How would you like that done?

When I'm abroad, one of my interests is what I can eat in this city or in this country. I took this dish at a nice restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. The meat was really tender and juicy, plus, it was cooked just right, looked fantastic. Just like many other restaurants in Scandinavia, the steak served with French fries. Also, the sauce was truly nice. The restaurant had a bar as well, and had tasty tap beer. In addition, there were a few slot machines next to the bar counter and some people bet money on them. It was quite fun place with friendly bartenders.

The Stepped Pyramid in Sakkara

The photo shows the Pyramid of Djoser (a.k.a. Zoser), in Sakkara (a.k.a. Saqqara), Egypt. This pyramid is commonly known as the stepped pyramid (a.k.a. step pyramid). I've heard that this is the oldest Egyptian pyramid. I hired a driver and went there from Cairo by a car to see this very interesting pyramid. Compare to the Great Pyramid of Giza, the stepped pyramid is a bit smaller, but I'd say the shape is more eye-catching. I was just impressed that ancient Egyptian people made this like huge beautiful pyramid many moons ago.

Go on a road trip

I took this photo in Bacharach (a.k.a. Bacharach am Rhein), Germany on the second day of my coach trip in Germany. A lot of marks of high water. I love solo-trip and usually can do so, but travel around Germany was not the case. My coach started from Frankfurt and headed to Cologne via Bacharach. My tour guide spoke perfect English and gave me a lot of information on the coach and in the cities, but I don't remember all of them, I'm sorry. Germany is a big beautiful country, so I think join a coach tour is sort of a great idea to see a lot in Germany at once.

Talat Sao

Talat Sao is one of the popular must see sites in Vientiane, Laos. It's a huge morning market and is located in the heart of the capital Vientiane. There are a lot of shops and I think you can find a lot of things that you want to see in Laos, and also you can find places to eat Lao food. I bought a Lao designed green bag, and a shirt which had Lao letters, and what else? I don't remember well, but I really enjoyed the market. Oh, before I forget, the market is called morning market, but it opens after morning time as well. Can't miss.

Never a dull moment

Pattaya, Thailand is my favorite place in the world. The city is quite unique. It has a couple of long beaches, and boardwalks. Entertainment district is adjacent to the beach, and has a ton of places to have fun, to have authentic Thai cuisine, to go on a wonderful shopping spree and such. I'm sure I'll never have a dull moment in Pattaya. When I'm in Pattaya, I'm always excited from very early morning to late at night. Food, people, atmosphere, temperature, and so on everything is definitely right up my alley and I'm always happy in Pattaya city. I wanna be there right now.

String hoppers

This is my breakfast which I had in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I think it was around 7:30 a.m. I called a tuk-tuk driver at 9:00 a.m. to my hotel to headed to Unawatuna. Before that, I needed to buy a bottle of water and wanted to eat something. First, I went to a Tamil shop nearby my hotel to buy a bottle of water. The place was serving breakfast as well and it was my favorite string hoppers (a.k.a. Idiyappams) with sambal, so I decided to have breakfast there. Everything was so nice; staff, Tamil curry, sambal, string hoppers, and all.

Out of place

I like to let loose on my vacation. I love beaches, boardwalks, poolsides, and such, and I go there just to relax. Generally, I don't have to wear formal dresses or suit on my vacation days. However, when I went to Monaco from Nice, France was different. I changed my all clothes, shoes, a bag and also changed makeup and headed to Monaco by a coach, but still. I don't have any experiences to attend high-class parties or something like that, so I felt myself out of place. It was so nice to see beautiful city like the photo shows, but I was a little nervous in Monaco.

I don't blame them

In Bangkok, Thailand there was a huge night bazaar above Lumpini (Thai: ลุมพินี) station of Bangkok Metro. It was called Suan Lum Night Bazaar (Thai: สวนลุมไนท์บาซาร์). I was in Bangkok in January 2011, so I went to Lumpini to see the bazaar, but it was already closed. There was a sticker on the map and it said OFF. Well, I returned to Yaowaraj (Thai: เยาวราช) where my hotel was, and on the way to the hotel I took this picture. This is a view of the beginning of Yaowaraj street. The street is always full of cars and buses and tuk-tuks and all.

Jump at the chance

The photo shows a view of the Galle Face Green in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I went there by a tuk-tuk from Negombo. One day in Negombo, I didn't have any plans, but I just got out of the hotel to take a stroll around, then a tuk-tuk driver asked me where I wanted to go. Before that, I didn't want to go anywhere, but unconsciously I replied that I wanted to see Colombo. I went to Negombo directly from the International airport and at the time I've been spending a couple of weeks just in Negombo, so it was my first time to see Colombo.

