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Business Traveller
CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER
Aired June 08, 2003 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Five star hotels and golden beaches. This is what you thought they meant when they said you're going abroad. And then they told you.
You're off to Kazakhstan. Hardship posts, on this month's CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER. We show you how to handle life on the not-so-gentle road.
Hello and welcome to CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER. I'm Richard Quest, this month reporting from Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Now, if you travel 500 kilometers in that direction, you'll be in China. Cross the Tienshan Mountains through Kurdistan, and you'll be in India. We are halfway between London and Tokyo, and Almaty is one of the most remote mainstream cities in the world. And that is why we are here, because this is your classic hardship post.
There's plenty of oil in this country, and therefore plenty of business, but the way of life will be very different to that which you're used to. So, on this month's program, we show you how to suffer the hard life.
We go on the road with the man who runs CARE International, one of the world's most important humanitarian organizations. Whether it's Kazakhstan or Kinshasa, you'll need a four-wheel drive to help you get around. We put the latest vehicles to the test to see if they're really worth their mettle. And the food you can't stomach but you have to eat. Hardship posts and its haute cuisine.
So what defines a hardship post? Well, obviously, questions of war and physical security. But for large corporations, much more in involved. Issues such as the provision of health services, education, language, climate, how isolated you are, even the availability of good shopping.
What may be perfectly safe and secure is still looked at in the business world as a hardship posting. Like Almaty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice-over): The beautiful Tienshen Mountains, and beneath then, Almaty.
At first glance, it may come as a surprise that this is a hardship post. After all, its often said, a hardship post is anywhere you wouldn't want to go on holiday.
One thing is clear: if you're relocating to a hardship place, your success and enjoyment while there will depend on your attitude.
The van dien Bosch family comes from the Netherlands and moved to Almaty three years ago. Right from the start, they kept their hardships in perspective and remained open-minded.
JAN WILLERN VAN DEIN BOSCH, ABN AMRO: I was working in the Caribbean in those days and to move to Kazakhstan was a big surprise, but when I came here I was immediately captured by the fascination of this open, remote place which was is so kept secret for me and for most people, in the West for so long.
QUEST: Despite being awed by the beauty, there have been difficulties. The infrastructure and of course finding a decent school for four young children.
Relocation advisors like Saran Collins say when moving aborad, particularly to a hardship post, planning the schooling is key.
SARAN COLLINS, STERLING CORPORATE RELOCATIONS: If there is an international school nearby, which offers either your local home system or offers an international baccalaureate, then than can be an option, but they're often very, very expensive and only available in certain major destinations as well.
If you're looking at putting your children into the local school system, then it's absolutely vital that you take advice.
QUEST: Valderique Fernandez Lima works for a major U.S. oil company. A year-and-a-half ago, he and his Brazilian family were relocated to Lagos.
For the Lima's the challenges are different. Security is a much bigger issue, for a start, and it has a serious impact on their independence.
VALDERIQUE FERNANDEZ LIMA, ACCOUNT MANAGER: The life itself is very good in terms of the house, as you can see, the facilities we have, the service we have. In terms of security, it's a little bit problematic, as to you need a driver, as to you need passports to go to some other place.
QUEST: The perks which come with a job abroad tend to be big and tend to outweigh the hardships; a nice house, domestic help, unique experiences and, of course, more money.
While the lifestyle may be good, it won't necessarily be a good career move.
COLLINS: Actually, being away from head office or being away from people with whom you've already built up a good reputation may not always actually further your career.
There are also issues sometimes with repatriation. You might find that your job has been given to somebody else. You might find that when you come back into the home office, you're asked to take a posting in a slightly diagonal direction, which is not what you anticipated.
QUEST: In the end, taking a hardship post is about balancing your life. For the Lima's and the van dien Bosch family, their hardship postings are proving to be a success on all fronts. The children are happy and so are the spouses.
Valderique enjoys his work more than ever, and Jan Willern has been promoted to a position in Dubai.
Then you hit the real problem. Just as you start to settle in, it's time to move on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
What becomes clear, whether it's in Africa or in Almaty, is that when it comes to handling hardship posts, it all comes down to the practicalities.
So what can you expect -- indeed, what should you demand from your company before you agree to get on the plane?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sort of numbers that we see are something in the region of, you know, kind of naught for a nice location up to about 35 percent for an extreme hardship location, and that would be very typically the sort of financial contribution. And then there may be other things like security briefings, additional things that companies will provide, like satellite TV's, security systems in the home, that kind of thing.
