Shisha, the Hubbly-Bubbly, Water-Pipe, Hookah, Bong, Chillem, Argileh…we are all familiar with such devices but how best to indulge? Probably invented and originally using a coconut shell in Persia in the 7th century, (the Persian term for the Shisha is Argileh, derived from the word Nargileh, meaning coconut) its use soon spread throughout India during the Mughal era, and west towards Egypt, Morocco and the Levant. Shisha also have that alluring romance of being used in the past for the consumption of what are now in many countries illegal substances – opium, hashish, and tobacco.

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The traditional Russian Samovars are wonderful objects, beautiful in their own right, yet with a specific purpose – brewing water for tea making. The best Samovars were made in Tula, just south of Moscow, with the very best makers displaying stamps that their samovars – all hand made – had won at various international competitions for craftsmanship. Most were made of brass, but it is possible to find samovars made from silver, gold, and even enamel. For obvious reasons, these can be highly valuable, whereas a good quality brass Samovar in working order can still be found for under USD100 on ebay. They are a worthwhile purchase, not because of the increasing scarcity of them -but because they are such fun to use. Imperial era -pre 1917 samovars are the best, and should come complete with matching tray. drip bowl, and a cap. Many also have matching brass teapots that fit neatly on the top.

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When tracing back the historical background to the production of wine, some of the earliest examples, both in terms of archaeological findings and the written word, hark back to Georgia, in the Caucasus region, and the Qvevri method. I enjoy big tannic reds, and am curious to learn how the extra tannins imparted during the Qvevri process will affect this ancient, and traditional winemaking technique.

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I am in Vienna courtesy of the Austrian Government, who have invited me to speak at a Silk Road conference, looking at investment potential for Austrian companies within China’s great One Road One Belt scheme. My new book, China’s New Economic Silk Road has been well received in Europe, and I am travelling on a mini tour between Vienna, Tblisi and Istanbul to promote it.

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I am fortunate to be able to travel often between St.Petersburg (where I have an apartment) via Moscow to Ulaan Baatar (where I have an apartment). In actual fact I have discovered that this route is also the most convenient and quickest to get from Europe to Asia. It is a five to six hour (depending on time of year and jet streams) Aeroflot jaunt from Moscow to UB, both being so far north the plane is literally flying across the top of the world. In fact by the time the flight reaches Ulaan Baatar, it is closer to the United States (Alaska) than Moscow.

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My new book about China’s Silk Road ambitions has just been published, fortunately to great reviews. It’s what I’ve been working to complete all summer, although its actually taken a full 12 months to put together. The book contains trade and demographic details of all 60 countries participating in the project, as well as details of Chinese funding for the scheme, complete overviews of the overland and maritime routes, and the potential logistical bottlenecks to developing road, rail and sea links.

For example, China’s desire to have hi-speed rail all the way from Shanghai to Singapore will never get off the ground if Thailand and Malaysia cannot agree to develop the rail routes between Bangkok and KL. That is a lucrative airline route and interested parties don’t want competition. Likewise, upgrading Vietnams rail system to hi-speed will cost 50% of the countries GDP. So much needs to be done…

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Travelling and living in places such as Ulaan Baatar is wonderful for putting one immediately into a different universe. Everything changes, the expats you meet are more quirky, interesting, the country provides more challenges, even dangers, and there are relationships not found anywhere else. One such is Mongolia’s visa-free arrangement with North Korea, while the DPRK Embassy is a couple of streets away from my apartment. Hush hush, but the Americans and North Koreans unofficially convene in Ulaan Baatar when they want to talk. Which is not very often, but it does happen.

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Autumn comes early in Mongolia, and with the many fresh water rivers and lakes the country possesses it is a heaven for river fishing. This far north is very much Eurasia, with species of fresh water fish to be found here just as they are in Northern Europe including Britain. With the advent of mass sea fishing, the more delicate – and bony – river fish have fallen way out of fashion in London, which is a great shame, because as any Russian will tell you, fish such as Bream, Perch, Pike and many others make excellent eating.
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Continued from previous post

The following morning we set off for the nearby Red, or Flaming Cliffs.

Roy Chapman Andrews had spent years here, convinced about his theory that dinosaurs laid eggs, and his first discovery of them was in this area. Today, parts of the Cliffs are still strictly off limits to travelers, with paleontologists still exploring fertile areas. The cliffs themselves are the remnants of a huge prehistoric inland sea, with the Gobi desert floor being the ocean bottom. Mongolia was warm and wet in these times, and clay sediments laid down over millenia proved a fine preservative. Even today, and in the easier to access areas of the cliffs, one can still come across dinosaur bones emerging from the red sandstone; wind constantly erodes the cliffs and the bones of long extinct animals protrude from the cliffs, some of them hundreds of feet up.

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Roy Chapman Andrews is a legendary figure in exploration and scientific research, and especially so in paleontology. The character Indiana Jones was apparently based on him, and during the 1920’s, based on research he had conducted at the University of American Museum of Natural History, had a hunch that many species of Dinosaur had evolved in the now barren region of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert. Setting out on numerous expeditions, he was eventually proven right, with the discovery of the first dinosaur eggs (this proving their evolutionary link to modern birds) in addition to discovering many new species. He wrote about these in several successful books, where the battered fedora hat, rifle, and belts of bullets whilst seated on a Mongolian horse would be duplicated by Harrison Ford decades later. Andrews though was the original.

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