Hey gamecock, you scared me.

I took this photo at a souvenir market in the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. When I was taking a look-around the market, I realized that a gamecock was gazing at me. Gamecock is called ไก่ชน in Thai. ไก่ means chicken, ชน means to crash into each other, so ไก่ชน is a gamecock. Self-explanatory. Anyway, it was there somehow. Hello, there. After the souvenir market, I went to visit a floating market. Yeah, that day I did sort of a market-hopping in the outskirts of Bangkok. What I bought? One of them I still remember very well was a wooden frog. If I rub its back by a stick, it makes a sound like a frog. A funny stuff.

A bar on Jungle Beach, Sri Lanka

I took this photo at one of the secluded beaches in Rumassala Sanctuaries Jungle Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. As the beaches are well-hidden due to a jungle near Unawatuna, the locals call the beaches as Jungle Beach. One of the beaches where the photo shows is easier to get than the other one. There is a bar along the seashore, also some tables and chars right on the white sand beach, right under the palm trees. I drank a bottle of Lion at the bar. Lion is my favorite Sri Lankan lager. Jungle Beach Party is pretty famous among partygoers in Unawatuna. Generally, a party starts after dusk, lasts till down right there. Keep an eye on handbills, otherwise you'll miss it.

DE4082 FRA - LAS; Cold Specialities; Dec 2013

The photo shows an inflight-meal of Condor Flugdienst GmbH flight DE4082 Frankfurt, Germany to Las Vegas, NV, the United States of America (FRA - LAS). It was a 12-hour nonstop flight and the photo shows cold specialities of the 3rd meal on board. As the flight was 12 hours long from an European city to Sin City, I upgraded my seat to Premium Economy. With that, delicious premium meals were served on board. Cold specialities of the 3rd meal was Spicy Marinated Chicken Fillet and Couscous Salad, Graved Salmon with Crème Frqîche, Gouda Roll and Tomato. Every thing was very nice. It was like a fancy restaurant in the air. By the way, it was my first time having Couscous. So, the premium in-flight meal will forever go down in my memory. Thank you.

The mall was completed in the late 19th century

I took this photo when I visited one of the world's oldest shopping malls the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is located right next to Milan Cathedral and its architecture is extremely ornate and looks very nice from every perspective. The photo shows a view of barrel-vaulted ceilings and artistic walls from inside the arcade. I was really happy to be there. I enjoyed seeing the gorgeous architecture, also enjoyed feeling the atmosphere of fashionable Milanese culture there. I visited the mall more than once. Everything was really attractive to me.

How to spend one's spare time

I took this photo in Zurich, Switzerland. I've joined 'Highlights of Germany' tour by Cosmos. The 10-day bus tour started from Frankfurt and ended in Munich, Germany. I took a train to Frankfurt to catch my flight to London, England. But before that, I had an all-day spare time. I love Germany and I love Frankfurt, but I thought I will be able to come back to Frankfurt another day, so I decided to use the whole day to visit one more city. Then I visited Zurich, Switzerland with a day return train ticket of ICE. Few years later, I returned to Frankfurt more than once.

A snapshot of Hotel Esplanade

The photo shows Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb, Croatia. When I saw this building for the first time, I didn't think this building was a hotel, but it was a hotel. A very luxurious one. There was a fountain in front of the hotel. Zagreb Main Railway Station (Croatian: Zagreb Glavni kolodvor) is just a stone's throw away from the hotel. My hostel was a little far away form here, though. During my days in Zagreb, I was staying at a cozy hostel in the business area of the city. It wasn't exactly this gorgeous, but everything was fairly new and everywhere was pretty warm due to the Central Heating System. I had nothing to complain of.

Learn something that I didn't know

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. Malmö is my one and only city that I walked around in Sweden, but one of my acquaintances recently told me about an interesting story about sunrise. He said he has heard about a place that the sun never rises. I asked where it was. He said it was somewhere in Sweden depending on season, not all year long. Really?! I've heard about some cities on earth that the sun never sets depending on season, and the phenomenon is called the midnight sun. So I asked Mr. Google to learn about it more. According to some Google results, the phenomenon that the sun never rises is called the polar night. It was eye-opening to know that.