DAVID POWELL, LM (ph) FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE: We're particularly conscious of the need to help spouses. Usually, the diplomats will be able to speak the language, whereas spouses may not. So it can be a very isolating experience, so we do try to give a lot of support to what we call community liaison officers.
DAVID SMITH, MARKETING DIRECTOR: I received two flights home per year for my entire family, so that's for my wife and my two children as well, and that's not to be underestimated for two reasons. First, the cost of those flights. Going from Pakistan to London for four people could amount to about $2,000 in economy and probably double that in business class.
The value on top of that is not to be underestimated. Working in Pakistan is a tough assignment. You're put through a lot of difficult situations. And you need a regular break just to recharge the batteries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And coming up after the break, someone who really knows what hardship posts are all about. We go on the road with the man who runs CARE International, one of the world's most important humanitarian organizations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The cathedral (UNINTELLIGIBLE) here in the heart of Almaty, one of the few buildings to survive the earthquake in 1911.
Welcome back to BUSINESS TRAVELLER, from Kazakhstan, where we're talking about hardship posts.
Now, for most executives, the hardship post is the penance you pay as you further your career. The rough, if you like, before the smooth. But there are some people who actively seek out and relish the challenge of the hardship post.
DENIS CAILLAUX, CARE INTL. SECY.-GEN.: For the staff of CARE, working in a hardship country is absolutely nothing unusual, and in the normal development of a career with our organization, working a hardship post is almost a given.
I wanted really to come to discuss with colleagues, discuss with our partners, how can we push forward the reconstruction process in the country. We try to facilitate the resilience of people. We help them with their livelihood, the way they produce the food they eat, their health, their education.
I've been privileged myself to spend many, many years, about 20 years, serving in the field, and I think it's a precondition to be able to do the job and do it until the end.
Whatever languages you speak, you will never rarely be capable of speaking the local language, so the communication is sometimes through interpreter, and it is a skill that is required to be able to communicate in that way.
It's not that -- you have a military operation, and then the military operation stops and the reconstruction process starts immediately. You have a huge vacuum, and this vacuum has to be filled. Security has to be insured, has to be organized. Otherwise, very quickly you have forces moving into that vacuum that you don't really want to see there.
It's tremendously exciting, rewarding. It's an enormous responsibility. So, it's definitely not an easy job, but it's a fantastically challenging one and I wouldn't want any other one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: If you work somewhere where the odds are (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you're going to need a set of wheels that will help you get around, so now let's show you the four-wheel drive survival test that will help you negotiate just about any sort of road.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MAGNAY CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It could be anywhere. The Kazakhstan steppe, the African bush, try rural North Hamptonshire (ph), right in the heart of England.
This old quarry is where Land Rover tests out its four-wheel drive vehicles.
STEVEN MORRIS (?), DRIVING INSTRUCTOR: We'll engage in first gear, then we'll do our descent in first, using the engine braking to bring us down steadily.
MAGNAY: The golden rule of four-wheel drive is let the engine do the work for you.
MORRIS (?): When you're going up or down hill, you can get bounced around. If you're hovering over the break or the clutch, you will hit it and it will activate, and that might mean a skid from the brakes or a loss of power through the clutch.
MAGNAY: Bad habits you pick up on the motorways back home are dangerous on difficult ground.
MORRIS (?): Even the smallest little pothole can throw you, and it's the same with throwing your windows outside the window (UNINTELLIGIBLE). If anything is inside, and you catch a hole, it will actually break your thumbs, it can be so severe.
MAGNAY: This road might be washed away on the other side of the hill. If you don't know what lies ahead, get out of the car and check it on foot.
RAY FELLOWES, SECURITY ADVISOR: This vehicle we've got here is an armored vehicle, and it does fairly stick out and it's fairly frightening.
MAGNAY: This is a new concept in armored vehicles: detachable armor plating. Failing that, there's other kit that's easier to carry round.
FELLOWES: What we've got here is the GPS, the Global Positioning System. And basically, what this does is it uses satellites that orbit near and it gives you an exact position.
MAGNAY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) satellite phones work on the same principle. Just be away that the military may switch these satellites off if you're in a hostile region. Be aware also of the risks of carjacking.
FELLOWES: If you're approaching a red light or you're approaching a junction and you look about and there is something that seems very out of place or very suspicious, drive straight through it and go to your safe area a quickly as what you can.
