HERE'S the thing about Moscow: It is a bit difficult. It is expensive, for one thing, and not particularly traveller-friendly, unless you have an expense account and/or speak Russian.

But here is the other thing: It rocks.

The capital of the Russian Federation drips with history (page-turning stuff from Ivan the Terrible to the Russian Revolution) and culture (think Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky). At the same time, it gives the impression of hurtling headfirst into its very own version of the future.

In doing so, it swings from one extreme to another, occasionally taking you with it. This is a city that adores sushi but comfort-eats borscht; and where the price of a hotel room will make your eyes water, but you can travel for next to nothing on a metro system decorated with chandeliers.

I first visited Moscow five years ago and fell in love with it for this and other reasons, despite it being one of the most challenging trips ever.

My companion and I struggled to read signs and menus despite toting phrasebooks and dictionaries, and memorising the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.We stayed at the infamous 3,000-odd room Hotel Rossiya, once the largest (and possibly the worst) hotel in the world, and were stopped on the street by uniformed men threatening to lock us up if we did not have the right paperwork (a moneyextorting ruse tourists are still warned about).

But the hassles were worth it, then as well as earlier this year, when I made a second trip there.

Some things are different. The Rossiya has been demolished and in its place is rising a swanky shopping and hotel complex designed by Norman Foster.

Service everywhere seems improved, as have the choices for eating and drinking.

Some things have not changed at all, however, and a good thing, too.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times Life!