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The Most Incredible Natural Wonders of Russia

07-22-11

Russia is a wonderful tourist destination. Cultural hotspots, UNESCO world heritage sites, world famous theaters and museums, and manmade attractions are all available aplenty in this great country. Most people make their way to the better known tourist destinations of Russia - Saint Petersburg and Moscow – the former and the current capital of the country.

However, if you are in the mood to explore something out of the ordinary, here are some of the less visited, but equally stunning natural wonders of this beautiful country. Be sure to make space for them in your itinerary, if planning a trip to Russia. You’ll have a story worth telling ten times over when you get back home.

Lake Baikal

Although Lake Baikal is the second most voluminous lake in the world with Caspian Sea leading the ranks, it holds the esteemed first position for being the most voluminousfreshwater lake in the world. Its average depth is 744.4 m, or 2,442 ft, and it holds around 20% of the entire world’s freshwater supply. Further adding to its laurels, Baikal Lake also happens to be the oldest lake in the world, its age being estimated at more than 25 million years. Located south of Siberia, Baikal Lake is also referred to as the “Pearl of Siberia”. A veritable paradise for nature lovers Baikal is the natural habitat for more than 1,700 species of animals and plants, about 60% of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Lena’s Stone Forest

Lena’s Stone Forests, also known as Lena’s Stone Pillars, is a stunning and awe-inspiring natural formation that is rather inaccessible to the average tourists. This incredible attraction that can leave you gaping in wonder also holds essential information related to the formation of the world. Fossil remains dating back to the Cambrian era have been found in this region, which have helped scientists unlock various secrets related to the evolution of life on this planet.

Reaching Lena’s Stone Forest is no mean feat. It’s a pretty hectic journey that takes approximately four days. In addition to a long flight from Moscow, you have to endure a 3-day long boat ride into the heart of Siberia accompanied by a local guide who knows the ins and outs of the terrain. Is it arduous? Yes. Is it worth it? Totally!

The Valley Of Geysers

The Valley of Geysers is considered the second largest concentration of geysers in the world and is only geyser field of its kind in Eurasia. Barely 6 km long, this basin has as many as ninety hot springs and geysers in it. It is located in Kronotsky Nature Preserve in the Kamchatka Peninsula, and it’s one of the very few places in the world that has naturally occurring geysers. Others include America’s Yellowstone National Park, Chile, New Zealand, and Iceland. Owing to its location in one of the remotest parts of Russia, the Valley of Geysers is extremely difficult to reach, and the only way in and out of the valley is by helicopters.

Columns of Erosion

Located in the Troitsko-Pecherskiy area of the Komi Republic are the Columns of Erosion, which are also known as Manpupuner. They are considered amongst the most mysterious attractions of the world. Locals refer to them as the “7 Strong Men” even as scientists try to explain these gigantic tower-like structures - with heights that reach up to 42 meters - that seem to have sprouted out of nowhere on the flat plateau. The site is hard to reach but once again, totally worth your time as well as your effort.

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New Bachelor Pad for Facebook Whiz Kid Mark Zuckerberg

06-29-11

Faina Reinhardt

There could hardly be a soul living on this planet who hasn’t heard of Facebook and I challenge you to hunt down someone in your friend circle who doesn’t have an FB profile. It will take some searching, I can tell you that, especially since we are all living in times where picking up the phone and chatting with your best buddy is so not-cool! If you have to stay in touch with someone, you ping, tweet, hoot, poke, dig, text…anything but talk.

Having made billions in this age of social networking, Mark Zuckerberg is notorious for living in rented accommodations; extremely bare and Spartan ones at that. Just when people were trying to figure out exactly how Mr. Zuckerberg spends the mountain of moolah he makes every month, he’s gone ahead and invested some of it in a nice place for himself in Palo Alto, CA.

Located in the Crescent Park neighborhood, Mark Zuckerberg’s new bachelor pad worth $7 million is just a few minutes’ drive from Facebook’s new campus in Menlo Park. At least he won’t have to worry about spending a lot of time commuting from home to work.

Spread over more than 5,000 square feet Zuckerberg’s new acquisition has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and two half bathrooms. Built in the early 20^th century, the property has been expanded and remodeled over the years. In fact the previous owners gave it a massive overhaul, adding a pretty swanky looking entertainment pavilion with built-in barbecue, outdoor fireplace, and salt water swimming pool and spa.