MAGNAY: For most business travelers, your biggest driving hazard will be getting out of the rental car park, but if your work takes you away from the roads as you know them, drive slowly, plan your route in advance, and make sure that you have the right vehicle for the job.
For CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER, I'm Diana Magnay.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And coming up after the break, they thought they were giving you a treat. Instead, they turned your stomach. How to feast when you can't face the food.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Welcome back to Kazakhstan.
James Mitchner (ph) once wrote that if you ignore the local customs and reject the local food, then you might as well have stayed at home.
But here in Almaty, it's a great honor and delicacy to present the guest with a sheep's head. Now, I don't want to be rude and I certainly don't want to offend, but I don't think I can carry this one off. So what do I do?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CELEBRITY CHEF: I have eaten live cobra heart. I have drank bear bile. I have eaten worms, ant eggs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ant eggs, they taste like caviar, a softer flavor. It's a wonderful experience, because sometimes people they like to eat them just sauted or in a soft way, or some people like to have like a little crunchy, you know.
BOURDAIN: Do your best. Eat as much as you can. I find close proximity of rice to be very helpful in those troubling times.
LI PONG, CHINESE CHEF (through translator): Keep adding water into the boiling pan, and get rid of the bubbles. They have blood particles in them and black dots. Keep going until the particles get less and less, that way you'll get rid of the smell.
BOURDAIN: The situation will often arise where something that goes deeply, deeply against the grain of your entire cultural upbringing is offered to you.
What to do? My advice, given a choice between choking down something that deeply offends or horrifies you and offending your guests, I say hold your breath and choke it down.
JAMES MCWILLIAMS, SCOTTISH CHEF: People come in and go, "My God, what goes into haggis"?
And generally in the restaurant, we tell them. We'll tell you what's inside after you've eaten it. And then we'll tell them all the ingredients that are in haggis, and they'll so, "Oh, I thought the intestines were in. I thought this was in. I thought that was in." And, you know, all sorts of horrible things go into it.
But no, it's not. It's an awful dish, but a nice awful dish. Perfect.
BOURDAIN: You're not making any friends in much of the world if you suddenly get all squeamish.
Remember, your number one mission is to bring honor to yourself, your country, your clan and your employers without offending your hosts. Keep that in mind at all times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Handling the hard stuff.
And if you've got some hardship experiences of your own to share with us, it's the usual e-mail address, Quest@CNN.COM. And of course, you can keep bang up to date with business travel issues, CNN.COM/businesstraveller.
And after being offered this for dinner, time to get away to the mountains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEARA ERDOZAIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A hundred years ago, these mountains were unexplored. Today, bar the odd skier, they're still unexplored.
Chimbulak is a ski resort that's a million miles from Vale and (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The last weekend of the season, there's plenty of snow. And while most places would be packed, there's nobody here. Better still, it's just 15 miles from the center of Almaty.
ALEXANDER LESSEIR, LAWYER: I leave the office at around 11. My secretary tells everybody I've gone to a meeting and then to lunch. I come up here. It takes me about 40 minutes to get up here. About two hours of skiing and I'm back in the office by 3, and nobody knows I've been gone. Now, can you do that in New York? No.
PETER DUNCAN-SMITH (ph), SKIER: New snow in the morning. Nobody on it. First one down. As I said, it's like my private club. And you've just come and spoiled it.
ERDOZAIN: The officials say it's not always like this. On really busy weekends, Chimbulak hosts up to 2,000 skiers, quite a squeeze with only three chairlifts and just 25 miles of slopes. But the resort has developed a fraction of these mountains, and there's huge potential for the future.
SERGEY GLASSLOW (ph), CHIMBULAK RESORT (through translator): Over the next five years, we will improve the quality of the resort and raise it to international standards. We propose to build more facilities and plan more entertainment for executives, business people and other tourists.
ERDOZAIN: This is the biggest ski resort in Central Asia, frequented by the likes of Russia's President Vladimir Putin. But it's mainly business executives who tear down these slopes.
Skiing in the foothills of the Himalayans, far from the reach of the masses, they all say it's only a matter of time before Almaty's biggest secret is discovered.
For CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER, I'm Meara Erdozain, in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Ordinary things in some very unusual places. And perhaps that's the real beauty of a hardship post. It allows you to experience the truly unusual and different cultures, and best of all, you do the exploring yourself.
And that's this month's CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER. I'm Richard Quest, reporting from Kazakhstan. Wherever your travels may take you, I hope it's profitable. I'll see you next month.
