Your fancy luxury hotel may have a mixologist crafting up specialty cocktails at a bar downstairs but does your fancy luxury hotel have a Camel Milk Mixologist working there? Didn't think so.

That rare kind of mixologist can only be found at the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi which just opened in March. Mohammad Daoud does pretty much what his job title implies--mixes drinks with freshly muddled ingredients infused with locally-sourced camel milk, ranging from flavors such as sweet strawberry and refreshing mint.

“I wanted to create something special for the upcoming Holy Month of Ramadan,” said Daoud. “Because camel milk has a high level of protein and additional nutrients, it’s an excellent beverage to consume during Sohour, the meal taken prior to sunrise for Muslims fasting during Ramadan.”

Ramadan began yesterday and lasts through August 7 but the hotel will continue to offer its camel milk menu in Mijana, the hotel's Arabic restaurant. There, the mixologist can help camel milk newbies guide them through their first-time tasting as well as come up with different camel milk flavors to pair with various dishes. Of course, all these preferences can be saved for their next visit.

Want to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi? Room rates start around $750 AED a night, or about $205 USD. Contacting the camel milk mixologist ahead of your stay is highly recommended at +9712 818-8282 or emailing restaurant.reservations@ritzcarlton.com. Camel milk not your thing? Head over to the Ritz-Carlton Phulay Bay, where there's a spice concierge instead.

SEE ALSO: The 10 Best Hotels In The World

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Two-Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc reveals his favourite restaurants in Provence.

Where Raymond Blanc would enjoy...

A typical brunch

My favourite food market is at Sanary-sur-Mer, where there are stalls selling beautiful slow-cooked squid, bouillabaise, bourride [a simpler version with aïoli, a garlic mayonnaise], country bread, olives, tapenade [olive paste], anchoïade [anchovy purée] and other picnic foods. You can buy these as a takeaway, or eat similar dishes in cafes and bistros surrounding the square.

Provençal Market Dishes from 5 euros (Allées d’Estienne d’Orves, Sanary-sur-Mer; open every morning until noon). There is also an excellent fish market.

Lunch

Since we are in Sanary-sur-Mer, I would recommend La p’tite Cour, which has a lovely shaded patio that’s perfect for a long lunch. They do marvelous things like locally caught rouget [red mullet] and supion [baby cuttlefish] with saffron risotto, or catch of the day with a flan of seasonal vegetables.

There’s a fantastic place in St-Tropez where I had my best bouillabaise. It is called La Bouillabaise, actually, and it’s right on the beach. It was a winter’s day, with the waves crashing on the shore, a beautiful spot. If you want to escape St-Tropez, head to Grimaud, where Les Santons does a good set menu at lunchtimes only. It’s authentic but sophisticated: carpaccio of purple artichokes in extra virgin olive oil with toasted sesame seeds, or ballotine of monkfish and smoked duck with baby broad beans. Just down the road, in Gassin, is La Verdoyante, set among vineyards, with views of the Bay of St-Tropez. I’d order the slow-cooked vegetable tart with warm goats’ cheese, followed by fish of the day with ratatouille, pistou and an orange vinaigrette.

La p’tite Cour
Three-course menu 29 euros, three-course gourmand menu 40 euros (6 rue Barthélemy De Don, Sanary; 04 94 88 08 05; laptitecour.com ).

La Bouillabaise
Three-course menu 49 euros (Quartier la Bouillabaise, St-Tropez; 04 94 97 54 00; alpazurhotels.com/en/restaurant-plage-bouillabaisse ).

Les Santons
Three-course lunch menu 37 euros, 59 euros with wine. (Route Departe­ment­ale 558, Grimaud; 04 94 43 21 02; restaurant-les-santons.fr ).

La Verdoyante
Three-course set menus from 28 euros, five-course tasting menu 54 euros (866 Chemin Vicinal de Coste Brigade, Gassin; 04 94 56 16 23; la-verdoyante.fr ).

An aperitif

Gérald Passédat, a truly great chef, has opened Le Café in the gardens of the Fort St-Jean in Marseille, where you can go just for a drink. On Fridays, it’s open until 10pm but it closes at 7pm on other days. It’s part of MuCEM (the Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Mediterranée), at the entrance to the Old Port, so you can visit the museum then come here for a glass of rosé.

Le Café Wine by the glass from 5 euros, pitcher 11.50 euros, bottle 15 euros (Ground floor, MuCEM, Esplanade J4, Marseille; 04 84 35 13 13; passedat.fr/en ).

Dinner

I love sailing, which has allowed me to stay on the little islands off Hyères. They have some charming hotels, including Le Manoir, on the Ile de Port-Cros, and Le Mas du Langoustier, on the Ile de Porquerolles, which both have good restaurants. At Le Manoir, I’d have fish soup, bourride of John Dory or cuttlefish salad with pistou macaroni. L’Olivier, at Le Mas du Langoustier, has a Michelin star and does a lovely paella with monkfish sushi and chorizo, and a chèvre paysan [country goats’ cheese] with green olive tapenade.

