It has to be something of a miracle that my Feng Shui books, translated into Russian, has made me so many friends and fans in Moscow and also in other parts of the country, as well as in Estonia, Yakuzia in Siberia and Kazakhstan. Some had come to study feng shui with me in Malaysia some years ago and they have become big names in the feng shui world in Russia. They are also successful business and professional women and happily, they have also become close friends of mine, amongst whom are Snezhana, Tatjana and Oxana, who together invited me and my family and hosted our stay in the two great cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow in the most regal and luxurious fashion. Truly they spoilt us all, me, my family and my WOFS staff. Definitely showing us what good feng shui can bring indeed!
Wow, they showed us round their fabulous cities, put us up in the best hotels and then they wined and dined us in such grand manner we never wanted to leave. Every meal was a gourmet feast of different Russian cuisines and each such a fabulous experience! For our last night in Moscow, Tatjana and Oxana took us to the famed CAFÉ PUSHKIN and then to NOBU because Jack wanted to try Russia’s Japanese cuisine! And in between, we even got to taste authentic Georgian cuisine. It was all too much and I want to share some of our time in Russia with my readers.
In Moscow, our hosts organized a two day seminar on the THREE DIMENSIONS OF FENG SHUI to a group of over 200 students who came from all parts of the country. I was very moved by the incredible warmth of the participants and many said they had waited too long for me to make it here! Such words of welcome can melt any heart, and mine did, especially when they came with tons of stunning roses and lilies. They brought so many flowers it broke my heart to leave the beautiful blooms behind.
I was blown away by their hospitality, their wide smiles and big hugs. Russians are very demonstrative, and in this they are like me, so we hugged and embraced… it was incredible. I want to say my family and I including our WOFS officers who came have now fully embraced the energy of this great country!
For more on the seminar, turn to elsewhere in this website for a detailed write up.
Russia is grand and imperial, and also hospitable and incredibly friendly. It would be easy to be intimidated by the sheer splendour of its public buildings, but the people are so warm one feels at home in no time at all. And all the hotels are stunningly beautiful and clean and not as expensive as we had first been led to believe, at least not any more costly than in other major city of Europe or the USA. Those of you reading this must visit and you will view this amazing country then with new eyes and a new attitude.
It is very safe and very clean and very beautiful in spite of massive construction works going on in the city to get ready for the FIFA WORLD CUP, which Russia is hosting in 2018. Altogether, we are told 100 streets are being upgraded in Moscow, hence there were long traffic jams around the city center, but we did not see soldiers or machine guns!
Moscow is a safe and secure city and there are tons of tourists who come from all over Europe, but mainly from China. We also met holiday makers from Iran, Dubai and Kuwait. This is a city filled with panoramic views, enormous buildings and big public squares and gardens. Its history is sad and passionate, but all over, we see enormous buildings from another era and all are well-maintained. This is a country worth getting to know!
Moscow city’s imperial architecture blends well with the modern skyscrapers that are fast encroaching on the city skyline, unlike in St. Petersburg, which is definitely a majestic city of even greater regal splendour.
Moscow city’s imperial architecture blends well with the modern skyscrapers that are fast encroaching on the city skyline, unlike in St. Petersburg, which is definitely a majestic city of even greater regal splendour. Everywhere there we see the influence of Peter the Great and the empresses Catherine and Elizabeth. St. Petersburg is a city of palaces, all of which are such popular tourist destinations that are so well-marketed, getting into them and viewing them is a highly regimented affair – and also very tiring! One has little choice – the lines queuing to get into the Hermitage Museum and the Peterhof Gardens of the Summer Palaces are very long indeed, and also very challenging for a softie oldie like me.
In the end, I felt it so much more restful to see this incredibly well-maintained city by river cruise, which takes us all over this “Venice of Russia”. When we go touring St. Petersburg in the comfort of an open boat river cruiser, we are more relaxed and that is when we get blown away by the sheer wealth of the inhabitants.
Everywhere along the expensive boulevards lining the river banks and canals, there are enormous mansions, more like “palaces”, each of which must have over a hundred rooms, and each one painted in a beautiful pastel shade so that the city overall looks colourful but sweet. It costs more (in taxes) if you want to paint your home a modern grey colour, so not many such gloomy colours prevail. The colours are meant to overshadow the weather conditions, which is usually dull and gloomy. But in the three days we were there, the sun came out, the skies were a beautiful blue and the temperature was a mild 21 degrees or so. Whatever the weather conditions, I so strongly urge everyone to visit because this city should be on everyone’s bucket list.
I brought my family to Russia for them to soak in the ambience of this great nation. My first visit was in the early Nineties over twenty years ago, and with my grandsons growing up in a world where the influence of Russia is escalating, I wanted them to see this country and all that it has to offer.
For Jack especially, who loves music so much, we were fortunate enough to arrange for him to take some classes with one of the most famous Professors based here at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music. It was definitely an incredible eye-opener for my young grandson to learn firsthand what international standard piano playing is, and of course, Russia is world famous indeed for its music, its ballet, its arts and culture.
Jack soaked it up with great enthusiasm.
This trip, we also had a chance to go into one of the deepest and most beautiful of the underground Metros, in St. Petersburg. We were blown away by the public transportation facilities – so sparklingly clean, and also each one so beautifully decorated with incredible museum quality mosaic art. The station we visited went so deep and was so clean it took our breath away. Nothing like the dirty underground subways of London or New York! Says a lot for the citizens of this city!
We also got to fly by private plane from St. Petersburg to Moscow courtesy of my hosts, so kind of them. I know we can get used to this level of luxury very easily indeed, and I also have to say we got served some of the best cuisine ever on that short one-hour plane ride. My grandkids enjoyed the experience and were quite enchanted with the idea of having a flat bed all through the flight. On the ground, everyone enjoyed the river cruises of both St. Petersburg and Moscow. Few things can match touring the Russian cities by cruise boat as we discovered, especially when there is music and great food to go with the sight-seeing!
