz the shutters looked more like metal frames. I think it was a great idea to take someone's attention no matter if the shops were still working in preparation for opening.

Essential spice in Sri Lankan Rice and Curry

The photo shows a wide variety of spice to make authentic Sri Lankan curry from scratch. I took this photo in Negombo, Sri Lanka on the last day of my fifth visit. I've been to Sri Lanka six times and spent 144 days in total. I wanna be there right now and wanna eat Sri Lankan Rice and Curry at each meal. Their staple is rice and they also love to eat roti. Roti is kind of like bread and is often seen in South Asian countries. They eat roti with curry. In the morning, they love to eat Idiyappam. Idiyappam is kind of like thin noodles and goes well with curry.

Too good to last

I took this photo in Vientiane, Laos in June 2005. The advertisement of Thai Airways International said New York One Stop. The sales copy meant THAI passengers could fly to New York on a direct flight from Bangkok, Thailand. The advertisement had left such a strong impression on me and it really caught my attention. The route had actually already abolished, but nonstop flights from Bangkok to Los Angeles were still in service in 2010, so I took THAI and flew to stateside for the first time. It was a very very nice flight.

Fraumünster church in Zurich, Switzerland

I took this photo in Zurich, Switzerland. The photo shows the Fraumünster church and its clock tower. The clock tower stood out against the sky and looked so beautiful. Speaking of clock towers, when I was traveling around Sri Lanka, my driver showed me lots and lots of clock towers in almost every cities I've visited such as Negombo, Colombo, Chilaw, Gampaha, Mount Lavinia, Keggalle, Kandy, Dambulla, Habarana, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Inawaluwa, Sigiriya, Nuwara Eliya, Kosgoda, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Unawatuna, Koggala, Munneswaram, Dalawela, Thalpe, Habaraduwa, Kalutara, and so on. For the rest, my driver continued to show me clock towers in each cities. I don't remember the city names somewhere I didn't see a clock tower, but whatever. Clock towers in Sri Lanka looked different by city and looked so nice. That being the case, I should have taken photos from the beginning and should have made a list or something. Hindsight. When I realized that, it was too late to turn back.

A day is just beginning

The photo shows beautiful view of Athens, Greece. I took this photo when I visited the Acropolis. I flew to Athens from Bangkok, Thailand by Thai Airways International flight TG 946. It was actually a red-eye flight with a couple of fantastic inflight-meals. The plane landed at Eleftherios Venizelos on time; 7:25 a.m. which meant the day was just beginning. I was ready to rock 'n' roll. What do you wanna see in Athens? The Acropolis is it, so first things first, I visited the Acropolis and viewed this ancient city from above.

Facade of the Florence Cathedral

I took this photo in Florence, Italy. The facade of the Florence Cathedral (a.k.a. Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower, Italiano: Basilica di Santa Maria Del Fiore). The beautiful cathedral is very famous for its Dome (Italiano: Duomo) and is located in Piazza del Duomo. I think Piazza del Duomo is the heart of the historical city and the area is one of the very common tourist trails in Italy furthermore in Europe. There are also the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile in Piazza del Duomo. Those three are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Highly mobile small animal

I took this photo at Botanical Garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was my first time that I've seen this small animal, so I'm not sure, but I found a squirrel who was running around a circle. It's hard to estimate exact number, but it was about 20 to 30 centimeters long, much bigger than chipmunks, and it ran very quickly. I wanted to take some pictures, so I needed to wait for the right moment that it stopped running around. It was hard to take a photo of a highly mobile small animal, but ended up I made it. Hooray!

The King can do no wrong

The photo shows the bronze Statue of Stephen I of Hungary against a huge rainbow. I took this photo in Budapest, Hungary. The Statue of Stephen I is situated in front of the Fisherman's Bastion (Hungarian: Halászbástya) on the castle hill. The Fisherman's Basion is a popular Neo-Gothic style terrace and is situated near Matthias Church. Those things mean the castle hill in Budapest is full of must-sees. The rainbow was a lucky thing for me. It looked like Stephen I waved the magic wand and made the huge rainbow across the sky.

