Back from the USSR (or whats left of it)
 

Guys - I am back.
Seattle - Moscow - SPB-Moscow - Kyrgyzstan - NY
Was an interesting trip. Met some real tea (Taiwan oolong) gurus in Moscow.
Tea is an "in" thing there. Expect to spend $100- 200 per person per evening
at, say, Club East in Moscow. Less in not-so-fancy places. Tea is good, but
too much of a tea theater for my taste. But understandable - one pays more
in a church than in a simple tearoom.
When I asked for a traditional Kyrgyz tea in Bishkek (the one with milk,
salt and pepper, I was offered "Earl Grey" in a teabag. Oh, well - I guess
that is the price we pay for tailoring the whole world after ourselves.
Hyatt in Bishkek billed me $.40/min for internet access and $10/min for
calls to the US. They also illegally filter out any calls that go to the IP
telephony, which I am going to make a big stink about with their American
owners.

On my way back met with Michael Plant and DogMa in NY - thanks guys, that
was fun.

Sasha.

Hi Sasha, welcome back. Yes Russian people drinks a lot of tea. Please
tell us more about Russian tea culture. I am planning to meet some
Russian tea people here in Mozambique. They are construction engineers.
I am not surprised to know that you paid $.40/min for internet and
$10/min for calls, in many countries this two services are expensive.

BTW, when you talk about Michael Plant or DogMa, you better say- you
met with NY tea Guru Michael Plant and DogMa-:) They are wonderful
guys, I miss them a lot.

Ripon
Maputo, Mozambique

Good to see you again. Thanks for the report.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Alex Chaihorsky" > wrote in message
m...
> Guys - I am back.
> Seattle - Moscow - SPB-Moscow - Kyrgyzstan - NY
> Was an interesting trip. Met some real tea (Taiwan oolong) gurus in
Moscow.
> Tea is an "in" thing there. Expect to spend $100- 200 per person per
evening
> at, say, Club East in Moscow. Less in not-so-fancy places. Tea is good,
but
> too much of a tea theater for my taste. But understandable - one pays more
> in a church than in a simple tearoom.
> When I asked for a traditional Kyrgyz tea in Bishkek (the one with milk,
> salt and pepper, I was offered "Earl Grey" in a teabag. Oh, well - I guess
> that is the price we pay for tailoring the whole world after ourselves.
> Hyatt in Bishkek billed me $.40/min for internet access and $10/min for
> calls to the US. They also illegally filter out any calls that go to the
IP
> telephony, which I am going to make a big stink about with their American
> owners.
>
> On my way back met with Michael Plant and DogMa in NY - thanks guys, that
> was fun.
>
> Sasha.
>
>
>
>

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 04:19:07 GMT, Alex Chaihorsky wrote:

> Guys - I am back.

Molodets! Glad you made it back safely.

--
Derek

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everybody else.

This has nothing to do with the "countries". You can call for pennies using
the IP card from any number, but American hotels block local numbers that
provide such service. I think it is outrageous, since as a hotel customer I
already pay for the access to local phones.
As I was told nobody does it but the US-owned hotels. Flagships of freedom
and the free exchange of information, so to speak.

Sasha.


"Ripon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi Sasha, welcome back. Yes Russian people drinks a lot of tea. Please
> tell us more about Russian tea culture. I am planning to meet some
> Russian tea people here in Mozambique. They are construction engineers.
> I am not surprised to know that you paid $.40/min for internet and
> $10/min for calls, in many countries this two services are expensive.
>
> BTW, when you talk about Michael Plant or DogMa, you better say- you
> met with NY tea Guru Michael Plant and DogMa-:) They are wonderful
> guys, I miss them a lot.
>
> Ripon
> Maputo, Mozambique
>

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 15:57:02 GMT, Alex Chaihorsky wrote:

> This has nothing to do with the "countries". You can call for pennies using
> the IP card from any number, but American hotels block local numbers that
> provide such service. I think it is outrageous, since as a hotel customer I
> already pay for the access to local phones.
> As I was told nobody does it but the US-owned hotels. Flagships of freedom
> and the free exchange of information, so to speak.

Who says you pay for access as a hotel customer? The last time I made
local calls from a hotel in the U.S., I was charged PER CALL for local
numbers.

Needless to say, the fact that they did this was clearly indicated...
on a slip of paper, in the back of the "hotel manual" that nobody
actually reads.

But just because you're staying there doesn't mean you've paid to use
the phone.

--
Derek

Some people dream of success, while other people live to crush those
dreams.

I do not object to pay per call for local numbers. I object when certain
local numbers are blocked because the hotel does not want me to use their
services.

Sasha.

"Derek" > wrote in message ...
> On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 15:57:02 GMT, Alex Chaihorsky wrote:
>
>> This has nothing to do with the "countries". You can call for pennies
>> using
>> the IP card from any number, but American hotels block local numbers that
>> provide such service. I think it is outrageous, since as a hotel customer
>> I
>> already pay for the access to local phones.
>> As I was told nobody does it but the US-owned hotels. Flagships of
>> freedom
>> and the free exchange of information, so to speak.
>
> Who says you pay for access as a hotel customer? The last time I made
> local calls from a hotel in the U.S., I was charged PER CALL for local
> numbers.
>
> Needless to say, the fact that they did this was clearly indicated...
> on a slip of paper, in the back of the "hotel manual" that nobody
> actually reads.
>
> But just because you're staying there doesn't mean you've paid to use
> the phone.
>
> --
> Derek
>
> Some people dream of success, while other people live to crush those
> dreams.

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 23:29:57 GMT, Alex Chaihorsky wrote:

> I do not object to pay per call for local numbers. I object when certain
> local numbers are blocked because the hotel does not want me to use their
> services.

Understood.

However, I think your characterization of hotels as "flagships of
freedom and the free exchange of information" is a bit off.

They are flagships of capitalism, not freedom. They're in the business
to make money not to facilitate the exchange of ideas.

Perhaps the objection is valid. I'm just not all that surprised by
their blocking IP telephony. It cuts into their business.

--
Derek

"The secret of being a bore is to tell everything." -- Voltaire,
Discours en vers sur l'homme, 1737

That's the reason they call it an expense report. Oh the good ole days
when the corporation paid for everything.

Jim

Alex Chaihorsky wrote:
> Hyatt in Bishkek billed me $.40/min for internet access and $10/min
for
> calls to the US. They also illegally filter out any calls that go to
the IP
> telephony, which I am going to make a big stink about with their
American
> owners.