ส้มตำหมูยอ

The photo shows a type of Southeastern Spicy Salad known as Green Papaya Salad in English term. It's called Som Tam (Thai: ส้มตำ) in Thailand, and can be cooked with a wide variety of ingredients of your choice. I bought a pack of Som Tam Moo Yo (Thai: ส้มตำหมูยอ) at an open-air Esan food restaurant along Chomphon Road in Nakhon Ratchasima (a.k.a. Korat). Moo Yo (Thai: หมูยอ) is a type of pork sausage originally from Vietnam, so Som Tam Moo Yo is also known as Vietnamese Som Tam in English. A very good one. By the way, Moo Yo is a popular ingredient among Thais, and can be used for Thai Fried Rice called Khao Pad (Thai: ข้าวผัด). In that case you can call it Khao Pad Moo Yo (Thai: ข้าวผัดหมูยอ).

Talat Sao, Vientiane

The photo shows a view of Talat Sao and its multi-story parking lot in Vientiane, Laos. I took this photo at the end of May in 2007. Talat means market, and Sao means morning, so Talat Sao means like a morning market of the capital of Laos, Vientiane. If I wanted to visit there, I needed to go there before sunset, not at night. If my memory is correct, the market opened early in the morning, and closed around the mid afternoon. That was why it was called Talat Sao, a morning market. It's been almost eight years since my last trip to Vientiane. I kinda wanna see how this area look like right now.

Drive carefully, come back soon

I took this photo in Las Vegas, NV, the United States of America. Speaking of Vegas, Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is beyond famous and is also a popular landmark. The photo shows the other side of Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. I took this photo from Northwest side of the sign. I didn't know that the famous landmark says Drive Carefully Come Back Soon on its back. Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is located near the Southern tip of the Vegas strip, and McCarran International Airport is right on the east side of this sign. Check it out!

Hit it off with each other

I took this photo in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. It seemed like a cow and white birds hit it off each other, so I took a few photos of them through the fence. They looked cute together. After taking photos, I went to buy a rice and curry lunch packet nearby and had it in my hotel's balcony. My next door's guests were a matured Russian couple from Saint Petersburg. When I was having the rice and curry lunch packet with my hand, the husband of the Russian couple said to me that I looked like enjoying Sri Lanka much more than them. You think so?

Viewing the Castle of São Jorge from below

This is a twilight view of Lisbon, Potrugal. I enjoyed to view the Castle of São Jorge (Portuguese: Castelo de São Jorge) from Rossio Square and after that went to visit the Santa Justa Elevator (Portuguese: Elevador de Santa Justa) to view the castle from a height. The Santa Justa Elevator (a.k.a. Lisbon Elevator or Lift) is a lift which connects the lower street of Baixa district and  Carmo Square. Not to mention evening views from there is just breathtaking. A lot of people wait in line around that time, so think about the time that you'll be in line first. Otherwise you'll miss your right moment and photo opportunities.

South Pattaya Walking Street

I took this photo in Pattaya, Thailand. Walking Street is like a strip in South Pattaya near Bali Hai Pier, and is one of the popular hangouts for the locals and tourists. I understand because there are a wide variety of restaurants, pubs, go-go bars, massage parlors, and so on as well as money exchange spots. It seems like everything is streamlined for everybody. It's not exactly an organized area, it's rather a chaotic I must admit, but the area attracts a lot of people nightly. By the way, a sign of Walking Street reminds me of London, England.

Have you ever imagined how does Shangri-la look like?

I took this photo at a swim-up bar of the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The hotel's swimming faces to the Indian Ocean and there are a lot of tables and chairs around the pool as well as lounge chairs and umbrellas. Colombo is the capital of Sri Lanka and is right in the middle of the South Western coast. One of the popular tourists attractions in the South Western coast of Sri Lanka is viewing sunsets over the Indian Ocean. It's spectacular. I wanna do that every evening when I'm in the Western Coast of Sri Lanka. I can  never be bored with viewing the sun sets over the Indian Ocean.