Lunch at the Cairo Tower, Egypt

The photo shows my lunch at a restaurant of the Cairo tower in Cairo, Egypt. Three things I had there were Greek Salad, Cheese Sub with crisps, and Luxor beer while I was viewing Cairo city from above. I like heights. The high-rise buildings where I've visited were Baiyoke tower in Bangkok, Thailand (328m), Pattaya Park Tower in Pattaya, Thailand (240m), Stratosphere in Las Vegas, the States (350m) and then some. The highest place where I've visited was Dochula, Bhutan (3,150m).

Niglihawa Ashokan pillar

I took this photo in Niglihawa, Nepal. According to an information board in Niglihawa, this place is identified with the birth place of Kanakamuni Buddha. One of the must-sees in Niglihawa is a couple of broken Ashokan pillars and the photo shows one of the pillar which stands on the ground. The other pillar laid flat on the ground. I could see ancient scripts on both of the pillars. Some of the letters looked like English letters, and some of the letters looked like symbol marks. I wish I could read them.

The Terraced Gardens at Sanssouci

I took this photo in Potsdam, Germany. Potsdam is situated about 25 kilometer away from the German capital Berlin, and I visited Potsdam as a half-day excursion from Berlin by train. There was a previous summer palace of Frederic the Great. The palace is called Sanssouci. The photo shows panoramic view of the Terraced Gardens looking down from the palace. The weather wasn't exactly nice when I was in Potsdam, but at least I was able to enjoy this panoramic view of the Terraced Gardens at Sanssouci.

A tuk-tuk on level 77

The photo shows a tuk-tuk of Bangkok, Thailand. Tuk-tuk is a three wheeled vehicle and often see them in South and South East Asia as a taxi. Also, tuk-tuks has various name to describe themselves such as Indian rickshaw, three wheeler, baby taxi and so on. I took this photo on level 77 of the highest hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. The hotel offers buffet breakfast on level 76 and 78 every morning and I took this photo after fabulous Thai breakfast and cups of coffee. It was definitely the highest place where I've seen a tuk-tuk.

Hand signs only

I took this photo in Thimphu, Bhutan. I visited Bhutan in August 2003 and there weren't so many cars on the streets. However, Thimphu is the Bhutanese capital, so compare to many other cities and towns in Bhutan, the main street was a little busier. There weren't any traffic lights in Bhutan, but traffic police officers were giving arm and hand signals at the only trafficky spot in the capital. I took this photo there. Right under the colorful hexagonal roof was the standing point of police officers.

Looking up the Stratosphere tower

The photo shows Stratosphere Las Vegas in Nevada, the States. I looked up the tower from the bottom and took a photo of it on my first day in Las Vegas. Stratosphere Las Vegas is also a hotel and a casino and those three are connect each other. The tower is 350 meters high and the hotel and the casino is next to the tower. There are a lot of shops and places to eat on the second level of the tower and the surrounding area of the Casino. I was self-sufficient in the hotel and really enjoyed several restaurants and shops from morning till night.

Masada black lines

I took this photo in Masada, Israel. Masada is an ancient fortification on  the top of rock in the eastern edge of Judaean Desert and is known for one of the battlefields of the First Jewish-Roman War. As time went by, Masada became one of the most popular must-see-sights in Israel, and there were cable cars available to get to Masada from the bottom of the rock. The photo shows a part of Masada and there are black lines on the walls. I've heard that everything under the black lines were original and everything upper the black lines were after restoration which looked like exactly the same as before.

TG641 NRT - BKK; Jan 2011

The photo shows an in-flight cuisine of Thai Airways International flight TG641 Narita, Tokyo to Bangkok, Thailand (NRT - BKK). It was about 6 and a half-hour flight and I took the flight in January 2011. The inflight meal was fabulous Thai Red Chicken Curry (Thai: แกงเผ็ดไก่) and fresh salmon salad. Thai's in-flight meals are always that nice. I really enjoy them. By the way, that time my seat was an aisle seat in a emergency row. It was the farthest row from the loo, but I had enough room to comfortably extend my legs.

