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.