My favorite hot dog place of Zagreb Christmas Market

I took this photo at a hot dog place of a Christmas Market in Zagreb, Croatia. They were boiling a wide variety of sausages for hot dogs, and were also selling tasty Kuhano Vino (mulled wine). I often dropped by their place to have lunch or to have a little wine break during my time in beautiful Zagreb. I love sausages, so I asked staff to take some photos of their huge sausage pan and many many sausages. The hot dog place was definitely one of my fond memories in Zagreb. The place always had a heartwarming atmosphere and a couple of staff members were very good at making their customers happy. I was happy to be there. Thanks a lot!

I was an off-season traveler at that time

The photo shows a September view of the Himalayas from Pokhara, Nepal. I stayed in Pokhara for about a couple of weeks and could see the panoramic view of the Himalayas only a few times mostly early in the mornings. September sky of Pokhara is normally like the photo shows. It was like a little gloomy, a little too overcast, or something like that. But, every cloud has a silver lining. I was thinking only silver lining in cloud of off-season. A Nepali local told me that maybe January would be the best season to see the panoramic view of the Himalayas. What does maybe mean by the way, but I've seen an example of travel expense to Nepal went up in January, so maybe so maybe not.

Hotels with a sea view

The photo shows a view of Tel Aviv, Israel. Gorgeous hotels like the photo shows are located right in front of the Mediterranean Sea. My hotel last time had an ocean view rooftop terrace with lounge chairs and tables. It was located slightly inside and was not exactly on the beach road, but at least I could view the beautiful Mediterranean Sea from the rooftop terrace. It was really relaxing to be there. Israel has a very good beer named Goldstar. I loved to buy cans of Goldstar from a corner shop and loved to have them at the sea view rooftop terrace. I'll be back. Totally.

The Blue Room of the Goethe House

I took this photo in the Goethe House in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The Goethe House is used to be the family residence of a famous German poet and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The house is known as the place where he was born and grew up until the age of 16. I visited there twice and learned how wealthy his family was. The photo shows a corner of the Blue Room on the ground floor. A black-ish furniture against the wall was used to be a heater. Since the Blue Room was next to the kitchen, the heat was coming from an oven of the kitchen where two maids cooked meals as directed by Goethe's mother.

A view of the lower town of Luxembourg city

I took this photo in the lower town of Luxembourg city, Luxembourg. It was a drizzling afternoon. I was holding a folding umbrella in one hand, and was having a small digital camera in the other hand. The folding umbrella was bright orange and the handle of the umbrella was orange tulip shaped. I bought it in Amsterdam, Holland and I still keep it in my bag. One of my acquaintances said to me she has stopped buying souvenirs abroad. She's not a stingy person, though. I love to buy a lot of souvenirs abroad as much as possible.

I'm a coffee person

I took this photo in Budapest, Hungary. I took in a lot of sights mostly along the Danube, but picturesque buildings were spread out all over the map. It was nearly eight years ago, but one of my souvenirs from Budapest can still be used. It's a large white coffee mug with great images of the Hungarians. I need some coffee to wake me up every morning, so the Hungarian souvenir is still a useful item. On the other hand, it was about four years ago, I bought a large coffee mug with a lot of Danish flags in Copenhagen, Denmark, but the mug was broken very soon by an accident. I'm still kicking myself why I put the mug on the edge of the table...

Poste Italiane

The photo shows a post box of Poste Italiane in Milan, Italy. I didn't know which side was the correct side for international mailing service, so I took this photo and googled what Italian signs said. Per La Città on the left means to the city, Per Tutte Le Altre Destinazioni on the right means for all other destinations. I put my postcards to the right side. It may sound funny to say this, but one of my recipient received my postcard soon and sent me an e-mail to let me know. Then I replied an e-mail to tell her I was glad she received my postcard. I wrote viewing the Last Supper experience, plus how lucky I was I could score an entrance ticket for that.