Le Manoir de Port-Cros
Three-course menu 58 euros (Ile de Port-Cros; 04 94 05 90 52; hotel-lemanoirportcros.com ).

L’Olivier
Set menus from 62 euros (five courses) or 78 euros with wine, Ã la carte from 100 euros, tasting menu 130 euros (Le Mas de Langoustier hotel, Ile de Porquerolles; 04 94 58 30 09; langoustier.com ).

Fine dining

At La Bastide St Antoine, near Grasse, Jaques Chibois makes some great food. It has two Michelin stars and they do a wonderful starter of oysters, caviar and smoked scallops, and a superb lobster bouillabaise with olives.

In Marseille, Gérald Passédat’s Le Petit Nice is amazing. Some of his fish dishes are outstanding, such as his “Bouille-Abaisse” - three tiers of bouillabaises made with raw shellfish, shallow-water fish and deep-water species respectively. There’s a terrace over the sea and you can swim if you want, from the rocks. It has three Michelin stars, but Passédat now has some casual brasserie-style places at his Le Môle complex at MuCem (including Le Café, which I mentioned). I think that’s where the future of Provençal cuisine lies: a great chef, propagating better-quality food at a price people can afford.

La Bastide St Antoine
Three-course lunch menu 63 euros, six-course menu 178 euros, 10-course menu 198 euros (48 avenue Henri-Dunant, Grasse; 04 93 70 94 94; jacques-chibois.com/uk ).

Le Petit Nice
Six-course lunch menu 85 euros, 120 euros with wine, 13-course menu 280 euros, three courses À la carte from 66 euros (Anse de Maldormé, Corniche JF Kennedy, Marseille; 04 91 592 592; passedat.fr/en ).

Raymond Blanc was talking to Andrew Purvis

Provence travel guide

The inimitable Anthony Peregrine offers his expert guide to Provence, including how to get there, how to get around, and his pick of the best hotels and attractions.

Overview
Provence's best attractions
Hotels
Restaurants
Drives
36 Hours In... Provence

SEE ALSO: The 10 Best Hotels In The World

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This infographic rounds up the fittest cities in America based on the population's use of Facebook fitness apps, gym check-ins, and health-related status updates.

Virginia Beach, Va., takes the No.1 spot. Healthy cities are everywhere, it turns out.

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Hong Kong is choking on its own rubbish, suffocating under the weight of its unwanted garbage. The city is on the verge of a waste disposal crisis, according to the government and local environment groups.

Hong Kong simply produces too much waste. Its 7 million inhabitants generated 13,458 tonnes of waste per day in 2012, according to statistics recently released by the government’s Environmental Protection Department.

That’s the equivalent in weight to the empire state building being thrown away every 27 days. As things currently stand, “even if we increase our recycling rate, there is no way we can deal with the thousands of tonnes of waste generated by our households, restaurants and construction sites,” said the EPD in a recent report.

Current recycling rates are a minuscule 14% of domestic waste and less than 3% of glass, according to local recycling organisation, HK Recycles.  This is in comparison to neighbouring Taiwan and Singapore, whose governments have both implemented zero-waste policies. Singapore recycled over 60% of all waste in 2012 and since 2003 Taiwan has prioritised front-end prevention such as waste reduction and recycling – including mandatory waste separation – over treatments such as landfill expansion and incinerators, according to local government websites.

Hong Kong’s high-density population and lack of space mean that there is little scope to extend landfill capacity. Its three landfill sites are expected to be completely full by 2018 and a proposal to extend one of the sites was temporarily withdrawn amid public opposition and concerns over levels of toxicity, odour and air quality, last week. Alternative proposals such as a huge incinerator on Lamma, one of Hong Kong’s many picturesque out-lying islands and also home to a strong local and expat community, has understandably been met with stiff opposition.

The Environmental Protection Department admits it is on the back foot. “Hong Kong has fallen behind because we have only taken some of the steps. We need to urgently fill in the gaps,” said Kam-Sing Wong, the secretary for the environment, in May this year.

 “The waste problem has been discussed over the years, and action is needed without further delay,” said EPD spokesperson Kelly Chan. Scrambling to address the issue, the government has set an aggressive recycling target of 55% by 2015.  Somewhat belatedly following Taiwan’s lead of over a decade ago, Chan said, “we will undertake multiple…actions to drive behavioural change to reduce waste at source through policies and legislation, including municipal solid waste charging and producer responsibility schemes. We will also roll out targeted territory-wide waste reduction campaigns, such as those promoting community participation in waste reduction, source separation of waste for recycling, food waste reduction and glass beverage bottle recycling.”

