I’ve just spent a long weekend in Hong Kong; catching the St. Petersburg Philharmonic who have had a series of three concerts here. With a fully Russian program, taking in Prokofiev’s 1st Symphony, his third piano concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony on the first night, we were treated to close up views of the pianist Denis Matsuev from the fifth row. Matsuev is one of Russia’s most prominent young pianists and has rapidly been making a name for himself in the international concert arenas. He’s actually a chunky bloke – one wouldn’t want to get in a fight with him after too many vodkas, and unusually for a pianist he has fingers like sausages. However, that really enables him to attack the Steinway – never have I heard a piano assaulted in such a fashion – one wonders at the sheer strength of the instrument as Matsuev really gets the most out of it by hammering away at the keys. He’s also amazingly fast, and brings a lot of both technique and passion out of the instrument in the way only Russian pianists can. Conducted by long standing artistic director Yuri Temirkanov,; it was possible to make comparisons with Valery Gergiev, the enfant terrible conductor of the competing Mariinsky.

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Running around Asia – with regular trips to the US – can be a tiring occupation, not least as because both China and India have massive populations and can get very crowded. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Sri Lanka many times, and now that finally the civil war with the Tamil Tigers is over, improvements to infrastructure are now being made. It’s a huge island – and markedly different wherever you go. I have friends that live upcountry in Dambulla, about two hours drive north from Kandy, where they are building an estate, and wild elephants roam. I prefer however the relative calm of watching the oceans, and I prefer the south east of the island, as the coast swings back north away from the southern tip of Fort Galle. Galle is an imposing place, built by the Portugese 400 years ago, and remains very much a walled fortress. It’s home to the Sri Lankan cricket team, who often play test matches there, and is also home to an important annual Asian literary festival as well as one of my favorite sports, elephant polo where they now have an annual competition. Consequently there is a reasonable amount of culture around Galle, and a high standard of places to stay and things to see. Sri Lanka still maintains a great deal of that old British colonialism – the style and the sense of tropical grandeur, but now without the racist overtones that marred the days of the Raj.

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A while ago I had an unusual problem that got picked up extensively by the international media, and then circulated around many of the China blogs. Having been in China for many years, and as the head of my firm, I was one of the few foreign consultants with access to Government Ministers, and I was able to arrange, on annual basis, meetings with many senior officials. In fact, the summaries of these would then be published in an edition of my China Briefing magazine . It was a useful way to gain first hand knowledge of Government thinking, and I used to ask our clients and readers beforehand if they had questions to ask. Accordingly, it was a useful service. However, amongst competitors, or those not in the loop, jealousy can be the result, and there are people out there waiting for prominent consultants such as myself to make a slip. The vindictive find ridicule is easy to disperse.  

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It’s been a seriously hot summer in Asia, and time to leave the broiling streets of Beijing behind and look for pastures new. Although I’ve traveled extensively across Asia, I’ve never visited Indochina – that quaintly named section of South-East that was colonized by the French. Heading off to Vietnam, where my firm also has two offices I would visit for the first time – was the summer holiday for me for the year.

Flying into Hanoi, I was immediately struck by how much the administrative infrastructure was very similar to China’s – of course, another Communist country, and at first glance it seemed almost to be a Chinese Province. Driving downtown, one passes Chinese temples and Chinese stylized buildings aplenty. China’s cultural influence is strong here, and especially that of the Cantonese, who have been settling into Vietnam for centuries. Yet those first impressions are misleading – the French, as always, left a strong cultural marker here, and no more so than the cuisine, architecture, language, and a certain aspect of elegance and style that the Chinese just do not possess.

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I hit my 50th birthday in New York on 8th May, where a bunch of my friends all flew in to greet me and celebrate reaching half a century. This mainly involved hanging out at the legendary Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan, and drinking a case each of 1960 Chateau Margaux and Chateau Latour at USD1,000 a bottle.  The Rossini opera Armida was taken in at the Met, with Renee Fleming in fine voice, while we also caught Valery Gergiev conducting the New York Philharmonic with Stravinsky’s masterwork "The Rite Of Spring".

