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.