Local organisation HK Recycles is already leading the way with its enterprising recycling service. The organization was founded in 2012 by banker Mike Shum and Venture Capitalist Brian Mak who, having grown up in Hong Kong, went overseas to the US and Canada for school and work, and returned here shocked at the inadequate recycling provision.

For as little as HK$25 a week HK Recycles provides households with a full recycling collection service. They guarantee that all waste material collected will be recycled. However, it’s a drop in the ocean with a mere 1,000 households covered over six different districts across Hong Kong. But it is a rare beacon in a city with one of the lowest residential recycling rates of any developed country.

Their mission is to offer a recycling service but ultimately to promote waste reduction. “It’s simple: people need to use less,” said Operations Director, Joshua Tan. At the same time they hope to address the growing wealth divide in Hong Kong and help those that could otherwise be left behind, he said. This is recycling with a social and an environmental conscience.

HK Recycles creates employment opportunities for marginalised and under-privileged groups. Their refuse collectors are hired almost exclusively from marginalised groups, according to Tan. They are currently working with two charities who help battered women, often single-mothers with a history of domestic abuse, and also with a charity supporting the poor and marginalised in the South Asian community.

Their aim is to empower people to overcome tough personal conditions and allow them to thrive by providing employment opportunities with above-market wages when they might otherwise not be employable said Tan.

“It’s a two-fold issue,” said Vincent Chan, Operations Director of local food bank, Feeding Hong Kong. “We have a huge waste-disposal crisis and a burgeoning poverty problem.”

Feeding Hong Kong was founded in 2009, by British expat Gabrielle Kirstein. It is a locally registered charity that aims to fight hunger and reduce the amount of quality food being sent to Hong Kong’s landfills. The organization’s mission was founded on the basis that much of the surplus food thrown away each day in Hong Kong is still edible. As much as a third, according to Chan.

Feeding Hong Kong based its operational model on overseas food banks and in consultation with the Global Foodbanking Network. It had a fresh approach from existing HK-based food charities, in that it was the first to utilise surplus food donations rather than to purchase food for distribution, said Chan. Their first supply partner was the café chain Pret A Manger who guarantees its products are made fresh every day and that any surplus is donated to charities.

Each day over 3,500 tonnes of food waste is sent to landfill, according to Chan. A lot of that food is of good quality and is still edible, he said, even though it may be close to its nominal expiry date.  At the same time there are “significant numbers of people in Hong Kong that aren’t able to access, aren’t able to afford enough to meet their basic nutritional requirements,” he said.

“Feeding Hong Kong’s aim is to match the needs of the poor with some of the edible food from industry that would otherwise be sent to a landfill,” said Chan. This he hopes, will make a significant impact on both poverty and food waste here. “We will basically take whatever they have that is surplus,” he said. “For every $8 food donation somebody gets a meal….we currently distribute 15,000 meals a month”.

Chan said they receive on average around 9 tonnes of surplus food waste each month. Much of it is food that will not even hit the supermarket shelves, he said. More than 300 volunteers assist in the collection and distribution effort that involves liaising with a network of charities, including Action Care. The organisation operates on a skeleton staff of only five full-time employees, including Kirstein and Chan.

“A common reaction is shock when we start to speak of hunger and poverty in Hong Kong”, said Chan. “It’s not starvation or famine,” he said, “but poverty leads to hunger and it’s here, it is widespread and it is extensive”.  Later, “We want to raise the awareness of poverty in Hong Kong and tackle it through food surplus,” he said.

Both HK Recycles and Feeding Hong Kong advocate legislative change to underpin radical reform, such as tax incentives for industry to reduce waste and for environmental education to be included as part of the school’s curriculum. The government is at long-last climbing on board but there is a fear that it may be a case of too little, too late. Although it has recently announced new initiatives and has a proposed blueprint for change, others say it doesn’t go far enough. “The blueprint shows only a dogged pursuit of large-scale engineering projects instead of tackling the root causes of the waste disposal problem,” reads one letter on the issue in the local media.

Ultimately, both government and grass-roots organisations agree that change requires a wholesale shift in attitudes of Hong Kong people. “It’s down to the individual,” said Joshua Tan of HK Recycles. “People need to use less, reuse and recycle.”

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Kale is a leafy vegetable, part of the cabbage, Brussels sprouts and collard greens family, and one of the much buzzed about superfoods that everyone has been going bonkers about.

White Russian, Red Russian, Siberian, Tuscan and the Classic Curly Leaf – there's no shortage of kale options at the market these days.

From kale salads to kale smoothies, there are a variety of ways to incorporate kale in your diet, and companies are catching on by marketing baked kale as a popular, healthy alternative to the ubiquitous American classic, the potato chip. 

Unfortunately, a 4 oz. box of prepared kale chips costs $6.99 on average.