The windows have a mirror effect

I took this photo in Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain. Park Güell is a garden complex with full of unique architectures which were designed by Antoni Gaudí and also a UNESCO world heritage site. The garden is one of the must-sees in Barcelona along with Sagrada Família, Casa Milá, Casa Batlló. All of those are works of Antoni Gaudí. I took this photo because I thought the window frame was lovely, and also it was interesting that the windows had a mirror effect and was showing another part of Park Güell on it.

Reading a map is a necessary skill to have

I took this photo in the area named Kerameikos in Athens, Greece. That day, I was a little confused how to get to Kerameikos from my hotel on foot, but I was sort of enjoyed getting lost in a beautiful European capital. Seriously, I can't read a map by normal way. I think I can read a map, but my acquaintance has ever told me that my way to read a map was totally wrong. I need to rotate the map according to my direction. If I can do so, I can read a map, but if I don't do that, I think I can't get to my destination.

Sri Lankan bus

The photo shows a colorful bus of Sri Lanka. I took this photo on the strand (a.k.a. Yaddehimulla road) in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. Normally, there weren't any busses on Yaddehimulla road, but that day was a special for a festival, so I could have an opportunity to take a photo of the bus nearby my hotel. I always used tuk-tuks to travel around Sri Lanka, so I've never taken a bus in Sri Lanka. That will sound funny I mention this, but I don't even know how I can take a bus on a street in spite of I've spent 144 days in Sri Lanka.

Still a fresh memory

What a beautiful Northern European architecture. I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. There were so many beautiful buildings looked like this. I couldn't stop being a shutterbug in Malmö. However, I didn't spend a long time in that beautiful Scandinavian city. I think Sweden is my fourth shortest stay country after Slovakia, Belgium and Liechtenstein. My fifth shortest stay country is Monaco. I didn't stay more than six hours in those five countries, but still. Some of the photos are left in my MacBook Pro and my memories are still fresh.

Virtual journey down the Danube

I took this photo in Budapest, Hungary. A long-distance view of the Chain Bridge (Hungarian: Lánchíd) over the river Danube (Hungarian: Duna, German: Donau). The river Danube is coming from the Black Forest of Germany and running through four Central European capitals such as Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia and Belgrade, Serbia and finally the river empties into the Black Sea. It's known as the second-longest river in the European continent. The longest river in the European continent is Volga in Russia if that helps anyway.

Is that seat free?

I took this photo at a swim-up bar of my hotel in Giza, Egypt. The hotel was this close to the Three Pyramids in Giza. What a view, right? The gigantic pyramid on the photo is the Pyramid of Khafre which is the second-largest one out of the famous Three Pyramid in Giza. First of all, I've read about the hotel on a travel magazine and I decided to stay in the hotel to celebrate my birthday. Actually, the hotel was one of the luxurious hotels in Giza and obviously it cost an arm and a leg. It took me a few days to think about it, but it was all for the best. The qualities, the facilities, and the hospitalities were surprisingly nice. Also, the hotel was secure enough. Everyone needed to step through a metal detector to get into the hotel. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but standing in front of the Pyramids was truly worth the money.

TG949 MAD - BKK; Oct 2010

The photo shows an in-flight cuisine of Thai Airways International flight TG949 Madrid, Spain to Bangkok, Thailand (MAD - BKK). It was about a 12 hour-flight and I was supposed to flew in Bangkok at 06:05 in the next morning, but something happened after I enjoyed this nice Ham and Cheese Sandwich. The time around take off, I wanted to some shut-eye, so at that moment I didn't know what exactly happened, but I heard the in-flight announcement something about technical hitch, then they forced all passengers to return to Barajas airport. I was totally happy because I was able to stay in my favorite Madrid for extra 12 hours. I enjoyed world's most tasty Iberian Ham again during the opportunity that presented itself. Thank goodness.

