Top Things To Do in Beijing China

I’ve lived in New Jersey most of my live and always within 45 minutes of New York City. My last residence in NJ was Hoboken, located just across the Hudson River. My morning runs always included the best views of “The City”, which is how we refer to it in those parts. Even after working in lower Manhattan for 3 years, this city still impresses me. It’s so incredibly big. Every time I visit a new city, I compare it to New York; and every time the cluster of skyscrapers on Manhattan Island tower over any other skyline that I’ve ever seen.
That was until I stared out the window of our plane as we descended on the landing strip of Beijing Capital International Airport.
Beijing has approximately 22 million inhabitants, compared to the 8 million of New York City.
“Beijing makes New York look miniature, I whispered.”
By Jason Castellani
(to be continued)

Trans-Siberian 12 Trans-Siberian 12 Vladivostok

Vladivostok is the final destination of the 9,288 kilometers Trans-Siberian Railway route. The port city will welcome you with its renowned and impressive white-washed central rail station. Vladivostok is a military port, home to the Russian Pacific Fleet, located on the western shores of the Japanese Sea. Vladivostok is captivating, with its genuine mix of different cultures: the Russian language, Japanese cars, and Asian cuisine. Start your discovery of Vladivostok by overlooking this charming port city from its waterfront promenade: huge ships, containers with foreign goods, and the sea air create a romantic mood. To cover the whole city at a glance, ride on the funicular railway, and definitely go beyond the city to the untouched and remote parts of the Primorye region, including Khasan, Olginsky and Khanka districts, which offer an endless sea, fresh and unpolluted air and elegant nature.
By Valeria Nikonova

Trans-Siberian 11 Beijing

Reached if travelling via the secondary route on Trans-Manchurian Railway, Beijing is the modern capital of China, as well as an ancient city with a completely unique culture, language, food and pace of life. Before entering Beijing, the train passes a dozen almost identical steppes and a few picturesque and industrially important Chinese cities, including Harbin, Changchun and Shanhaiguan, where you will be able to see the UNESCO World Heritage sight, the Great Wall of China, as well as take some stunning photos from the window of your train compartment.

Valeria Nikonova

(to be continued)

Trans-Siberian 10 Ulaanbaatar

Mongolia can be visited via the third primary route called the Trans-Mongolian Railway. Visiting Mongolia is very popular among travellers who decide to embark on the Trans-Siberian Railway voyage because of its untouched nature, vast steppes, stunning deserts, livestock freely walking around, nomadic culture and hospitable people. A few must-visit spots in Mongolia include: the empty steppe of the Gobi Desert, the Gandan Monastery, Mongolia’s most important Buddhist monastery, the monument to Genghis Khan at the Sukhbaatar Square, and the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. Gorkhi-Terelj National Park offers you the beautiful scenery of wild and unspoiled Mongolia, and is where you can go inside the traditional Ger and meet a nomadic family, or even try to ride a horse, which is a routine part of Mongolian life.

Valeria Nikonova

(to be continued)

Trans-Siberian 9 Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is the biggest, deepest and most diverse lake on Earth. The region offers a similarly diverse range of opportunities for holiday makers, including living in small wooden houses with little convenience and amenities, sitting on the shore of the Lake Baikal in a deck chair and fishing, sampling delicious Baikal omul fish and posy, going dog sledding and visiting thermal saunas in winter, and watching nerpas swimming in their natural habitat. Few natural sights can surpass the beauty and grandeur of Lake Baikal, and the pure clear water of the lake call people to plunge into its waters.The area surrounding the lake is unique, and many of its plants and animals exist only here.
Valeria Nikonova
(to be continued) 

Trans-Siberian 8 Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk is located on the banks of the Yenisei River and is surrounded by picturesque mountains to both the south and north of the city. Although, Krasnoyarsk may not have sights that would be historically and culturally important for the whole of Russia, the city provides a mild climate and is constantly welcoming to new guests. To the south of Krasnoyarsk is Mount Karaulnaya, which offers an incredible view over the flat lands and the city itself. An unmissable highlight of stopping in the area will be a visit to the unique national park with a number of volcanic pillars named Zapovednik, or the ‘Stolby’ Nature Reserve, a popular destination for rock climbing enthusiasts. Day or night hiking trips alongside the signed and well-maintained trails will reward you with some spectacular views awaiting you on top of the pillars.

