A bilingual sign board

I took this photo in Antwerp, Belgium. There was a church and in front of the church there was a sign board which was written in two different languages that nothing I could read. I mean I couldn't understand both of them. When I travel abroad, this kind of thing happens a lot. In European countries, the shapes of letters are similar to English letters, but are hard to read. In Asian countries the shapes of letters are like no other. I love the shapes of Sinhalese letters. They look like beautiful flowers for me.

Does practice make perfect?

I took this photo in Luxembourg city, Luxembourg on the way to the lower part of the city. It was drizzling, and I had to be careful to walk on a little cobblestone slope, but it was fun to explore around. The city has such an interesting geography and the air was clean. The landscape was picture-perfect. I really want to visit there again during the summer months some time in the future, and I also want to take a lot of photos of night view of Luxembourg city. Before that, I have to practice a lot to take brilliant night view photos.

Make a hostel reservation

The photo shows a colorful john of a hostel in Zagreb, Croatia. It was my first visit to Zagreb, Croatia and I didn't know anything about the lay of the land, public transportation, hotels, restaurants and so on. Firstly, I booked a hostel room near Zagreb main station through the Internet, but later on I read some bad reviews about the hostel. The length of my stay was for a couple of weeks long, so I thought I needed a plan B. Then, I changed my reservation. The fairly new hostel that I stayed for a couple of weeks was a little far away from Zagreb main station, but my room was warm and comfortable and staff was very nice and heartwarming. Their traditional restaurant next to the reception was absolutely fabulous. Also, I loved the pinkish bathroom and its john. This photo reminds me of the little cute hostel in the Croatian capital Zagreb.

Clogs

I took this photo in front of a Dutch souvenir shop in Amsterdam, Holland. There was a gigantic wooden shoe next to the entrance. A stunning windmill and cute tulips were depicted on the wooden shoe and the shoe was painted vivid yellow and orange. The shop really looked like a Dutch souvenir shop because of this super-cool display. Speaking of Dutch wooden shoes, I've been to a workshop of Dutch traditional clogs in 2007. A worker explained a lot about their clogs and carved a clog in front of me. It was very impressive.

Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre

The photo shows Slovenian National Opera and  Ballet Theatre in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Would you like to know if I went there? The answer is no, technically. I didn't go inside of the theatre to see something very beautiful, but I looked at the theatre building from its outside and took some photos like this. This is one of my favorite photos of Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. To be honest, I've never seen an opera or a ballet at a theatre. Even though, I've been to Vienna, Austria four times. I should have seen it once there in Slovenia.

The 2nd class car of Thalys

The photo shows the second class cars of Thalys and its joining section. I took this photo on a platform of Antwerpen Centraal (a.k.a. Antwerp Central Station) in Belgium. I'm no expert, but Thalys is an international ultra-high-speed train. the point was that Thalys requires to purchase a special ticket for a comfortable stress-free journey with Thalys. I didn't have the ticket. I only had a ticket that I could take any trains except for Thalys. I've read that free WiFi is available on Thalys trans. Sounds like a plan. Anyway, my outbound train to Amsterdam, Holland was departed after this Thalys from the same platform.

When nature calls, costs vary by location

The photo shows Luxembourg railway station in Luxembourg. There was a loo under the arrival / departure lobby and cost 1.1 EUR for one. I've used the same kind of service in many different cities in many different countries. For example, a loo at London Waterloo Railway station, the UK cost 0.3 GBP, Oxford Railway station, the UK was free of cost, a loo of a Christmas Market in Frankfurt, Germany cost 0.5 EUR, Milano Cadorna railway station, Italy cost 0.5 EUR, a loo near Chumphon Gate in Nakhon Ratchasima cost 3 THB.

My first photo of St. Mark's church, Zagreb

This is my first photo of St. Mark's church in Zagreb, Croatia. I took this photo by my iPad mini. After I decided to go to Zagreb, Croatia for the first time, I googled like hell to know must-see sights, culture, local food, beer, and so on. When I saw some photos of St. Mark's church on the Internet, I already really loved the architecture of this beautiful church. Finally, I saw the church with my own eyes from a bit of a distance I took this photo. Of course, I went closer and took another photos of this church, but this was my first photo of St. Mark's church.

