Chillies, corns, garlic and then some

I took this photo at Mercado do Bolhão (a.k.a. The Bolhao Market) in Porto, Portugal. Luckily this bubbly market was close to my hotel, and a hotel's receptionist recommended to me to visit the market, so this place happened to be my first sightseeing destination in beautiful Porto, Portugal. Visiting the Bolhao market was just amazing. It was really lively, lovely and I was super happy being there. I love visiting markets and their bubbly atmosphere. By the way, a part of this photo was using as my blog's title image for several months. This morning I changed the image.

Spare not where you must spend

I took this photo in my hotel room in Giza, Egypt. When I opened the window and looked right, the Great Pyramid of Giza was there. Right there. Viewing the pyramids in Giza, Egypt was near the top of my bucket list for such a long time, and finally in 2010, I went to visit the pyramids. The hotel rooms with a pyramids view were much more expensive than the rooms on the other side, but I chose a room with a pyramids view. Without a doubt I made a right decision money-wise. I fought against my stingy habit when I went all the way to Giza, Egypt, with that I could spent my birthday right in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza. As the saying goes, spend not where you may save, spare not where you must spend.

Thai wooden tableware

I took this photo at a souvenir shop on the way to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (Thai: ตลาดน้ำดำเนินสะดวก) in Thailand. Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is one of the very popular tourist attractions in Thailand and is not too far away from the capital Bangkok. You can get there as a one day trip via Nakhon Pathom or somewhere you'd like to visit. I've visited Damnoen Saduak Floating Market twice, and also I have visited many other markets in several different cities in Thailand. It's always a pleasure visiting market in Thailand. I especially love to visit food market in Thailand.

At the entrance of the Goethe House

I took this photo at the entrance of the Goethe House in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The building used to be a residence of the Goethe family, and now open to the public. I've visited inside of the Goethe House twice and learnt a lot about the famous German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The poet was born on August 28, 1749, right there in the Goethe House. It's been almost 267 years. You can see his birth certificate in a room of this building as well as a lot of super luxurious living items, and a lot more. I enjoyed being there.

Experience Israeli culture

The photo shows Israeli breakfast which I had at my hotel in Jerusalem, Israel. I'm sure the locals make another choices from the buffet line, but for me as a tourist, everything was right choice and of course very delicious. Israeli breakfast is originally from a Kibbutz, and is nowadays one of the tourist's favorite cultural experiences in Israel. I love it. So I'd say a breakfast buffet at a hotel in Israel is a must-see and must-eat. The buffet line looked gorgeous, colorful, beautiful, and its food tasted very nice and healthy. Israeli Breakfast is supposed to be on a must-do list when you travel around Israel. Ah, I really miss Israeli Salad and Israeli Hummus right now...

Hope one's wish will come true is also a wish

I took this photo on the Wishing Bridge in Jaffa, Israel. The bridge is locally known as the bridge of a wish. While you are looking at the sea, you must touch your zodiac sign and make a wish, your wish will come true. So I was told, and also there was an information board at the bottom of the bridge to inform that. The photo shows a view from the Wishing Bridge with a zodiac sign of Pisces. The other 11 zodiac signs are lined up. Not to mention the Wishing Bridge is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Jaffa.

I guess I chose the best hotel in the city...

I took this photo in my hotel room in Copenhagen, Denmark. Actually it was my first photo in Copenhagen, Denmark. I took a red-eye from Bangkok, Thailand and flew into Kastrup Airport around a half past six in the morning. I still had plenty of time on my hands after checking in and before going on a sightseeing. So I took a photo of my room and took a few photos through the window, went down to the lobby floor for breakfast. My very first Danish Buffet breakfast was just wonderful. Many kinds of bread and a lot of other foods.

Nickel-and-dime gambler

I took this photo at a casino in Las Vegas, NV, the United States of America. Walking up steps supposed to be the first step to becoming a billionaire, but things were not that easy, of course. First-timers at a casino tend to play slot machines. It's like betting nickels and dimes and getting nickels and dimes or losing nickels and dimes, and that's that. I've been to Vegas twice and spent 25 days in total, but still a typical first-timer. But, Vegas is not only casinos. Vegas is such an entertainment city. If I could exaggerate my explanation, half the "fun" in the world are in Vegas. I had so much fun in Vegas.

