Yummy melty cheesy lunch in Lucerne

I tried a something famous at a cool restaurant in Lucerne, Switzerland. The dish was called Fondue de Fromage (a.k.a. Cheese Fondue). The photo shows a small pan over a portable stove or something like that, and beside the pan there are some pieces of bread in a basket. I skewered a piece of bread by a long fork which looked like a stick, and dipped some melty warm cheese from the pan. How interesting cheesy sauce! It smelled like white wine and full of cheese. I'm no linguist, but I've heard that fondue is a French word means melt in English. Without further ado, Let's bon appetit.

It was all much ado about nothing

Here's another gastronomical lunch at a hotel in Negombo, Sri Lanka. During my time in Sri Lanka I woke up around 7:00 a.m. and had Sri Lankan breakfast and tea. From about 9:00 a.m. I went to the beach and enjoyed the sunshine, the monsoon wind and just vegged out on the beach or walked along the shore for a couple of hours or so. After that, I took a water shower at my hotel room and enjoyed a lunch around 1:00 p.m. By the way, full moon day is called Poya day in Sri Lanka. It's a Buddhist public holiday. Almost Sinhalese don't work on Poya days, and drinking alcohol is banned in Sri Lanka. It happens once a month because of the full moon. Before I get to Sri Lanka for the first time, I was very worried about it. I'm a beer addict, so I was thinking aimlessly like "Oh boy. How can I do without beer?" However, it was all much ado about nothing. I really love Sri Lanka including Poya days. There's no other place quite like a Utopian island, Sri Lanka.

Eight days a week

The photo shows a rice and curry lunch plate at my favorite hotel in Negombo, Sri Lanka. There is a bowl of water on the near upper right corner of the photo. It's not a drinking water, it's used for rinsing my fingers after the lunch. It's called a finger bowl. I'd say a featured stuff on a Sri Lankan dining table. Generally, I eat rice and curry by my right hand do as the Sri Lankan locals do, so I need this. Also, there's a cup of tea. The waiters don't ask me like "Tea or coffee?", they always ask me just "Tea?". It happens all the time in Sri Lanka. In fact, Sri Lanka is formerly named Ceylon, and has huge tea plantation in Nuwara Eliya. They drink tea eight days a week. I was a coffee person, but Sri Lanka changed my liking. Come to think of it, if you take a Sri Lankan airline, you'll be able to enjoy some high quality Sri Lankan tea on the plane as well. It was really nice, so I got some refill.

Ruwanwelisaya Stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

I've visited Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It was about five to six hours drive from Negombo and this city is a UNESCO World heritage site. The photo shows the Ruwanwelisaya Stupa. This very beautiful big stupa is located in the middle of ancient town and white enough to make an impact. I think it symbolizes a big historical story of an epic battle, great king and his son. I visited there in a cloudy quiet day. There were not so many people in Anuradhapura, but I was able to understand why people want to visit or revisit there. Unfortunately, history is not my specialty, but I think I was able to understand why the area is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. I have some more pictures of Anuradhapura, so I will upload them some day.

I'm not a shutterbug, but...

I really loved to take a stroll along the shore of Indian Ocean aimlessly especially in Sri Lanka. One sunny and bright day, I found small crabs on the Negombo beach in Sri Lanka. They quickly buried their body in the sand, so it was a little difficult to take a photo of them. I caught a break just once. Can you see a crab in the photo? The crab is very small and similar in torn to the sand. I know it's very less-visible, but it's on the upper side of the center of the photo, juxtapositional to my footprint. Can you see it?

I like to make the most of my time in Thailand

One day in Pattaya, Thailand I bought a Thai grilled chicken called Gai Yang at a street stand. Also, I bought a can of Chang Beer and some fresh chilies at a supermarket. These were my favorite kind of lunch. You are able to get some alcoholic drinks from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. & from 5:00 p.m. to 00:00 a.m. in Thailand which means you are not able to get some alcoholic drinks from 00:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. & from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Thailand due to a law of it. I know about the law from scratch, but oddly enough occasionally it slips my mind and I unconsciously go to convenience stores or something like that to buy some beer around 2:30 p.m. that's I'd say the hottest time of the day, but they never sell alcoholic drinks during the restricted time. I should need to be more careful about the law to make the most of my time in Thailand.

She sells seashells on the sea shore

The photo shows Pattaya beach from my lounge chair. I ordered a bottle of Singha beer and vegged out as usual. If a place has a hot weather, blue sky, good beer, and nice spicy food, that will be my Shangri-la. That's just my two cents, but Pattaya is one of them. Actually, it's a unique place. The beach is juxtaposed to the urban entertainment area; plenty of eateries, bars, banks, hotels, convenient stores, shopping malls and Thai massage centers are just cross the street from the beach. Also, Pattaya is not too far from a big city Bangkok and Swannaphum international airport. That's a good point, so I think Pattaya lives up to the hype.

Different countries have different foods

When I was in Bhutan, I only ate Bhutanese cuisine. Never ordered continental breakfast or all-you-can-eat buffet or something like that. I went there to eat Bhutanese food like Ema datshi and red rice or something like that. I personally believe that Ema datshi and red rice are the staple foods in Bhutan. I think you can imagine what red rice is, but probably you are not able to understand what Ema datshi is. I'm no linguist, but Ema means chili, datshi means cheese. I've heard of it from a Bhutanese. So, Ema datshi is kind of like Bhutanese chili con queso, or I'd say Bhutanese cheesy curry, but they eat it with rice. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of Ema datshi, because I was overzealous to enjoy my dishes. So, the photo shows Bhutanese dry chilies. Bhutanese seemed to be thinking that chili isn't only a spice, but vegetable. I really love chilies. That's why I think Bhutan is a gastronomical paradise.

