Sharing Sharyn
Posted by Alex on Apr 29, 2012 Here in Australia we see a lot of Sharyn Cairns’ photography work. She’s a regular contributor to travel, food and interior design magazines. Here’s a few samples to inspire your travels.read more
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Accelerate Hong Kong
Posted by Alex on Apr 19, 2012 I could watch this time-lapse video of Hong Kong all day. What a great city. Hong Kong Accelerate from Spot On Idea on Vimeo.read more
Mt Buffalo poster
Posted by Alex on Feb 5, 2012 This weekend we are heading to the hills: Bright in Victoria to be precise. There’s something very calming about being in the mountains for me. However this won’t be the case for Peter, who will be riding his bicycle up some of those same hills in the 2012 Alpine Classic. Mt Buffalo is one of my favourite alpine areas in Australia. It has lovely big chunky boulders – as you can see...read more
Christmas wrapping
Posted by Alex on Jan 3, 2012 We hope you had a magic Christmas? We certainly did. There was lots of fun, food and laughter with our favourite people. One gift I received was Luke Nguyen’s latest cookbook Indochine – Baguettes and banh mi: finding France in Vietnam. It’s full of Alan Benson’s wonderful photography and has given me a terrible dose of the travel bug. After exchanging and unwrapping gifts, we...read more
Riad recollections
Posted by Alex on Nov 28, 2011 I am forever in search of the perfect place to sit and sip tea. Here’s a beautiful riad in Morocco. I travelled there in 1994 and some of my fondest memories are of these tranquil, internal courtyards of the grand houses of Fez and Marrakech. Common to many of them were their tiled floors, lush plants, trickling fountains and the smell of sweet mint tea.read more
Bunker Bay, Margaret River
Posted by Alex on Oct 18, 2011 Shot for use as local colour in Margaret River winery brochures. Contrary to media reports, the ‘Bunker Bay shark attack’ actually happened on the other side of the peninsula on the open ocean beach – not the secluded Bunker Bay beach shown...read more
Advert your eyes
Posted by Alex on Oct 3, 2011 Here’s some funny street advertising billboards in Hyderabad, India. I’m not sure where to look.read more
Get me some cable ties
Posted by Alex on Sep 21, 2011 Here’s a telephone pole in Hanoi. By some miracle this telecommunications nightmare just works. Some of us get stuck with tangles and knots, while others just love to tease them apart and tidy everything up. Lots of designers are hard-wired to create and see beauty in order. The challenge is to make the intellectual jump from cable ties, to wireless...read more
Not quite real
Posted by Alex on Sep 15, 2011 I recently came across the beautiful work of Belgian photographer Filip Dujardin. In this series of images he has used Photoshop to create these buildings. They look so real and quite beautiful. I sat for ages thinking: why have I not seen these amazing buildings before? What incredible Belgian architects are doing this? So, the moral of the story: Photoshop can mess with reality – but it...read more
Travel to do list
Posted by Alex on Sep 1, 2011 Do you have a travel to do list? My list is long. Very long and changeable. Near the top of it is a trip to the little Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Make your travel to do list today and start planning. Photos: National Geographic and Douglas J....read more
Vineyard sign
Posted by Alex on Aug 31, 2011 Here’s a nice sign from a vineyard in Riversdale, Western Australia. Photo: Fusebox...read more
Sparkling Singapore
Posted by Alex on Aug 18, 2011 My cousin and her family are moving to Singapore. Here’s a beautiful time lapse video of the city. It sparkles. We live in a space-age more amazing than our great-grandparents’ dreams.read more
Perfect details
Posted by Alex on Aug 16, 2011 A pebble path with flowers underfoot. A tiny vase of golden marigolds on the table at a cafe. These are some small, sweet details that have recently caught my eye and made me smile. The world is full of beautiful details. If you are calm, quiet and keep your eyes open today, you might see one too. Photos: Fusebox...read more
The end of an era
Posted by Alex on Jul 21, 2011 I will miss the space shuttle. The stars now feel much further away. Photo:...read more
Green with envy
Posted by Alex on Jul 4, 2011 Vietnam is a green country. But it’s never as green as when the rice crops are ready to harvest. The colour is so vibrant you inhale it. In the Mekong River Delta farmers can produce three crops a year. The soil is so rich and conditions so perfect that you can practically sit and watch the rice plants grow. Photo: Simon Kutcher | Hanoi...read more
Stroll back in time
Posted by Alex on Jul 4, 2011 Take a stroll down this street in Hong Kong in 1946. Photo: Hedda Morrison,...read more
Saffron: better than sunshine
Posted by Alex on May 16, 2011 When you get to wear saffron-coloured robes and a cheeky smile everyday what else do you need? © Helen...read more
Tinkle toes
Posted by Alex on May 4, 2011 Khmer dancing girls knew a thing or two about bling. These lovelies are from Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I love (and can imagine the sound of) their little ankle bracelets. If you’d told me you could carve a diaphanous fabric skirt from stone, I would have said you were dreaming....read more
A walk in the bamboo forest
Posted by Alex on May 3, 2011 Who would like to join me for a walk through this beautiful bamboo forest in...read more
The Silk Road
Posted by Alex on Apr 6, 2011 I’m currently reading Colin Thubron’s Shadow of the Silk Road. What a great adventure through history and cultures it is. Was there ever a more exotic word than Samakand? You can hear the rustle of silk and smell the pilaf right there. Tiles at the Shar-i-Zindah Tombs by Graham...read more
Cycling in the Netherlands in the 1950s
Posted by Alex on Feb 21, 2011 Come on… who doesn’t want to pull on their clogs and jump on a bike?read more
Tulips
Posted by Alex on Aug 19, 2010 Some aerial images of the tulip fields in Holland. Beautiful.I was in Dubai a few years ago and was amazed to visit a florist which had beautiful blooms (including tulips from Holland) shipped in daily from all over the world. In the desert sands those tulips seemed a long way from...read more
Our favourite place to stay on the NSW south coast.
Rembrandt's etchings.