Range Rover Evoque with Victoria Beckham

I love the new Range Rover Evoque - a collaboration with quintessential British style icon Victoria Beckham.

Appearance at Shanghai Motor Show

Inspiration for a rainy day

a mix between vintage, retro, patterns, colours, modern & contemporary. Perfect balance

photos from Casa Vogue

Vancouver, Canada

I had the opportunity to visit Vancouver last week. It is one of the places where I would not purposely go for a visit but is grateful for the opportunity to have gone for business. My knowledge of Vancouver is limited to the fact that it always competes with Melbourne, Australia for the World's most liveable city title.

View from Glanville Market.

Awesome time to be in Vancouver, the city is full of cherry blossoms, which I learn were gifts from Japan in the 1930s. 

Snow capped mountains view from downtown

 

Harvey Nicols, London

The biggest attractions for me in London is not the London Eye, Buckingham Palace nor the Big Ben, it's Knightsbridge home to Harrods & Harvey Nicols. Just the shopping experience for both exclusive department stores justify the trip to London. Look at the window displays at Harvey Nicols:

Audi Q3

I am in the market for a compact SUV. My car is about 6 years old and it's boring to drive. It seems that Australia is the middle of crossover, compact SUV craze where all car manufacturers are launching this segment in bucket loads and getting really good responses. (think BMW X1, VW Tiguan, Madza CX5 and the newly launched Q3)

I thought I had my mind set on the X1 but the newly launched Q3 seemed to be a choice worth contemplating too.

The only thing I disliked was how it priced its Q3 models. It is enough to turn me off from purchasing a Q3. Entry level model retails for approximately $44k in MANUAL and if you wanted auto, add $10k (S-tronic) to it. Majority of cars sold are automatics, so this pricing sucks.

Pullman Bangkok

I was in Bangkok last week for business and stayed at the Pullman's. It was my first experience staying at the Pullman's and it was quite pleasant. The hotel was very contemporary and I really liked its landscape. The room was average and generic, so nothing too exciting there.

Pool

seating area Infinity Pool

Koi pond in the garden. I really like the Asian influence in its hotel design.

nicely landscaped garden at ground floor.

Infinity pool with Lotus.

The hotel lobby decor was very minimalistic and modern. I like how they line up the orchids on a straight line for a clean, minimalistic look.

Breakfast area

the ensuite was too generic for my liking.

same goes with the room, it looked bland and generic. Nothing too exciting there.

Bose Soundbar & Apple TV

A while ago, I blogged about my intentions wanting to purchase a Bose CineMate in the US. Well, I bought it and got it set up at my home.

I had to ask the electrician to come and hide the wires and the optical cable was a pain in the ass to insert because the wall is mounted so close to the TV.

I love it and with combination of Apple TV, it is a match made in heaven. I can watch YouTube projected HD on my LED TV and the sound quality from Bose, listen to Internet radio etc etc!

On a another note, I'm tired of Australian retailers whinging and complaining how their businesses are deteriorating. Just take a look at department stores like Myer or David Jones, their stock is pathetic with 200-300% markup margins and the stores themselves are not inviting and ugly. I rarely shop in Australia unless they are big item stuff that cannot be shipped overseas.

Who in the sound mind that is well educated would spend their hard earned money in Australian retailers when EXACT same good sold overseas are like $500 cheaper. I purchased this sound system in the US with savings of around $500! Ridiculous!