The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece

I took this photo at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece that the place where the first summer Olympic hosted in 1896. This is the view from the entrance with the Greece and the Olympic flag were attached to the poles. More than a century ago, exactly 120 years ago, the first summer Olympic was held at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece, and now in Rio. Back when I went to visit the Panathenaic Stadium was in September 2010. It's been almost 6 years since then. Time does fly, doesn't it? It flies much faster than my internal body clock, I guess.

Fish and chips on a Thai ceramic platter

The photo shows fish and chips that I had at my favorite British pub in Pattaya, Thailand. Fish and chips is one of the most well-known pub grubs originally from England, the United Kingdom and I love it. Having fried battered fish and chips (French fries) with a pint of beer at a British pub is to die for. The British pub that I chose that night was on hectic Soi 7 in Central Pattaya. If you go there, their traditional English fish and chips would be served on a traditional Thai ceramic platter, the ever-popular blue and white one exactly like the photo shows.

It's no longer a dream, but...

I took this photo in Malmö, Sweden. The photo shows a menu board of a restaurant in the heart of the city. A URL and a phone number were written at the bottom of the menu board, but it seems the URL is no longer available, so I deleted the information by my Photoshop. I've been using Adobe Photoshop for many years. At the beginning, it was hard to use a lot of functions correctly and creatively, but time went by and now I feel like I can't imagine my life without Adobe Photoshop. I'm so obsessed with it. What a dreamy software.

How to get to Aeroporto Francisco Sá Carneiro

I took this photo at the terminal station of the Porto Metro's Line E. I got on the metro at Trindade Station and got out of the train at Aeroporto, the airport station of Aeroporto Francisco Sá Carneiro. Getting a train ticket from a ticket vending machine was a tad confusing, but a friendly station officer of Trindade Station kindly helped me to get a one way ticket to Aeroporto station and told me the correct platform as well. Aeroporto Francisco Sá Carneiro was a very nice airport to spend some relaxing time before my flight to their capital Lisboa.

The Lao National Museum

I took this photo in front of the Lao National Museum in Vientiane, Laos. I've visited inside of the Lao National Museum once. After seeing a lot in the museum, I bought a little book of Let's speak Lao as a souvenir. Since the Lao National Museum is known as the Lao National History Museum, I was influenced by an understanding of Lao history and then some, then thought buying a little language book would be a great idea. The book cost 6,000 kip, and I still have it now. For me it's not just a book, it's a fond memory of my Lao trip.

Grain of truth

I took this photo in Negombo, Sri Lanka. There were some palm trees in front of my hotel room. One day in the evening before dusk, very heavy shower of rain hit Negombo. After the sky cleared up, I saw this view with a beautiful huge rainbow. It was a double rainbow actually, but the photo doesn't show the second one completely. If I could take the complete photo of the double rainbow, it would be an eye-grabbing photo. Is there a pot of fold at the end of the rainbow? Or there's no grain of truth in the saying? I believe that the saying contains a grain of truth.

I'm obsessed with Sri Lankan Rice and Curry

I took this photo at my hotel in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The hotel's restaurant provided Rice and Curry Lunch everyday. I enjoyed to have Rice and Curry Lunch almost everyday at the hotel's restaurant while I was staying in Negombo. The ingredients were changed on a daily basis, so I was never bored. The photo shows Rice and curry with Papadum, Banana Flower Curry, Green Beans Curry (locally called Bonchi Curry), Lentil Curry (locally called Dhal Curry), Chicken Curry (locally called Kukul Mas Curry) and Rice (locally called Bath).

Clear the table, please.

I took this photo at a hotel in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. There were a couple of glass display tables at the lobby. While I was waiting a car to the airport, I sat at the table and had a cup of tea. Also, I had a small talk with the locals. Then I realized that the tables we sat around were glass display tables, and common spices in Sri Lankan curry were displayed under the glass. I asked the locals to pick up their tea cups for a while, and I took this photo and another. What a cool table. By the way, I'm gonna attend a workshop for spice this weekend. There, I will learn how to blend certain spices for different recipes. I can't wait.

Horses for courses

I took this photo in Giza, Egypt. I rode on one of the horses back and visited the Giza Pyramid Complex for the first time. An Egyptian local guide told me that there are more than thousands of pyramids in Egypt. Before I went to Egypt, I knew only three. So it was like jaw-dropping information. By the way, it was really hard riding on a horse's back in the desert. so when I visited the Giza Pyramid Complex again another day, I chose a camel to ride on a back, but it was a way harder than riding on a horse's back. Camels are much taller than horses, so you can imagine what I mean.