degraves st, melbourne

one of the most famous laneways in melbourne, degraves st, it is named after two brothers who moved from tassie to melbourne in the 1800s.  nowadays, better known for coffee than for pioneering

hidden melbourne

laneways of art, culture, food, coffee and shopping - melbourne in a photo

degraves st, melbourne

fancy a seat? pull up a milk carton. i hear the dairys want them back, so eat your cheap $3+ waffle quick

life's a beach, when you're at brighton, vic

in october 2010, some lucky brighton family paid $210,000 for one of these little huts.  they measure 2.4m x 2.0m x 2.0m. hope they find $210,000 of enjoyment out of them, i enjoyed them for free one afternoon

birrarung marr

is life actually greener on the other side?

Melbourne Airport to Canberra

Qantas has been in the news a lot lately.  Yes, they have had issues with their Trent 900 engines on their A380s.  Yes they have had lots of press on failed engines on some 747s, bird strikes, faulty warning lights and so on.  The press has been pretty unfair though.  For starters, the Trent 900s are made by a UK Rolls Royce.  Airlines frequently have engine failures and bird strikes.  There are some very valid reasons to dislike Qantas.  For example, introducing a 2-3-2 seating on their new trans-continental 737s in J between Perth and the East Coast :).  Failures by others (Rolls, nature...) sensationalised by news hungry press is, however, not a reason to avoid Qantas.

teen angst in perth

i hate you, no i hate you. well, maybe..

barossa valley, sa

dusk in the barossa valley.. strangely calming, even to a lawyer.

rockford

this is probably my favourite winery in the barossa valley, south australia. their basket press is to die for, they're traditionalists and are not a large producer.  for that reason, i break my rule and upload three photos on this post.   
 

rockford wineries use basket presses (see above) to press the grapes that make their wine.  because they don't press that hard, and they handpick their grapes, the tannin flavours from unwanted skins and unwanted crushed pips (where they are unwanted) are not present in their wines, making them mighty mighty fine.  if you have any vintage of basket press and you're willing to open it, i be your best friend lah

finally, they are so old skool they are still using an old imported british bedford ute! awesome!

lindsay house, barossa valley

the view from the backyard of Lindsay House b&b

Drewery Ln, Melbourne

drewery lane is the front door for baroq house, a lounge/bar/club.  it was originally called brewery lane, but its name was changed in the late 1800s.  nowadays, thanks to banksy, grafitti is becoming more artsy and drewery lane is host to this stencil of a person on a motorbike

landmark mandarin oriental hotel

i bought a tripod whilst in hong kong and tested it out in the hotel room yesterday on some of the decorative vases

hong kong

What is Hong Kong famous for?  Cheap shopping (though its not as cheap any more)? In my mind, Hong Kong has always been famous for its red taxis.

Cheung Chau

About an hour on a slow ferry (or 35 minutes on a "fast ferry") from Hong Kong's Central Pier lies a small island called Cheung Chau.  I went there with a friend's sister and had some seafood at a small outdoor restaurant reminscent of the Malaysian hawker restaurants you see around KL.  For a grand total of A$40, we had prawns, crab with ginger and shallots and noodles, sweet & sour pork and chinese vegetables for two.  What a bargain.  Cheung Chau is a fishing island and is also popular with couples wanting to "get away" for the night... you know what that means!  Babies

union road, ascot vale

Today was the Union Road 150th Melbourne Cup Anniversary Street Parade and Festival.  Guarding us was this dirty storm trooper, part of a community group of Star Wars recreationists.

singapore at night

looking out from the infinity pool at the fullerton bay hotel towards the marina sands casino and hotel.  singapore can put on some brilliant weather and night sights

Fremantle, WA

On a cold winter's day in Fremantle, WA, a young couple share some fish n chips whilst sitting on top of a disused pier looking out to the Indian Ocean.

the heart of seoul

Seoul is a grand city.  what better way to enjoy it than with a nice Italian illy coffee?

Firefighting in Seoul

Either the firefighters are dwarves or someone clearly ignored the fact that there was a fire hydrant there.

chilli chilli everywhere

food in seoul is very spicy, relatively cheap and always around the corner.  gotta love it

singapore heritage

the old Singapore post office is an iconic building in this city state.  it's now used as one of Singapore's grandest hotels

 

light rail in melbourne

this is the light rail in middle park on the way to st kilda beach.  in the background you can see a yellow tram that our State borrowed from Denmark, the so called "bumble bee"

hong kong airport

ever wished you could just jump on a plane and run off somewhere? amsterdam seems as good a place as anywhere else

history in the 21st century - hong kong

it is amazing that art deco buildings such as these still exist in Hong Kong.  i wonder how well the Tohou Hotel is going though?

happy mother's day

creme brulee for mother's day? perfect

port melbourne

another sunny winter's day in port melbourne with friends over

happy australia day

i have issues with people calling australia day "invasion day".  yes, the european settlers did take over aboriginal land, but looking back at the past is ignoring what can happen in the future. aboriginals are also australians

food and wine - mornington peninsula, vic

food always tastes better when there is wine to go with it. is it that wine dulls the mind or tastebuds or does it really bring out the flavours? who cares, gorgeous day and great food at montalto on the mornington peninsula

who says exercise is good for you?

exercise can be a lonely lonely adventure...

port melbourne

another sunny day in port melbourne that looks like it will end with rain

summer bbqs

there's no better way of spending a summer afternoon than with a bbq, friends and some beer... life can't get any better