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One of the great added benefits of running around Asia from literally, top to bottom is the variety of places I get to visit in between and the good friends I’ve made over the years. En route to Hong Kong from Mumbai lies Sri Lanka, a beautiful island nation I often hang out at en route – my good friend Simon Lazenbatt lives there and its always a relaxing place to visit – usually cooler than Mumbai and with the benefit of great food, fantastic beaches and that important, yet homely, faded British colonial ambience. Via reciprocal membership of the Royal Overseas League I am able to stay at the Colombo Swimming Club, built in 1938 and still a local institution.

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India has a love-spiritual relationship with snakes, somewhat different to the Chinese who just eat them. Both feared and revered, they are often to be seen at markets, touted by Charmers who will play a melody to get the snake to ‘dance’. In reality, the snake moves in relation to the swaying of the snake charmer, but that doesn’t hide the fact that the Indian Cobra used is one of the most deadly snakes on earth. It is the most dangerous of the Big Four, the four snake species responsible for most fatal snakebites in India for which a single polyvalent antivenom has been created. Like other cobras, Naja.naja is famous for its threat display involving raising the front part of its body and spreading its hood.
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It’s always good to back in Bombay, and on this occasion I thought I’d share a few of the evening sights that those familiar with the area will recognize, and those not may feel somehow exotic. The Apollo Bunder was the principal pier for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers and goods in Bombay in the late 19th century. Immense activity was to be witnessed in the Pier in the months of April and May of each year, when thousands of docras of cotton, (pressed bales were yet to come) used to be landed. Today it has been renamed, however no-one uses the Maharastran alternative. It is still “Apollo Bunder”. The basic area is the sea front that extends from the Gateway to India north for about 2km. It encompasses the Taj Hotel, which is on the waterfront, and in my photo essay I have included streets and lanes just one block behind. I took my time in taking this tour, but it would be possible to circumnavigate it in 20 minutes. But why would you want to? Here then, is the trip. All these photos were taken within 100 yards of each other. :

Apollo Bunder is home to prime residential property. A 150sqm apartment in this building is about USD5million.

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Much of this winter I’ve been in Mongolia, attending various Government related meetings and dealing with personal issues. The Mongolian Government has relaxed the regulations for investing in mining projects, and I’m also purchasing an apartment in Ulaan Baatar. My Mongolia Expat magazine will also be re-launched in Spring. But what is there to do in a country so frigid it regularly dips below minus 40 and its lakes freeze six feet solid ?

Plenty actually. I’m OK with the cold – I know when it’s minus 20 or below because my moustache freezes. Minus 40 is a bit severe however, and water based moisturizers are not a good idea. But decent thermal underwear, hat, gloves and of course natural Mongolian cashmere – the best in the world – will generally keep you as warm as toast. Plus the Gers are set up to be roasting inside. In fact mine was so hot I had to open the door to let some of the heat out! But here’s a few snaps of what a Mongolian – Siberian – winter looks like.   

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With Coco Chanel being the subject matter of a number of recent films, and Russia being very much on the up and coming cultural radar under Valery Gergiev’s guidance, it is no surprise to learn that Chanel has reintroduced a famous scent from their past – 1927’s Cuir de Russe. Legend has it that Cuir de Russie was born when a Cossack warrior rubbed birch fat into his fine leather boots on the Russian steppes. Whoever did it first, it is certain that tanneries of the area cured skins in such a way, and the scent produced inspired perfumers in France. It is a very physical fragrance, evoking warriors riding in wide open spaces.

Guerlain produced a Cuir de Russie fragrance in 1875, and Creed created one for Errol Flynn in 1938. Chanel created hers in 1924, and it is still highly regarded today. Luca Turin, the fragrance biophysicist, describes it as ‘a striking hologram of luxury bygone: its scent like running the hand over the pearl grey banquette of an Isotta Frashini while forests of birch silently pass by.’ In the early twentieth century Paris was heavily influenced by Russian culture. Many Russians emigrated to the city after the 1917 revolution and their culture became very fashionable.

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