END
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Aired June 8, 2003 - 08:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Five star hotels and golden beaches. This is what you thought they meant when they said you're going abroad. And then they told you.
You're off to Kazakhstan. Hardship posts, on this month's CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER. We show you how to handle life on the not-so-gentle road.
Hello and welcome to CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER. I'm Richard Quest, this month reporting from Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Now, if you travel 500 kilometers in that direction, you'll be in China. Cross the Tienshan Mountains through Kurdistan, and you'll be in India. We are halfway between London and Tokyo, and Almaty is one of the most remote mainstream cities in the world. And that is why we are here, because this is your classic hardship post.
There's plenty of oil in this country, and therefore plenty of business, but the way of life will be very different to that which you're used to. So, on this month's program, we show you how to suffer the hard life.
We go on the road with the man who runs CARE International, one of the world's most important humanitarian organizations. Whether it's Kazakhstan or Kinshasa, you'll need a four-wheel drive to help you get around. We put the latest vehicles to the test to see if they're really worth their mettle. And the food you can't stomach but you have to eat. Hardship posts and its haute cuisine.
So what defines a hardship post? Well, obviously, questions of war and physical security. But for large corporations, much more in involved. Issues such as the provision of health services, education, language, climate, how isolated you are, even the availability of good shopping.
What may be perfectly safe and secure is still looked at in the business world as a hardship posting. Like Almaty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice-over): The beautiful Tienshen Mountains, and beneath then, Almaty.
At first glance, it may come as a surprise that this is a hardship post. After all, its often said, a hardship post is anywhere you wouldn't want to go on holiday.
One thing is clear: if you're relocating to a hardship place, your success and enjoyment while there will depend on your attitude.
The van dien Bosch family comes from the Netherlands and moved to Almaty three years ago. Right from the start, they kept their hardships in perspective and remained open-minded.
JAN WILLERN VAN DEIN BOSCH, ABN AMRO: I was working in the Caribbean in those days and to move to Kazakhstan was a big surprise, but when I came here I was immediately captured by the fascination of this open, remote place which was is so kept secret for me and for most people, in the West for so long.
QUEST: Despite being awed by the beauty, there have been difficulties. The infrastructure and of course finding a decent school for four young children.
Relocation advisors like Saran Collins say when moving aborad, particularly to a hardship post, planning the schooling is key.
SARAN COLLINS, STERLING CORPORATE RELOCATIONS: If there is an international school nearby, which offers either your local home system or offers an international baccalaureate, then than can be an option, but they're often very, very expensive and only available in certain major destinations as well.
If you're looking at putting your children into the local school system, then it's absolutely vital that you take advice.
QUEST: Valderique Fernandez Lima works for a major U.S. oil company. A year-and-a-half ago, he and his Brazilian family were relocated to Lagos.
For the Lima's the challenges are different. Security is a much bigger issue, for a start, and it has a serious impact on their independence.
VALDERIQUE FERNANDEZ LIMA, ACCOUNT MANAGER: The life itself is very good in terms of the house, as you can see, the facilities we have, the service we have. In terms of security, it's a little bit problematic, as to you need a driver, as to you need passports to go to some other place.
QUEST: The perks which come with a job abroad tend to be big and tend to outweigh the hardships; a nice house, domestic help, unique experiences and, of course, more money.
While the lifestyle may be good, it won't necessarily be a good career move.
COLLINS: Actually, being away from head office or being away from people with whom you've already built up a good reputation may not always actually further your career.
There are also issues sometimes with repatriation. You might find that your job has been given to somebody else. You might find that when you come back into the home office, you're asked to take a posting in a slightly diagonal direction, which is not what you anticipated.
QUEST: In the end, taking a hardship post is about balancing your life. For the Lima's and the van dien Bosch family, their hardship postings are proving to be a success on all fronts. The children are happy and so are the spouses.
Valderique enjoys his work more than ever, and Jan Willern has been promoted to a position in Dubai.
Then you hit the real problem. Just as you start to settle in, it's time to move on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
What becomes clear, whether it's in Africa or in Almaty, is that when it comes to handling hardship posts, it all comes down to the practicalities.
So what can you expect -- indeed, what should you demand from your company before you agree to get on the plane?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sort of numbers that we see are something in the region of, you know, kind of naught for a nice location up to about 35 percent for an extreme hardship location, and that would be very typically the sort of financial contribution. And then there may be other things like security briefings, additional things that companies will provide, like satellite TV's, security systems in the home, that kind of thing.