Israeli breakfast buffet

I took this photo at my hotel's breakfast room in Tel Aviv, Israel. The photo shows a buffet table for hummus. There were a lot more buffet tables for fresh juice, tea and coffee, dessert, bread, hot meals, and some milk and cornflakes. An Israeli breakfast is originally from a kibbutz (a community in Israel), but it's spread out all over Israel nowadays. I'm told Israeli breakfast is like one of the popular tourist attractions. I understand. I've stayed three hotels in Israel (one in Jerusalem, two in Tel Aviv) and I remember that those three hotels offered gorgeous, beautiful, healthy, and tasty breakfast buffet. With that, I could start each day with a fabulous meal. I really enjoyed it.

A light bulb appeared above my head

I took this photo in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The view of the street seemed exactly like a light bulb appeared above my head. Did I get a good idea under the light bulb? Hmm... not exactly. Anyways, I don't know why a light bulb was covered by an umbrella, but it looked very nice so I took some photos on the street. I've seen similar street light decorations at a marketplace on Pattaya Sai 3 Road in Pattaya, Thailand. Thais were putting a light bulb inside of each umbrellas like this photo shows, but they were using transparent umbrellas for that.

A central heating radiator

The photo shows a central heating radiator. I took this photo in my hostel room in Zagreb, Croatia. Before I went to European countries, I haven't experienced the warmth and didn't know how warm they were. But once I experienced and knew how warm they were, I became a huge fan of central heating systems immediately. Come to think of that, I've seen similar systems of central heating systems in the Goethe House in Frankfurt, Germany. The building was the residence of the Goethe family until 1795. The system I saw seemed like the family already enjoyed sort of a central heating system in the 18th century. I have a photo of it, I'm gonna blog about it later.

The Saladin Citadel of Cairo

The photo shows the Saladin Citadel of Cairo (a.l.a. Cairo Citadel) on Mokattam hill in Cairo, Egypt. The Saladin Citadel of Cairo is one of the historical sights in the capital of Egypt with mosques and museums. Not only that, but it's on a hill, so breathtaking panoramic view of the city from there is visitors' favorite activity. To get there I hired a driver through my hotel, because a receptionist asked me to do so. Also, the driver asked me to have a city tour to get to the Saladin Citadel, Khan el-khalili, the Egyptian Museum and so on. Well, through this experience I learned that sometimes I need more than just a verbal promise. Live and learn.

A hotel on Pattaya Soi 8

The photo shows my hotel's Christmas decoration in Pattaya, Thailand. I stayed in Pattaya, Thailand from 17 Dec 2014 to 15 Jan 2015. Before that, I looked for a hotel where I could stay for a month. I wanted to choose a hotel located on Pattaya Soi 7 to 9 or Soi Buakhao, plus costs less than 1000 THB / per night includes Free Wi-Fi. Luckily, I found one through Booking.com. The hotel was the right accommodation for me with extremely warm-hearted friendly staff. It's located on Pattaya Soi 8 where the perfect location that I could be in the middle of everything. There were hundreds of eateries and pubs around the hotel. Pattaya beach was just a few minute walk, Central Festival Pattaya Beach (a major shopping complex) was just around the corner from the hotel, also there were a lot of convenience stores nearby. The 1st floor of this hotel was a pub, next doors were a Go Go and a Spa. Wi-Fi worked pretty well in the morning, so-so at night. Stairs and corridors were always squeaky clean, also my room was spacious and the bed was very comfortable.

ข้าวกระเพราไก่ไข่ดาว

The photo shows a tray of lunch that I bought at a supermarket in Pattaya, Thailand. The food is named ข้าวกระเพราไก่ไข่ดาว (Pronunciation: Khao Krapow Gai Kai Dao) and is a very popular food among locals as well as tourists. It's often translated as Stir-fried chicken with Thai basil leaves, served with Thai steamed rice and an over-hard egg. You can take out this food from a street stall, also you can have this food at a restaurant. Don't worry, it's ubiquitous, you can't miss it. Breakdown; ข้าว (Pronunciation: Khao) means rice, กระเพรา (Pronunciation: Krapow) means basil, ไก่ (Pronunciation: Gai) means chicken, ไข่ดาว (Pronunciation: Khai Dao) means over-hard egg.

Yes, I hope so.