Valeria Nikonova

(to be continued)

Trans-Siberian 7 Yekaterinburg, Ural

Yekaterinburg and the Ural Mountains 

Founded by Peter the Great, Yekaterinburg is known as the Great Divide of the Urals. 

The Ural Mountains form a natural border between Europe and Asia, so the cultural and architectural influences of European and Asian civilizations have merged together in this fascinating and cosmopolitan landscape. Until the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Yekaterinburg was a secret and closed city to foreigners, due to the presence of the USSR’s defense industry. 

Now Yekaterinburg is totally different in its vibe, bustle and residents from cosmopolitan giants like Moscow and St Petersburg, and here you will be able to experience a more genuine Russia, with the city’s many pre-Soviet buildings being of great interest.

Valeria Nikonova

(to be continued)

Trans-Siberian 6 Yaroslavl and Volga River

The construction of the city, which reached its peak during the 17th and 18th centuries, is an outstanding example of the mixture of cultural and architectural influences of Western Europe on Russia. Yaroslavl is the city that will captivate your eyesight, even with its minor details, such as an inconspicuous tile or a painted house board, hidden behind the luxurious façades. 

Religious establishments encompass the main points of interest in Yaroslavl, including the old Transfiguration Cathedral of the Savior Monastery, built between 1506-1516; the Church of Elijah the Prophet, with extraordinarily beautiful forms of this simple but solemn temple with two white domes; the massive Church of St. John the Baptist, the masterpiece of the Yaroslavl architecture of the 17th century, with fantastic silhouettes of its 15 chapters and a rich interior with an abundance of tiles, brick patterns and murals.

Valeria Nikonova 

(to be continued)

Trans-Siberian Railway 5 Yaroslavl

To travel the Trans-Siberian Railway is a dream, lurking in the back of the minds of many of us. It is the longest railway line in the world, consisting of 9,288 kilometers, spanning 7 time zones and taking up a week to reach your final destination. This guide suggests the best stops to visit and the most beautiful things to see during your journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is your choice either to see the picturesque mountains from the train compartment, or go out into wild Siberia and explore its unique and hospitable cities and towns.

Yaroslavl and Volga River

Yaroslavl is the oldest city on the Volga, and was founded in 1010. The historic city center, has been named one of 24 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Russia. 

Valeria Nikonova

(to be continued)

Trans-Siberian Railway 4 Irkutsk. Ulan-Ude

8. Irkutsk
Main gateway to Lake Baikal – ultimate destination on every Trans-Siberian journey.
The de facto capital of Eastern Siberia, pleasantly historic Irkutsk is by far the most popular stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway between Moscow and all points east. With Lake Baikal a mere 70km away, the city is the best base from which to strike out for the western shoreline. Amid the 19th-century architecture, revived churches, classy eateries and numerous apartment hostels, plentiful English-speaking agencies can help you plan anything from a winter trek across the lake’s ice to a short walking tour through the city.

9. Olkhon Island
Swim in the waters of Baikal, the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world’s unfrozen surface fresh water.

10. Ulan-Ude
Get a sighting of the most unusual monument to Vladimir Lenin, father of Russian communist revolution.
With its smiley Asian features, cosy city centre and fascinating Mongol-Buddhist culture, the Buryat capital is one of Eastern Siberia’s most likeable cities. Quietly busy, welcoming and, after Siberia’s Russian cities, refreshingly exotic, it’s a pleasant place to base yourself for day trips to Buddhist temples and flits to eastern Lake Baikal’s gently shelving beaches, easily reachable by bus. For some travellers UU is also a taster for what’s to come in Mongolia.
Founded as a Cossack ostrog (fort) called Udinsk (later Verkhneudinsk) in 1666, the city prospered as a major stop on the tea-caravan route from China via Troitskosavsk (now Kyakhta). Renamed Ulan-Ude in 1934, it was a closed city until the 1980s due to its secret military plants (there are still mysterious blank spaces on city maps).