After a nasty incident with a stalker-cum-psychotic fan earlier this year, Zuckerberg has decided that nothing is more important than his privacy. Therefore, he’s chosen a residence that sits way back from the street, surrounded by privacy hedges and walls. A nice, wide, sunny porch leads into the hall and reception area. The formal living room has an ancient looking fireplace and also accommodates a massive dining room and a family room with luxurious wood paneling and built-in cabinetry. In order to cater to the crowd of guests that are going to gather in the huge dining room, there is an equally huge center-island kitchen.

The master bedroom has heated floors, separate shower and soaking tub, a twin Carrera marble topped vanities. Other features of this house include hardwood floors with inlaid detailing, coffered ceilings, sash windows, and many, many French doors. There’ll be no dearth of ample sunlight in this house for sure.

I believe hearty congratulations are due for the young boy genius has just bought his first real home. Awww…aint that sweet?

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Airport Lounges you Wouldn’t Mind Being Delayed In…

06-22-11

Faina Reinhardt

Don’t you absolutely hate when your flight is delayed and you are required to spend time in the airport lounge. Within a couple of hours when the hard seat starts giving you a cramp in the butt and the old lady snoring next to you incites all but murderous intentions in your mind you would willingly trade your place with a jailbird for a relatively comfortable place to curl up and sleep in.

However, when you have lounges such as the ones I am about to describe in a minute, you’ll probably be hoping for the plane to reach late. It won’t do to pass through the airport without sampling some of the luxuries these opulent first class lounges have to offer. So, go ahead, miss your flight…it’s not inconvenient anymore!

Frankfurt International Airport – Lufthansa First Class Lounge

Lufthansa has always been associated with top-of-the-line services for the patrons who fly with them. As an added impetus, the newly revamped first class lounge at the Frankfurt International airport offers a host of amenities that you might have a hard time coming across in mid-level hotels. A cigar lounge, a full kitchen, an extensive wine list, bathrooms with soaking tubs, a full spa, a well-stocked new bar, and a very professional looking business center. Whether it’s for business or pleasure, this lounge is perfect in every way.

Kennedy International Airport, New York – British Airways’ Concorde Room

Who’s worried about weather delay when you have the opportunity to treat yourself to complimentary champagne even as a retinue of wait-staff stands at your beck and call? Forget your worry and stretch your legs in the private dining room, ordering the choicest delicacies from the menu. Need more pampering? Walk into the Elemis Travel Spa and opt for one of the more indulgent treatments that will melt away the strain of travel. Did I mention that these treatments are all complimentary?

Hong Kong International Airport – Cathay Pacific’s The Pier

Walk into The Pier and the white marble, dark wood accents, and clean lines immediately induce a sense of calm and relaxation. This spacious lounge is just the place to rewind and relax between flights. And if you are worried about fortifications for your tired body, don’t be coz the lounge offers, among other things, an afternoon tea service, a noodle bar, a well-stocked bar, and freshly baked pastries and an ice cream bar for those with a sweet tooth.

Sydney International Airport – Qantas First-Class Lounge

There are several reasons to fly first class with Quantas not the least of which is their super-luxury first class lounge at Sydney International Airport. The décor is surprisingly (and refreshingly) quirky and lends the entire place a vibrant mid-century modern look. The walls of the massage room are lined with lush green plants while the restaurant menu is bound to make you go on a binge. Don’t miss out on their signature dessert – “Manna from Heaven” – that has passion fruit and raspberries.

Singapore Changi Airport – Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge

What happens when a fine dining restaurant meets a classy airport lounge? They combine to give you Singapore Airlines’ SilverKris Lounge. With separate areas for business class and first class travelers, SilverKris has all that you could demand from a luxury lounge – a full shower room, dining areas with leather accents, and plentiful supply of snacks like spring rolls, noodles, sandwiches, and homemade cookies. If you feel the need to nap, head over to the slumberettes that are comfy enough to cure a chronic insomniac. Make sure you don’t oversleep else you miss your flight. On second thoughts, what the heck, sleep on! How often are you going to come to this lounge anyway?