DAVID POWELL, LM (ph) FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE: We're particularly conscious of the need to help spouses. Usually, the diplomats will be able to speak the language, whereas spouses may not. So it can be a very isolating experience, so we do try to give a lot of support to what we call community liaison officers.
DAVID SMITH, MARKETING DIRECTOR: I received two flights home per year for my entire family, so that's for my wife and my two children as well, and that's not to be underestimated for two reasons. First, the cost of those flights. Going from Pakistan to London for four people could amount to about $2,000 in economy and probably double that in business class.
The value on top of that is not to be underestimated. Working in Pakistan is a tough assignment. You're put through a lot of difficult situations. And you need a regular break just to recharge the batteries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And coming up after the break, someone who really knows what hardship posts are all about. We go on the road with the man who runs CARE International, one of the world's most important humanitarian organizations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The cathedral (UNINTELLIGIBLE) here in the heart of Almaty, one of the few buildings to survive the earthquake in 1911.
Welcome back to BUSINESS TRAVELLER, from Kazakhstan, where we're talking about hardship posts.
Now, for most executives, the hardship post is the penance you pay as you further your career. The rough, if you like, before the smooth. But there are some people who actively seek out and relish the challenge of the hardship post.
DENIS CAILLAUX, CARE INTL. SECY.-GEN.: For the staff of CARE, working in a hardship country is absolutely nothing unusual, and in the normal development of a career with our organization, working a hardship post is almost a given.
I wanted really to come to discuss with colleagues, discuss with our partners, how can we push forward the reconstruction process in the country. We try to facilitate the resilience of people. We help them with their livelihood, the way they produce the food they eat, their health, their education.
I've been privileged myself to spend many, many years, about 20 years, serving in the field, and I think it's a precondition to be able to do the job and do it until the end.
Whatever languages you speak, you will never rarely be capable of speaking the local language, so the communication is sometimes through interpreter, and it is a skill that is required to be able to communicate in that way.
It's not that -- you have a military operation, and then the military operation stops and the reconstruction process starts immediately. You have a huge vacuum, and this vacuum has to be filled. Security has to be insured, has to be organized. Otherwise, very quickly you have forces moving into that vacuum that you don't really want to see there.
It's tremendously exciting, rewarding. It's an enormous responsibility. So, it's definitely not an easy job, but it's a fantastically challenging one and I wouldn't want any other one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: If you work somewhere where the odds are (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you're going to need a set of wheels that will help you get around, so now let's show you the four-wheel drive survival test that will help you negotiate just about any sort of road.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MAGNAY CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It could be anywhere. The Kazakhstan steppe, the African bush, try rural North Hamptonshire (ph), right in the heart of England.
This old quarry is where Land Rover tests out its four-wheel drive vehicles.
STEVEN MORRIS (?), DRIVING INSTRUCTOR: We'll engage in first gear, then we'll do our descent in first, using the engine braking to bring us down steadily.
MAGNAY: The golden rule of four-wheel drive is let the engine do the work for you.
MORRIS (?): When you're going up or down hill, you can get bounced around. If you're hovering over the break or the clutch, you will hit it and it will activate, and that might mean a skid from the brakes or a loss of power through the clutch.
MAGNAY: Bad habits you pick up on the motorways back home are dangerous on difficult ground.
MORRIS (?): Even the smallest little pothole can throw you, and it's the same with throwing your windows outside the window (UNINTELLIGIBLE). If anything is inside, and you catch a hole, it will actually break your thumbs, it can be so severe.
MAGNAY: This road might be washed away on the other side of the hill. If you don't know what lies ahead, get out of the car and check it on foot.
RAY FELLOWES, SECURITY ADVISOR: This vehicle we've got here is an armored vehicle, and it does fairly stick out and it's fairly frightening.
MAGNAY: This is a new concept in armored vehicles: detachable armor plating. Failing that, there's other kit that's easier to carry round.
FELLOWES: What we've got here is the GPS, the Global Positioning System. And basically, what this does is it uses satellites that orbit near and it gives you an exact position.
MAGNAY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) satellite phones work on the same principle. Just be away that the military may switch these satellites off if you're in a hostile region. Be aware also of the risks of carjacking.
FELLOWES: If you're approaching a red light or you're approaching a junction and you look about and there is something that seems very out of place or very suspicious, drive straight through it and go to your safe area a quickly as what you can.