Trans-Siberian Railway 3 Kazan, Tomsk

5. Kazan
Where East meets West: country’s main mosque, Kul Sharif, behind the traditional Russian Kremlin wall.
It is about 150 years older than Moscow and the capital of the Tatarstan Republic (Республика Татарстан) – the land of the Volga Tatars, a Turkic people commonly associated with Chinggis Khaan’s hordes.
Tatar autonomy is strong here and is not just about bilingual street signs. Moscow has pumped vast sums into the republic to persuade it to remain a loyal part of Russia. It also ensures that Tatarstan benefits greatly from the vast oil reserves in this booming republic.
Although Tatar nationalism is strong, it is not radical, and the local version of Sunni Islam is very moderate. Slavic Russians make up about half of the population, and this cultural conflux of Slavic and Tatar cultures makes Kazan an all-the-more-interesting city.

6. Tobolsk
Last home of the Russian tsar family during the communist revolution.

7. Tomsk
Home to some of the best preserved examples of Russian wooden architecture and a pretty university town.

Trans-Siberian Railway 2 Moscow, Suzdal

2. Moscow
Get the first taste of the Trans-Siberian railway on the overnight train to Moscow. Spend a couple of days exploring the cosmopolitan capital city of Russia. Don’t miss Red Square, Kremlin and Lenin’s Mausoleum!
 3. Suzdal
Even though not directly on the Trans-Siberian track, this little charmer is absolutely worth a detour. This is how Russia must have looked centuries ago. Taste “medovukha” (traditional alcoholic drink made of honey) and take a swim in the Kamenka river after visiting all the churches and monasteries.
 4. Nizhniy Novgorod
Spend a day on the shores of Volga, the longest river in Europe and enjoy sweeping views from the Kremlin walls. Also home to one of the most popular writers of the Soviet era – Maxim Gorky.
(to be continued)

10 Best Stops on the Trans-Siberian Railway

Trans-Siberian railway is one of the epic train journeys most of the travelers have very high on their bucket list. However, many of the people are going non-stop from Moscow to Irkutsk with a goal to cross over to Mongolia and later on to China as soon as possible. Of course spending 5 days on the train without a shower is an experience on its own, but you shouldn’t miss out on some of the most impressive sights along the way.
Take it slow and make stops. You will get a chance to experience the real Russia.
1. St. Petersburg
Start your trip in Russia’s northern capital. Allow a couple of days to absorb a very special atmosphere. If you get there in June or early July you also get a chance to experience famous “white nights”.
By Jason Castellani
photo: janin
(to be continued)

ISIS 6: Haines & Henning are Not who You Think

David Cawhtorne Haines may not have been a humanitarian aid worker after all, some sources suggest.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Haines worked for a company called Astraea.

According to Astraea’s website, they are:

The aim of the ASTRAEA programme is to enable the routine use of UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) in all classes of airspace without the need for restrictive or specialised conditions of operation. This will be achieved through the coordinated development and demonstration of key technologies and operating procedures required to open up the airspace to UAS.

Basically, Astraea works with drones.

Furthermore, Alan Henning, who is next up on ISIS’ beheading list, may not have been in Syria for his media-reported reasons, either.

(to be continued)

ISIS 5: Videos are Fake

There are many critics of the ISIS beheading videos, claiming that they don’t look real and are created for perpetrating further false flag attacks.

Lots of scrutiny surrounded David Cawthorne Haines’ beheading video.

These claims are easily dismissed at the graphic reality of the beheading videos, if it weren’t for one thing. According to Infowars:

A 2010 Washington Post article authored by former Army Intelligence Officer Jeff Stein features a detailed account of how the CIA admittedly filmed a fake Bin Laden video during the run up to the 2003 Iraq war.

The agency actually did make a video purporting to show Osama bin Laden and his cronies sitting around a campfire swigging bottles of liquor and savoring their conquests with boys, one of the former CIA officers recalled, chuckling at the memory. The actors were drawn from “some of us darker-skinned employees,” he said.

Is this is indeed true, what’s to say that current ISIS videos don’t fall under a similar vein?

It may sound like moon landing talk, but it’s worth a serious discussion.

(to be continued)