I can hardly believe that I am back already from this amazing adventure through Russia, my family's homeland. To say that it was incredible would be an understatement, which is not a typical Russian trait!

I'm sitting in a cabin on the Trans Siberian Railway with a Russian army officer's huge fingers clasped around my throat. He bellows into my face from about six inches away.

A much heralded meeting between Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and newly reinstalled Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took place a few days ago.