Bhutanese truck

The photo shows one of the typical Bhutanese trucks. I took this photo somewhere in between the Bhutanese capital Thimphu and Dochula. There were this kind of colorful trucks in Bhutan, but no so many. I mean when I visited Bhutan in 2003, there were so many cows on the streets much more than the amount of cars and trucks. I thought a speciality of Bhutanese trucks were the vivid illustration of eyes above the headlights. I don't know why, but they looked pretty. I flew in Bhutan from Kathmandu, Nepal. Compare to Nepali capital Kathmandu, Bhutanese capital Thimphu was much more quiet. The streets in Kathmandu were a lot of cars taxis, and cows. Also, almost all drivers tended to beep the horn beyond necessity. Speaking of Nepal, taxis are distinguishable from license plate in nepal. Nepali taxis have black license plate and white license number.

The Great Synagogue of Florence

The photo shows a view of Florence, Italy. I took this photo from Piazzale Michelangelo. The church which has a brilliant greenish dome is the Great Synagogue of Florence (Italiano: Sinagoga di Firenze or Tempio Maggiore Israelitico di Firenze). Synagogue is a building for a Jewish assembly or religious worship. I'm writing as a layman, but i've heard that the first Synagogue in Florence was built in the 13 century. The Great Synagogue of Florence was renovated after a massive flood in 1966.

East meets West

The photo shows the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. I took this photo from West Berlin. I know the view of the Brandenburg Gate from East Berlin is much more common, but this is the view from behind. That day, the weather of Berlin was not very nice since morning. When I arrived to the Brandenburg Gate and got out of the coach, drizzling rain changed into torrential rain just like that. I was so cowed by the torrential rain and ominous black cloud over the Brandenburg Gate. Who knows when I'll have this opportunity again? So, I finally made up my mind and walked through the gate toward East Berlin. I had a folding umbrella.

Feel like a kid in a candy store

I took this photo in Lucerne, Switzerland. A very pretty entrance of a Swiss souvenir shop. The red entrance gate was decorated in the colors of Swiss flag and its white cross. Beside the automatic door, there was a large sticker of the Matterhorn and it made the entrance looked very Swiss. A very eye-catching entrance. Fabulous. Of course I went into the shop and I felt like a kid in a candy store. Swiss souvenirs were relatively expensive for me, but I wanted to buy lots and lots of Swiss products as much as possible. They were so nice.

Portuguese pay-phone booths

I took this photo nearby Belém Tower in Lisbon, Portugal. Portuguese pay-phone booths. It was on the cobblestone lane on my way to Belém Tower. I thought the color of the pay-phone booths was similar in tone to the atmosphere of beautiful Belém. I liked the sky-blue phone handle. I went to Belém to visit Padrão dos Descobrimentos (a.k.a. Monument to the Discoveries) and Belém Tower, but other than those famous two, Belém district itself looked pretty nice. Everything there looked so beautiful even pay-phone booths. After taking this photo, nature called me, so I dropped by a comfort station and after that got into Belém Tower. I stayed for a long time deep inside of Belém Tower and toook a lot of photos of it. The area where you can visit Belém Tower is also called Santa Maria de Belém. One of the must-sees in Lisbon, Portugal.

Did you hear the news?

I took this photo from a plane window when I was flying to the capital Kathmandu from Pokhara in Nepal by Sita air. Pokhara, Nepal is known as a place where you can see the panoramic view of Himalayas quite often. There are only 14 independent mountains on Earth that are more than 8,000 meters high and almost all of them are located in the Himalayas and the others are located in the Karakoram in Asia. Those mountans are called the eight-thousanders. A week ago, a Jp alpinist finally conquered an amazing series of climbs. I'm really impressed by his fighting through adversity to accomplish a dream of mankind. Congrats.