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Wish to reduce your Carbon Footprint? Start at Home with these 4 Easy Tips

06-19-11

Faina Reinhardt

In times when the words ‘energy crisis’ and ‘global warming’ are being talked about and debated upon freely, many a conscientious people are pondering over their role in upsetting the delicate balance of the ecosystem. While there are those that shrug their shoulders in resignation at the downhill ride humanity is taking towards destruction, others refuse to be passive spectators and are doing their bit to repair the damage.

If you are interested in lending a helping hand to reduce your carbon footprint, here are a few tips that can help you make a difference at home. You will be required to make changes – that’s for sure. But you can take comfort in the fact that most of these changes are easy and can be effortlessly incorporated in your day to day life.

1. Keep an Eye on your Power Consumption

There are several devices in the market that allow you to monitor how much energy is being guzzled down by your appliances every month. If you’ve got a gadget that drinks energy like a dehydrated wanderer in a desert, you may want to consider exchanging it for a more energy efficient appliance. Not only will it lower energy consumption, it will also help you save a great deal on utility bills.

2. Chuck out that Gigantic Old Refrigerator

Speaking of appliances, did you know that one out of four homes in the U.S. make use of two refrigerators? And more often than not, one (if not both) of them is usually a mammoth that has lasted you a decade and a half; ergo, it is highly inefficient as far as energy consumption goes. Re-evaluate your needs - if you don’t need it switch to smaller fridge that’s energy star rated. It’s a practical solution that saves energy and money.

3. Get a Roommate

Studies reveal that single person households consume more energy than households that have two or more people living in it. The difference in power consumption is more than 15% when compared to two-people household and more than 50% in the case of three-people household. So, a word of advice for all those people living alone - get a roommate and enjoy reduced carbon footprint.

4. Bring home a Vermi-compost

Did you know that food disposed in landfills produces methane, which is 21 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide? That’s right. So, the more food you dump into garbage, the more greenhouse gas it will emit. The solution? Try vermin-composting – which is a form of recycling done with worms. The end result is 100% all-natural, organic manure you can use in your home garden and of course, less greenhouse emissions.

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Unlucky Nicolas Cage sells Rhode Island Property at Heavy Loss

06-13-11

Faina Reinhardt

Academy Award winning Nicolas Cage seems to have the same kind of luck with real estate as he’s had with some of the movies that have been released lately – miserable! He’s made about just as many bad investments as it is possible for any one man to make on this planet, and then topped that off with a few more. In fact, his real estate portfolio is something of a wonder to his colleagues, with properties spread all over the world in places like U.K., Germany, Bel Air, New Orleans, Malibu, Las Vegas, and New York City. He even owns a private island on the Caribbean, that is if he hasn’t lost it by now in some poor gamble.The most recent white elephant Nicolas Cage sold off is a 1924 estate known as the Gray Craig Manor House. This colossal property located on 26.77 acres of land was brought by Nicolas Cage in 2007, for $15,700,000. Not an unreasonable price at all when you consider that it has a dozen bedrooms, almost just as many bathrooms, a library with barrel-vaulted ceiling, a huge dining room, a living room overlooking the water, a gourmet kitchen, a vintage conservatory, stone fireplaces, a fishing pond, a tennis court, a gym, and a pool. Yup, not bad at all!

Although it’s not strange for celebrities to sell off their properties to buy a new one in another city only to sell that off as well so they can traipse off to yet another corner of the world, it’s practically unheard of for any showbiz personality to take such a whammer to their pocket book as Nicolas Cage. Although this Rhode Island property was listed two years ago with an asking price of $15,900,000, the final selling price was – and brace yourself for this - $6,200,000 - a loss of $9,700,000! Ouch, That has got to hurt…a lot!

The buyers of this beautiful property built after the style of a typical British manor are Pamela and Andrew Constantine. Residents of Forestdale, MA, this couple has plans of renting out this brick and stone structure as a part time vacation home during the months when they are not using it.

Coming back to the erstwhile owner of this lovely manor, it really is an unfortunate time for Cage. On at least five other occasions, he has had to foreclose his properties or sell them at a great loss. Even as we speak, his Bel Air and Las Vegas properties are on sale for $35 million and $7.9 million respectively. However, all is not bleak for this Ghost Riding star who has more than 10 property portfolios to break the fall. That is, if they don’t meet with the same kind of fate as his other real estate investments.