All-inclusive except for beer

The photo shows a part of the capital Thimphu, Bhutan. I liked the view with a lot of sunflowers and prayer flags. When I went there, each tourist needed to pay 200 bucks per day, and the cost included a car with a Bhutanese guide and a driver, accommodations in each city, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and such. I paid costs of beer, postcards, stamps, and some souvenirs by myself in Bhutanese currency Ngultrum. I didn't have to travel in a huge group, but traveling in Bhutan was a bit different from my many other solo-trip experiences to many other countries. I was able to request what I wanted, where I wanted to go, but I needed to stay with a guide and a driver all the time.

Four-star hotel

I took a quick photo of a gorgeous hotel in Budapest, Hungary. I stayed at a different hotel, but I was just curious. I've heard that this hotel is four-star hotel and has a huge Spa place. I love Spas, so I should have checked it out, but I didn't go inside, so this picture is just for my memory of beautiful Budapest. I saw a lot of beautiful buildings in Budapest and this hotel is one of them. Like I said before, by far the most beautiful building in Budapest is the Hungarian Parliament building. It's breathtaking.

Use up the money at the station

As soon as I arrived to Zurich, Switzerland from Frankfurt, Germany by a train, I got out of the station, and started to take a stroll around. I thought I was able to find exchange places in the city, but I couldn't. I don't know why. Then after 20 minute-walk, I returned to Zurich station to exchange some Euro for Swiss Franc to enjoy a day in Switzerland. Don't worry, I had enough time to do that. Anyway, while I was waiting at a red light, I took a picture of Zurich station. At the end of my exploring in Zurich, I still had some pocket money left in Swiss Franc, so I spent all of them at a shop in this station, then returned to Frankfurt.

Moo Manao

I took this dish at my favorite Thai Suki place in Yaowaraj (Thai: เยาวราช, a.k.a. Chinatown) in Bangkok, Thailand. The place is one of the popular Thai Suki restaurants in Bangkok, and also there are a lot of fabulous Thai food available on the menu. This dish is called Moo Manao (Thai: หมูมะนาว), it's kind of like a boiled pork with spicy Thai seasoning. Moo (Thai: หมู) means pork, Manao (Thai: มะนาว) means Thai lime.The sauce tastes like chili, but it's more like lime, so I'd say it's spicy, but sour. My favorite type of sauce. I took this dish for lunch and it went well with cold Singha beer.

Have nothing to lose

I found this eye-catching place in stunning Vienna, Austria. The Minoritenkirche (a.k.a. Italian National Church of Mary of the Snows). I don't know much about architecture, but I've heard that it's built in fabulous French Gothic style. It's kind of a worn out expression, but I'd say it's just so nice and beautiful. Like I said, I love to explore abroad without a map, and usually can do so. I don't know for many other people, but it's so much fun to find this like historical site during my adventure by coincidence. When I have time to get lost for a while, I love to do that. I have nothing to lose. It's more like a way to know what I want. Just my two cents. Of course I use a map after the exploring. I need to know where I am, then after that, I take a metro or a bus or something else to back to my hotel.

The 40 minutes went by surprisingly fast

I often hear that "10 places to visit in your life" or kind of like that. From my point of view, Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain is one of them. There was a metro station named Sagrada Família, so getting there was quite easy from my hostal, but after that I needed to wait for about 40 minutes to get an entrance ticket. While I was waiting, I used my small digital camera's zoom function and took a lot of pictures. I don't know how I can describe my emotion clearly, but the more I saw of the details, I realized something new or something like that feeling, and then totally impressed.

Enjoy some cool beer while viewing the Dead Sea

This is my first beer in Israel. I flew in Israel on Friday afternoon from Athens, Greece by ElAl Israel air. I headed to Jerusalem by a Sherut from Ben Gurion International airport. Sherut is kind of like an Israeli share taxi. After I checked in to my hotel in Jerusalem, I walked around the city for a while, but it was Friday evening, so I couldn't find any places for beer. The next day, I joined one-day bus tour to visit Masada and the Dead Sea. Then finally, I had this cool can of beer right after floated in the Dead Sea. The beer just happened to be Carlsberg, not Goldstar.

Move a bead on an abacus

The photo shows a part of Prague, the Czech Republic. I took this picture after having a Pork Schnitzel (Czech: Vepřový řízek) at a nice restaurant for lunch. I only have good memories in Prague. Nice food, good beer and breathtaking views with such perfect weather. My very personal problem was currency exchange. I went to Prague after Budapest, Hungary, and after Prague I went to Frankfurt, Germany. I prepared enough Euro bills for my trip, but I always needed to think about how much Czech Koruna left and moved a bead on an abacus in my head.