I took this photo on Platform 1 of Oxford Railway Station in England, the UK. I was waiting for a train to London Paddington Railway Station. It takes about an hour by First Great Western Trains. First Great Western is one of the UK's train operating service company. My train departed from Oxford at 15:31 and arrived in London Paddington at 16:27. A train around that time seemed like for a tourist's train. I mean there were a lot of tourists around me who wanted to go back to London before dusk. Anyway, a train arrived and I got in to the train. I scored a vacant seat on a car and waited the doors close. Then, a Caucasian woman got in the train and asked someone 'Is this the right train for Paddington?' One of the Caucasian guys on the train replied 'Yes, I hope so.' It made me laugh a little bit. Almost all people on the train were tourists, many of them seemed like unsure about that.

These things happen

I took this photo in Porto, Portugal. I love this kind of view of Porto so much. Very beautiful. By the way, there was a street sign for Espaço Moçambique. I can't read any Portuguese languages unfortunately so I thought okay there was something on the way and nothing more. These things happen when I'm abroad. More than a decade ago similar things happened to me when I went to Thailand for the first time. But now I can read Thai. My Thai is like a level of low intermediate, but I personally believe that my level is a lot more than bare basic. I can read menus, street signs, station names and so on in Thailand, and can have a small conversation with Thais.

The Prešeren Monument

I took this photo in Prešeren Square in the heart of Ljubljana, Slovenia and the photo shows the Prešeren Monument (a.k.a. Prešeren Stature) and the Ljubljana Central Pharmacy. The monument is commemoration of Slovenian national poet France Prešeren. That is why his statue holds a book in his left hand. Prešeren Square seemed like a popular hangout in the capital of Slovenia. The Prešeren  Monument with a muse sculpture is about ten meters high in total. Yep, It was a big one. I kinda looked up from near the bottom of the monument to take this photo.

Sorry, but I don't get it.

I took this photo in Athens, Greece. The photo reminds me of something. When one of my Italian acquaintances and I were looking at some beautiful images of Santorini island on the Internet, I pointed at a building and said there was a church. But he said no, the building that I pointed at was Greek Orthodox Church. I pointed at an another building and asked him how about that one. He said it was not a church, it was Greek Orthodox Church. I didn't get it any differences, but it seemed like there must be huge differences between them. So how about this one? I took a photo of what?

Give a hoot

The photo shows Antwerpen Centraal (a.k.a. Antwerp Central Station) and its surroundings in Antwerp, Belgium. It's beautiful isn't it? By the way recently, one of my acquaintances asked me to show him an amazing view picture that will make him jar drop. I chose five photos out of thousands. A couple of them were beautiful view's photos like this, the other two of them were surprising type of photo, and I chose a controversial type of photo as well. He said he especially liked one of the surprising type of photos and the controversial type of photo. He didn't give give a hoot about beautiful view's photos. To each his own.

You can rent and return a bike in Tel Aviv, Israel

The photo shows bikes for rent in Tel Aviv, Israel. I took this photo at a rental station somewhere on the board walk. I preferred to walk around the city, but my hotel's receptionist told me how easy to rent a bike in Tel Aviv. Thanks for that. I've seen similar services in some European cities as well, but I haven't seen it in Asia so far. Maybe there are some of similar services in Asia, but I still don't know about it. When I ride a bike, I need to use lots of legs and arms muscles that I never knew I had, and I'm sure I'll have sore muscles on the following day.... So I prefer to walk. I know it's convenient, though.

Risotto alla Parmigiana

The photo shows Risotto alla Parmigiana. It's a type of Italian risotto flavored with Parmigiano-reggiano cheese. It tasted like heaven. I took this photo at my favorite restaurant near Piazza Aspromonte in Milan, Italy. Luckily, my hotel was just around the corner from the restaurant. Every risotto that I've had at the restaurant was just fabulous and staff was so nice. That evening, since their Rissotto alla Parmigiana was that delicious, I ordered Risotto alla Radicchio as well and ate up everything with Italian draft beer.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but...