OS517 VIE - MXP; Jan 2014

The photo shows an inflight-meal of Austrian Airlines flight OS517 Vienna, Austria to Milan, Italy (VIE - MXP). It was one and a half hour flight, and was my second flight of the day. Firstly, I took Austrian Airlines flight OS132 Frankfurt, Germany to Vienna, Austria (FRA - VIE) 18:00 - 19:30. Secondly, I took OS517 20:10 - 21:35 and flew in Milan on time. I only had 40 minutes to make my connection, but there wasn't any problem. Look at these cute plane shaped cookies. I enjoyed to have on-board cookies and sipped a cup of coffee.

Scale the heights of success

I took this photo in Frankfurt, Germany in December 2013. Now I realized that the skyscrapers on this photo looks like German footballers from my perspective. Congratulations for your victory, by the way. For years ago, I've expected the Germany team would win the world cup 2014. I've gotten the idea right after the third-place match in 2010, so my dream came true really. Mr. Bastijan Svajnstajger, thanks for making great sacrifices for your side. I must admit, but I was cheering for your side because of you. Anyways, I'm 5'2, so lots and lots of guys who I've met in Germany looked like mountains or tall buildings like the photo shows.

Viewing the Palace of Westminster from the London Eye

I took this photo while I was going round the London Eye in London, England, the UK. The London Eye is a gigantic Ferris wheel and is one of the most popular tourist attractions of London where you can see the Palace of Westminster and its Elizabeth Tower from this angle. There were so many tourists who waited in a line to take a 30-minute revolution in a passenger capsule that normally carries 25 people. Come to think of that, I saw a capsule from my capsule which was carrying only a few people. I guess they paid some extra money to do that. Superb.

A view from Ponte de D. Luís, Porto

I took this photo on Ponte de D. Luís (a.k.a. the Luiz I bridge) in Porto, Portugal. Ponte de D. Luís is a place where you can see this stunning city view of Porto. I went there many times to view beautiful Porto from above. One of my best memories from Porto is Portuguese locals. Every Portuguese local who I've met during my five days in Porto was extremely nice and great people. I was really glad to talk to them. Also, I became a big fan of Port wine. Generally, wine is my kryptonite, but Port wine is an exception. I'd love to drink some glasses of Porto wine right now.

Stay in a hotel on hectic Soi Buakhao, Pattaya

I took this photo in my hotel room in Pattaya, Thailand. One of the good points of this hotel was receptionists, They were by far the best. This is a popular hotel in the middle of nightlife, so receptionists seemed much busier than I expected, but they were doing their each task correctly with smiles. When I returned to the hotel, they always gave me my room key before I asked; they remembered my room number. This kind of service happens in some smaller accommodations sometimes, but this hotel was not that small and not slow at all, rather busy. I was kinda impressed with their hospitality and professionalism. Also, I enjoyed to have a wide variety of Thai cuisine at their lovely restaurant across from the reception. The chef had a talent, I think. My favorite Jungle Curry and the other Thai specialities tasted just right and were served by smile full of radiant Thai girls. My room was spacious like the photo shows and was very comfortable. The bed was huge, the tiled-flooring was squeaky-clean, the fan on the ceiling was fantastic, and the fridge came in very handy all the time. Oh, before I forget, ultra fast WiFi was the best comp ever.

Israeli breakfast

The photo shows Israeli breakfast. I took this photo at my hotel's breakfast room in Tel Aviv, Israel. One of the biggest surprise of that hotel was fabulous breakfast buffet. They were preparing lots and lots of kinds of Hummus, bread, vegetables, fresh juice and then some for breakfast every morning. Breakfast was included in the room charge and I really enjoyed to have yummy Israeli cuisine every morning. However, some people prefer to have continental breakfast. I saw a young Caucasian guy who only took a little cereals and some drinks from the buffet line, and also had a refill of cereals. Did I eat too much?

