It's a little tricky to do Russia (the second of the BRICS) in Kuala Lumpur. There is a Russian restaurant, but it doesn't seem to be answering its phone at the moment.

So we cheated just a little, and went to Restoran Central Asia. This is actually an Uzbek restaurant, but some of the customers were speaking Russian, I was asked if I wanted "chorniy chai", and a very flavoursome borscht, borsch, or borshch -- which I regard as quintessentially Russian, but maybe I'm wrong there -- features on their menu.

And anyway, it was all Russia when my life started...

On the walls were pictures of Central Asia, and on the TV was a movie in a language I couldn't identify. Makes you long to set out along the Silk Road, to that region where Russia, Iran, China, and South Asia fuse and meld...

With our borshch we ordered obi non (a dense, traditional Uzbek bread), plov (a tasty mix of rice, chick peas, and lamb), and Uzbek tea.

All good. And not expensive. We'll go again.

The other bit of Russia in my life at the moment is my bedtime read: Der Schneeleopard, by Tschingis Aitmatow, who died a Kyrgyz, but lived most of his life as a Russian. Mine is the German translation of the original Russian. It's an evocative but slightly depressing portrayal of supersedence, alienation, and the creeping tentacles of a never quite sufficiently restrained market. Brings back memories...

South Africa, the last of the BRICS, fortuitously presented itself at tea-time. TWG, it turns out, carries a range of South African red teas. Their Red Christmas Tea is a mince pie in a cup (but minus the sweetness). It went terribly well with a neat little macaron, infused with Lemon Bush Tea (also from South Africa).