MAGNAY: For most business travelers, your biggest driving hazard will be getting out of the rental car park, but if your work takes you away from the roads as you know them, drive slowly, plan your route in advance, and make sure that you have the right vehicle for the job.
For CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER, I'm Diana Magnay.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And coming up after the break, they thought they were giving you a treat. Instead, they turned your stomach. How to feast when you can't face the food.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Welcome back to Kazakhstan.
James Mitchner (ph) once wrote that if you ignore the local customs and reject the local food, then you might as well have stayed at home.
But here in Almaty, it's a great honor and delicacy to present the guest with a sheep's head. Now, I don't want to be rude and I certainly don't want to offend, but I don't think I can carry this one off. So what do I do?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CELEBRITY CHEF: I have eaten live cobra heart. I have drank bear bile. I have eaten worms, ant eggs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ant eggs, they taste like caviar, a softer flavor. It's a wonderful experience, because sometimes people they like to eat them just sauted or in a soft way, or some people like to have like a little crunchy, you know.
BOURDAIN: Do your best. Eat as much as you can. I find close proximity of rice to be very helpful in those troubling times.
LI PONG, CHINESE CHEF (through translator): Keep adding water into the boiling pan, and get rid of the bubbles. They have blood particles in them and black dots. Keep going until the particles get less and less, that way you'll get rid of the smell.
BOURDAIN: The situation will often arise where something that goes deeply, deeply against the grain of your entire cultural upbringing is offered to you.
What to do? My advice, given a choice between choking down something that deeply offends or horrifies you and offending your guests, I say hold your breath and choke it down.
JAMES MCWILLIAMS, SCOTTISH CHEF: People come in and go, "My God, what goes into haggis"?
And generally in the restaurant, we tell them. We'll tell you what's inside after you've eaten it. And then we'll tell them all the ingredients that are in haggis, and they'll so, "Oh, I thought the intestines were in. I thought this was in. I thought that was in." And, you know, all sorts of horrible things go into it.
But no, it's not. It's an awful dish, but a nice awful dish. Perfect.
BOURDAIN: You're not making any friends in much of the world if you suddenly get all squeamish.
Remember, your number one mission is to bring honor to yourself, your country, your clan and your employers without offending your hosts. Keep that in mind at all times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Handling the hard stuff.
And if you've got some hardship experiences of your own to share with us, it's the usual e-mail address, Quest@CNN.COM. And of course, you can keep bang up to date with business travel issues, CNN.COM/businesstraveller.
And after being offered this for dinner, time to get away to the mountains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEARA ERDOZAIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A hundred years ago, these mountains were unexplored. Today, bar the odd skier, they're still unexplored.
Chimbulak is a ski resort that's a million miles from Vale and (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The last weekend of the season, there's plenty of snow. And while most places would be packed, there's nobody here. Better still, it's just 15 miles from the center of Almaty.
ALEXANDER LESSEIR, LAWYER: I leave the office at around 11. My secretary tells everybody I've gone to a meeting and then to lunch. I come up here. It takes me about 40 minutes to get up here. About two hours of skiing and I'm back in the office by 3, and nobody knows I've been gone. Now, can you do that in New York? No.
PETER DUNCAN-SMITH (ph), SKIER: New snow in the morning. Nobody on it. First one down. As I said, it's like my private club. And you've just come and spoiled it.
ERDOZAIN: The officials say it's not always like this. On really busy weekends, Chimbulak hosts up to 2,000 skiers, quite a squeeze with only three chairlifts and just 25 miles of slopes. But the resort has developed a fraction of these mountains, and there's huge potential for the future.
SERGEY GLASSLOW (ph), CHIMBULAK RESORT (through translator): Over the next five years, we will improve the quality of the resort and raise it to international standards. We propose to build more facilities and plan more entertainment for executives, business people and other tourists.
ERDOZAIN: This is the biggest ski resort in Central Asia, frequented by the likes of Russia's President Vladimir Putin. But it's mainly business executives who tear down these slopes.
Skiing in the foothills of the Himalayans, far from the reach of the masses, they all say it's only a matter of time before Almaty's biggest secret is discovered.
For CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER, I'm Meara Erdozain, in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Ordinary things in some very unusual places. And perhaps that's the real beauty of a hardship post. It allows you to experience the truly unusual and different cultures, and best of all, you do the exploring yourself.
And that's this month's CNN BUSINESS TRAVELLER. I'm Richard Quest, reporting from Kazakhstan. Wherever your travels may take you, I hope it's profitable. I'll see you next month.
END
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