A barrel-vaulted ceiling of Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof

The photo shows a barrel-vaulted ceiling of Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof (a.k.a. Frankfurt main station) in Frankfurt, Germany. That day, I went on a day return trip to Luxembourg. My outbound train departed at 06:38 a.m.. It was in January, and it was still very dark outside, but the train station was like in front of my hotel, so I didn't have to worry about anything. I took this photo right after got out of my inbound train at Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof. By the way, I chose a hotel in front of Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof twice in a row. I love the convenient location of the hotel and very welcoming hospitality of staff members.

services of a serviced apartment

I took this photo in my room of a serviced apartment in Nakhon Ratchasima (a.k.a. Korat), Thailand. They provide fresh towels, bar soaps, shampoo packages, loo rolls for daily use. Sometimes they fold fresh towels like the photo shows. My room was clean and the bed and pillows were very comfortable. Plus, there's a middle-sized fridge in the room and they provide a couple of bottles of water daily. I kept my winter stuff in a closet and enjoyed a spacious room. The location was very convenient. A hypermarket Tesco Lotus was located across from the Ponlaan Gate and was a five-minute walk from the serviced apartment. The Statue of Thao Suranari was a 30-minute walk from the serviced apartment, the biggest shopping centre the Mall and EGV cinema was about an hour walk, a supermarket Big C was a 45-minute walk or so. The nearest motorbike taxi stand was right under the Ponlaan Gate. Not only that, but there were so many places to eat and drink nearby the apartment. One of the very nice cafe and Thai food places which I found was just a ten-minute walk from the serviced apartment. Wat Boon Night Bazaar was about a seven-minute walk. I went to the Bazaar 19 nights in a row.

A rooftop river view restaurant in Chinatown, Bangkok

I took this photo at my guesthouse's rooftop restaurant in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand. It was the 28th time I have visited Thailand. I've stayed in a few accommodations in Chinatown, Bangkok in the past, but totally didn't know about this guesthouse for such a long time. I should have known this place for ages. My room was spacious, windows were huge, pillows were comfortable, cleaning staff members were working carefully, receptionists were helpful, on top of that, they provide the gorgeous river view at their rooftop restaurant from morning till night. My room was on the side of the city view, so when I went to the river view restaurant for the first time without any expectations, you know it was just eye-opening and was breathtaking. Compare to a lot of yummy food stalls on the street level nearby this accommodation, having meals at this restaurant cost an arm and a leg, but I thought it was worth paying. The view was that great. A picture's worth a thousand words.

A convenient hotel close to London Paddington Station

The photo shows my hotel in London, England, the UK. The location of the hotel was really nice. It was a few minutes walk from Paddington station and was very easy to find it for the first-timers. I guess no one gets lost on arrival. Also, it was easy to get to Baker Street on foot. Passengers who will leave from or fly in London Luton airport and who would love to take a bus to or from the airport, the bus stop was a 20-minute walk from the hotel. Not only that, but there were so many nice enjoyable pubs and eateries near the hotel. I was overjoyed to have many kinds of delicious foods and good beer as I would like. Hotel staff were excellent, and my room was always squeaky clean. Towels were fresh, plus I loved the smells of their shampoo and soap. If I have to say something I disliked about the hotel, I couldn't check the weather from my room where was on the first basement. Other than that, it was very nice to be there.

Hello again, small world.

I took this photo in my hotel room in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. The hotel was located in between People's Bank and HNB Bank in Hikkaduwa's touristic area along Galle Road. Banks, eateries, wine shops, roti shops, Ayurveda clinics, post office and so on were all within walking distance from the hotel. Plus, tuk-tuks were available nearby the hotel. My room was well swept and the fan on the ceiling was fantastic. It was really nice being under the fan after spending such a long time on the beach. The hotel's owner run a cute colourful souvenir shop on the ground floor. By the way, after Hikkaduwa, I moved to Unawatuna and spent 16 nights, and flew back to Bangkok, Thailand by Thai Airways Smile. When I picked up my luggage at a luggage claim area and started to walk toward a green gate of customs, someone talked to me like "Hey, do you remember me?" or something. The guy was the owner of the hotel in Hikkaduwa. He said he flew in Bangkok by Sri Lankan Airlines some time ago and just claimed his luggage. What a coincidence. What a small world.