A glass of Beer Lao with a big head, because...

I took a photo of my Beer Lao in Vientiane, Laos while I was waiting the head would shrink down. Someone told me that two to eight is the best rate for a glass of beer, but the other one told me that three to seven to four to six is the best. We need to find a happy-medium, but actually in this case, my glass of beer looked like five to five. I can't stand a glass of beer with a big head, though. Also, I know it was my fault. That's because it was my first lunch of my second visit to Laos and I was so excited to drink Beer Lao again. Then, it happened, you know why. Can't do anything. Then, I put a positive spin on it. I was able to got my hands-on experience; SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE.

Match made in heaven

This is a lunch packet of rice and curry. I bought it in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka that's the place where you can enjoy cool pristine water, white sand, blue sky with patchy cloud and palm trees. The beach is hidden from the Galle road. Generally, for a lunch they sell this kind of packet on the roads or in shops. It's wrapped in a news paper and plastic. It's easy to spot especially around time for lunch in Sri Lanka. I love it. I bought this kind of packet sometimes and often ate it in a balcony of my hotel with bright sunshine, a breeze monsoon and beer Lion. Match made in heaven.

As Thai as ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง

The photo shows a popular Thai cuisine named Pak Boong Fai Daeng on the rice and a cup of ice water. I took this photo in Thonburi district next to Bangkok. Pak Boon Fai Daeng is a stir-fried Asian green vegetable. Rice is the staple food in Thailand, so generally, most people eat it with rice, or on the rice. This is really nice and famous local food in Thailand. Usually when I return to Thailand, I order this receipt for the first dinner. Then after that, I'm able to get back into the swing of things. I miss the taste all the time. I believe that Thai vocabulary may come in handy some day, so I'm gonna jot it down for you.

I'll take a : ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง

The blonde with the black skirt

I've visited interesting city Amsterdam, Holland. When I received a map of Amsterdam, I was really curious to take a stroll around everywhere to know the lay of the land. Juxtaposition of canals next to roads, not so complicated and it just looked like a kind of spiderwebby for me. In my point of view, it was the most extraordinary map ever. I think there's no other place quite like that in the world. I wish I was able to take a photo from above. With that, I was so busy to explore and walk around in Amsterdam. When I found a guzzlery, I was just thirsty, so I ordered a pint of stout and nachos to unwind.

It never ceases to amaze me.

The photo shows my lunch in Negonbo, Sri-Lanka. This is also Sri-Lankan rice and curry; there're a lot of another photos on this blog, though. I've stayed four hotels in Negombo and I took this photo at one of the hotels. Negombo is on the Southwest coat of Sri Lanka and about 30 minutes drive form the international airport. There are lots of hotels, eateries, shops and a beautiful beach and its sunset. Sri Lanka never ceases to amaze me. I've traveled to 19 counties and I'm thinking that Sri Lanka is one of the best countries in the world; weather, rice and curry, locals and everything. I can't forget how good they were.
See also: Labels "Sri Lanka" another photos of Sri Lankan Rice and curry are there.

Be ready to Rock'n Roll

The photo shows one of the unforgettable lunches in my favorite Sri Lanka, but I don't exactly remember where it was in Sri Lanka. It was after visiting a famous world heritage sight Dambulla. After the sightseeing I had a nice Rice and Curry in a hotel's restaurant somewhere on the road from Dambulla to Negombo. You can see Dal curry in the center foreground of the photo; which is my favorite curry that made from chickpeas. The photo may looks like a buffet style lunch, but not. This is Sri Lankan Rice and curry. We arrange the food on a plate and eat by right hand. When in Rome, when in Sri Lanka.

The most popular bridge in Budapest

I took this photo on the famous Chain Bridge (Hungarian: Lánchíd) in Budapest, Hungary. There are some more bridge in Budapest, but I've heard that this is the most famous and popular one. I went to Hungary to visit this bridge, Heroes' Square (Hungarian: Hősök tere), and to walk along Vaci Street (Hungarian: Váci Utca) and then some. In addition, I looked forward to have Hungarian cuisine like Goulash. Also, I tried to have Tokaji Wine as well and it was really sweet. I learned a lot from the national museum and I really enjoyed night scenery as well. I've heard an extraordinary story about the Heroes' Square from a Hungarian, so I hope I'll be able to write on this blog some time, but I want to save the best for last, so just bear with me please.

You are what you eat

The photo shows my buffet breakfast in Pattaya, Thailand. Generally, some restaurants have some tables on the terrace for smokers in Thailand. I don't smoke, but sometimes I prefer to choose patio dining for a change of pace. It was such a hot day, but one of my favorite experiences. That day, I choose a lot of tropical fruits like papaya, pineapple, melon and rambutan. Rambutan is a tropical fruit which has a red spiny peel. The peel is not so hard, rather soft. When you leave the peel, you can see whitish lychee like round body. Taste is a kind of like in between sweet and acidic. Sounds healthy.

Better late than never

This is another fried rice that I ordered in Vientiane, Laos and my favorite Beer Lao. Do you have any idea what the label says? It says Beer Lao in Laotian. Pretty simple, right? I'm no linguist, but I'd say Thai and Laotian are quite similar that's why I'm able to speak and read both of them. I must admit that all my languages are less than perfect. Even when I speak or write my mother tongue, I make a lot of mistakes, but still. I personally believe that my languages are functional in nearly every situations. If I had to guess, I'd say my only regret is English. I started to learn English officially from the end of October 2006; it about three to four years ago. It looks like too late, huh? Before that, I was not able to communicate with people in English. I'm hoping I'm OK now, and I noticed that better late than never.