I took this photo at the Amalienborg in Copenhagen, Denmark which is the winter home of the Danish royal family. I went there to see the Changing of the Guard Ceremony. Truth be told, I really love a short tale "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Andersen. I've read the short tale a thousand times and I can never be bored by the Emperor's New Clothes. I love whole plot, but especially love the climax "I don't want to rain on your parade, but...!" It's a hilarious tale, isn't it? Amalienborg reminded me of a great Danish author and his tale.

Play it by ear

The photo shows a little cute fountain in Luxembourg city, Luxembourg.  The fountain looked different from the other sides, so I took a few photos around the fountain and after that started to think about a place to eat. There were a lot of restaurants in the city and I was thinking where I would choose for lunch with a cold one. I didn't google about it before, and I just trusted my gut feeling. I love to play it by ear. Luxembourg city is a very beautiful city, but on the day I visited there was kind of a quiet day and I didn't see many tourists in the streets.

Have fun without having a solid plan

I took this photo in Zagreb, Croatia while I was taking a stroll around the city. There were so many beautiful buildings like this one. Some of the buildings looked fairly new, some of the buildings looked very old. The building on this photo is one of the fairly new looking buildings. I didn't have any solid plans in Zagreb, so normally in late afternoon when I got a little tired from walking, I returned to my hostel to relax. That day I dropped by a super market on the way to my hostel, and bought a pack of tortilla chips and cans of tallboys for an afternoon break.

Zoom in the detail of Rinpung Dzong

The photo shows roof and windows of Rinpung Dzong (a.k.a. Paro Dzong) in Paro, Bhutan. Paro is a town which has the country's only international airport, so I started to travel around Bhutan from Paro. I visited Thimphu (the capital of Bhutan), Dochu La (where the place is altitude 3,150 meters high), Punakha, Wangdue Podrang and returned to Paro to spend a night before departure. My soul purpose of going there were having Bhutanese cuisine as much as possible (includes the world-spiciest chili salad), and to buy a handicraft colorful lunch case. I took in a lot of sights during five days and I loved everywhere.

The most sobering sightseeing experience

I took this photo in Berlin, Germany. As Berlin is the capital of Germany and has a lot to see, I joined a half-day city tour by local tour guide and went to visit so many sites by bus. I took this photo while the bus was stopping at the Berlin Wall used to be. I took some photos of a commemorative part of the Berlin Wall and took a walk around a little bit. From my point of view, the height of the segment that used to be the Berlin Wall was about two times higher than male adults. When I had a closer look, it looked much higher than its actual height.

The service is VIP

I took this photo in my hotel's bathroom in Bangkok, Thailand. The hotel is named Montien Riverside Hotel and is located on Rama III road. I've been choosing this hotel off and on as my first few nights accommodation in Thailand since February 2002. Since then, the hotel's cleaning staff members are continuing this folding paper service. It's a lot of work, isn't it? But I love to see it. The loo rolls looks like fan or something. Oh before I forget, I love this hotel's buffet breakfast. Not only that, but I always enjoy having river view dinner at their Thai Vietnamese restaurant Sai Chol.

A large glass of sangria and a plate full of olives

I took this photo at a sangria place on La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain at night. It was my arrival day in Barcelona, and I had sort of a late lunch due to my flight schedule. The lunch was fabulous Paella Valencia and some tapas with good Spanish beer and a glass of sangria. I wasn't hungry at night, but I headed out just for some drinks. Then, I found the sangria place. The sangria was really nice. I asked the staff that if I could have something small that went well with their nice sangria. He asked me if I like olives. I said yes of course. He brought me a plate full of olives. They were match made in heaven.

Cafe Majestic, Porto

The photo shows the entrance of Cafe Majestic in Porto, Portugal. One of the locals told me that Cafe Majestic is one of the must-see sights of the city, whatever you want to have something or not, you should definitely go see the cafe itself. I took her word for it and went to see the cafe from the street. She was right. It was definitely a must-see sight. Thanks for that. It was around the time that I had to go to the airport to take a plane to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. So after visiting Cafe Majestic, I returned to my hotel to pick up my luggage. I used a Metro line to get to the airport.

