Originally Posted by Pausanias

Last year, the IC in Almaty, Kazakhstan, came as a massive relief after 10 days or so out in the Central Asian boondocks. Our room was impeccably designed, especially the bathroom and the plumbing which I put to the test a lot. Dinner at the rooftop restaurant was the first time in days that I hadn't eaten horse, and service standards were very high, given that the doormen hadn't ever been asked to fetch a taxi before. It was all too much for them.

In the good old days in the 1970s and 1980s, I used to go to places like Prague, Bucharest and Warsaw on business and the ICs in each city were oases of civilisation. So I have a soft spot for them.