10 June 2018

Puzzle: Learning about new countries

When I visited Mongolia this time, Roger introduced me to a book “Tuva or Bust”. If you have not read that book, chances are you would not know that there used to be a country called Tannu Tuva (kind of northwest of Mongolia). Or that the Noble prize winning physicist Richard Feynman never fulfilled his wish to visit that country in spite of years and years of efforts.

That got me thinking about how little I knew about countries. Actually, my knowledge of countries is pretty much stuck with what I had learnt (and how the world looked) during my school days – so let’s say mid 80s. Even then, I was terrible with countries from Africa.

After coming back from Mongolia though, I did make some effort to learn about the new countries that have formed in the last two decades or so. Previously, I could not even place them in the world map. Now I can. I am still struggling with the names of their capitals though.

I cannot give you this puzzle without ruling Sharmistha Kolay out of this game. She is a whiz kid when comes to geography. Not only can she name each and every country by continent and place them in a world map, she can name their capitals and …. get this… tell you what their flag looks like. I have never met anybody like her.

So here is the puzzle… I will name some newly formed countries… and you will have to name their capital. Try it by yourself. And then Google them up. How many did you get?

A. Countries that formed when USSR broke up:

-> “The Stans” in Asia
1. Tajikistan
2. Turkmenistan
3. Kyrgyzstan
4. Uzbekistan
5. Kazakhstan

-> Between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea
6. Azerbaijan
7. Armenia
8. Georgia

-> In Europe
9. Ukraine
10. Moldova
11. Belarus
12. Latvia
13. Lithuania
14. Estonia

B. Countries that formed when Yugoslavia broke up:

15. Serbia
16. Bosnia Hercegovina
17. Montenegro
18. Macedonia
19. Kosovo
20. Slovenia
21. Croatia

C. Other new countries

-> Africa
22. South Sudan
23. Eritrea
24. Namibia

-> Asia
25. East Timor (Timor-Leste)
26. Palau

-> Europe
27. Slovakia
28. Czech Republic

BTW, I could not even reach the one-third mark!!! How many did you get?

Finally for the bonus question… and maybe we will open this up to Sharmistha even… Have you heard of a country called the Republic of Artsakh? Look it up!!

Category: Puzzles | 1 Comment on Puzzle: Learning about new countries
4 June 2018

There was one last box left to be checked in Mongolia…

We had all the normal goals that you would set for yourself if you were to go to Mongolia – you know the gers, the nomads, the camels, the sand dunes and all that. We did all that and more.

We had another goal for ourselves. Not something you would normally think of. But then again, we are talking about Roger and myself. If it is not quirky, it is not us.

We had a goal of buying a fountain pen from Mongolia!! Both Roger and I write with fountain pens and share a common love for collecting fountain pens.

Calligraphy was originally invented in China and the Mongols had their own variation in their scripts (I am talking about 2000 years back). In fact, we got all our family members’ names written in the old Mongol style in wall hangings that we are bringing back home.

While in USA, after a lot of research, we had found out one shop that claimed to carry fountain pens in Ulanbaatar. You can guess the rest…

We are proud owners of two identical fountain pens from Mongolia!!

Disclaimer: While the pens were bought from Mongolia to add to our libraries, they are not actually made in Mongolia. Nobody makes fountain pens in Mongolia. These are of Turkish origin. So, our bragging rights is “we got them from Mongolia” 🙂

Category: Fountain Pens, Vacations | LEAVE A COMMENT
31 May 2018

Desert Run!!

Run in 21st country!!
6K run in the vast nothingness. Winds were howling but the sun was pleasant. Running into the wind was exhausting. Had to come back to the ger camp once to refill water.

You might notice me running with my head down. First off, every time I lifted my head, the scenery was not changing much. But more to the point… there was horse poop, camel poop, cow poop, sheep poop, the-guy-who-never-quite-made-it-to-the-outside-toilets poop all over….

Category: Running, Vacations | LEAVE A COMMENT
23 May 2018

From the bartender’s corner – Gin #38: Bombay Dry

In most bars in US, you are guaranteed to get the iconic blue colored bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin. The one that might be less seen is the gin that predated the Sapphire – called the Bombay Dry gin. The bottles look very similar except that Bombay Dry Gin is a clear bottle (not blue).

The original batch of Bombay Dry was made around 1960 and the recipe calls for an original one from nearly 100 years before that. The botanicals are Juniper Berries, Coriander Seeds, Liquorice Root, Almonds, Lemon Peel, Cassia Bark, Orris Root and Angelica Root. The base is neutral grain spirit.

What is slightly unique about this gin is the distillation process. Around the 1960s, the more common process was to throw in the botanicals into the base alcohol and boil it and distill it altogether. This distillery uses the vapor infusion. Basically the vapors of the boiling base alcohol is made to go thru a few copper baskets that are heavily perforated and hold the botanicals. Experts claim that this gives it a more full flavor since the oils do not get destroyed.

Coming to the gin itself – it is all juniper and citrus. Specifically juniper and lemon. The nose is clearly lemony. The palate starts with the juniper but slowly cedes ground to the lemon if you hold it in your mouth for some time. The length is reasonably long.

Good gin to have neat, with tonic water or just about any cocktail that I can think of!

Category: Cocktails | 1 Comment on From the bartender’s corner – Gin #38: Bombay Dry