Santa Maria del Rosario

The photo shows Santa Maria del Rosario (English: St. Mary of Rosary, a.k.a I Gesuati) in Venice, Italy. The stunning facade of this church is facing the Giudecca canal like the photo shows. I took this photo on a speed boat. That is why this is not a good photo, but I think it's better than nothing. Come to think of it, some of the fellow passengers on the boat were talking about a large painting the Last Supper. They said the Last Supper is in a church on an island. Later on I knew that a church they were talking about was named San Giorgio Maggiore, it's on the island of the same name in Venice.

So close, yet so far

I took this photo at Jaffa Port in the Old City of Jaffa, Israel. First of all, I realized that there were geometric lines on the ground. Also I found out that there were a lot of white circles, and each white circle was showing word in Hebrew, Arabic and English. I was curious what it was. Then, I walked toward the center point of the lines and looked a little closer. The white circle on the center point said Jaffa Port and the right next circle of Jaffa Port said 5 km Tel Aviv. Then I learned that the word on each circle was a name of city. Some other circles around Jaffa Port said 55 km Jerusalem, 65 km Gaza, 110 km Amman. It's so close, but yet so far.

The Sawyers Arms, Paddington, London

The photo shows one of my favorite English pubs near Paddington Station in London, England, the United Kingdom. The pub was just around the corner from my hotel and the atmosphere was pretty good with friendly professional staff. I went there 7 times during my two week vacation in London. I used the pub not only for a pint of beer, I used the pub for lunch, delicious afternoon pub grub, and of course for a nice Traditional Sunday Roast. Everything was really nice. When you visit Paddington area, don't miss the Sawyers Arms. You will regret if you don't go. It's on London Street, you can't miss it.

It rained off and on

I took this photo in Amsterdam, Holland. When I flew into Schipol Airport, it was raining. When the plane was landed, someone on the plane said something bad about the weather, and someone replied to that like 'Yeah, it's Amsterdam'. Is it? But anyway, I got a map at the airport and hit the road to my hotel by Schiport Airport Shuttle. During the drive to my hotel it was raining off and on, but it was mostly sprinkling. After dropping of my luggage at my hotel, I walked toward Leidseplein (a.k.a. Leiden Square) which is a hangout for everybody, and took this photo.

Around with wildlife

I took this photo in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. I stayed at Machan Wildlife Resort for a couple nights and enjoyed spending hours watching wildlife, going on jungle safari by an elephant or a jeep, eating spicy Nepali cuisine, and so on. It was the first time in my life I stayed in a room with no electricity. Instead of bright fluorescent ceiling light, staff brought me a couple of small table lamps before sunset, and put them in a bed room and a bathroom. The lamps lasted till the following morning.

TG641 NRT - BKK; Oct 2013

The photo shows an in-flight meal of Thai Airways International flight TG641 Narita, Tokyo to Bangkok, Thailand (NRT - BKK). It was about a six and a half-hour flight. In flight meal was delicious Thai Red Curry with Pork (Thai: แกงเผ็ดหมู) served with rice, roll and boiled veggies. A fresh shrimp salad and a piece of cake were on side. I had them with a can of SINGHA. The good thing about Thai Airways International is that you can feel "A land of Smiles"from right after get on board by the end of the flight. TG flight is like a flight of smiles. I'd love to immerse myself in it.

Go with the flow

I took this photo in Antwerp, Belgium. Street signs are good for someone who want to know directions, also they are good for someone who haven't decided where to go yet. I was definitely in the latter situation. My soul purpose of going there were just to buy the chocolate flavored postage stamps, drink some Belgian beer, viewing the most beautiful railway station in the world. Other than that, I was just going with the flow, and of course enjoyed taking in the sights. Streets and buildings were beautiful plus I loved the atmosphere.

Take a photo on a street corner

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. I don't remember exactly where it was, but if I took this photo by my iPad mini, I could track down where it was. My iPad mini has a very futuristic function. I don't know what the function is called, but my photos in my iPad mini are automatically links to a map. With that I can track down my memory line where I was on that day. The map is accurate. Eye-opening. By the way, my digital camera was broken last last month in Pattaya, Thailand. I tried to take a photo of my lunch, and dropped it on the floor. Luckily, I didn't loose the data.