We put a simple recipe for baked kale to the test, and made crispy kale chips for less than half the price of the commercial ones. Buy a bunch of kale for $2-$2.50, and follow the instructions below:

Produced by Alana Kakoyiannis

SEE ALSO: How To Make An American Flag Out Of Bacon

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I used to scoff at the notion of travel insurance, never even considering buying a policy that would reimburse my costs if bad weather or an illness caused me to cancel a trip.
 
I figured my chances of needing to file a claim were low and that any payback from the insurance would be lousy. As a longtime consumer reporter, I’d often heard complaints from travelers saying they were unable to collect because their policies contained so many loopholes.
 
What Changed My Mind

But now that I’ve gotten older, I’m having second thoughts about travel insurance, especially for expensive excursions, requiring lots of upfront cash, to countries not known for their medical care. (My new thinking has nothing to do with the Asiana plane crash; I'm still opposed to buying flight insurance because flying is generally extraordinarily safe.) If you’re over 50 and a globetrotter, I think you might want to buy some types of travel coverage before your next trip, too.
 
(MORE:Take Safety Precautions When Traveling Abroad)
 
The reason for my change of heart is simple: Small injuries and ailments can turn into big problems at my age, prompting not just cancellations of high-priced vacations but also an abrupt halt to a trip in progress if I get sick or injured.
 
Fortunately, I’ve yet to experience either scenario. But it's happened to friends in their 60s. In one case, a relatively simple back surgery turned into a staph infection that forced my neighbor and his wife to drop out of a long-planned, luxurious African safari with friends and family.
 
Foreign Medical Woes Cost Thousands

Then there’s the sad tale of a pal who was injured traveling in Laos and hospitalized in Hanoi, forcing him and his wife to miss their flight home. When doctors gave him the go-ahead to leave, they said he needed to fly business class to keep his legs elevated, costing the couple thousands of dollars more for tickets home. 
 
It’s stories like these that prompted my husband and me to buy a limited version of travel insurance for two recent foreign trips. (Thankfully, we never had to file a claim.) Travel insurance comes in many varieties, from comprehensive coverage for an assortment of possible problems to narrow policies, like ones that only reimburse medical evacuation costs.
 
When Travel Insurance Makes Sense

Many consumer advocates, however, remain wary about travel insurance. "Generally," said J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, “I don’t think it’s a good financial deal for the vast majority of people.”
 
Still, Hunter told me, there are certain situations where travelers may want to consider the coverage. “If it’s the trip of a lifetime, you’ve put money away for decades and you’re worried you might get sick or there's a history of ailments, you may want to buy it,” he said. “Or if you’re traveling into strange places with poor health care and you think you might get sick, you might want to consider medical-evacuation insurance.”
 
(MORE:6 Money-Saving Travel Secrets)

In other words, buying travel insurance, like purchasing most types of coverage, comes down to probabilities. “The rugged, healthy, unattached and gung-ho traveler will probably forgo trip cancellation or interruption coverage," travel guru Rick Steves notes on his website, Europe Through the Back Door. "I have skipped it many times and my number has yet to come up. But if you're paying out a lot of upfront money for an organized tour (which is expensive to cancel), if you have questionable health or if you have a loved one at home in poor health, it's probably a good idea to get this coverage.”
 
But what kind of coverage?
 
That’s an important question since there is such a wide range of policies and premiums for the most comprehensive policies that can amount to 4 to 8 percent of a trip's cost.
 
6 Types of Travel Coverage

Here’s a rundown of six forms of travel coverage and advice on how to buy a policy:
 
Trip cancellation/delay/interruption insurance is the most comprehensive and most expensive. If you or a family member becomes ill or dies before traveling, this coverage reimburses the prepaid expenses. If the problem occurs during the trip, the insurance provides reimbursement for services paid for but not yet received. The broadest version of this policy also includes medical insurance and evacuation coverage.
 
MORE:Your Next Vacation May Include a Knee Replacement
 
Medical insurance is a less expensive alternative for travelers who just want to be sure their medical expenses will be covered if they get sick or hurt on a trip. Premiums are based on your age, destination and the length of your stay. A 50-year-old traveling for two weeks might pay $36 to $56 for $50,000 in medical coverage; a 65-year-old might be charged around $60. An annual policy might go for about $200 a year.
 
You’re unlikely to need medical insurance if you’re traveling in the United States and own a health policy, since health insurers typically cover costs domestically even if you’re not near your hometown. (Check with your insurer to be sure, though.)
 
Most health insurers, however, don’t pay for health care costs incurred overseas. That includes Medicare – unless you’ve purchased the top-of-the line supplemental coverage.
 
Medical evacuation coverage is often included in a medical insurance policy, but you can buy it separately if that’s the only protection you want. This type of travel insurance can be important if you’ll be vacationing in an area not known for quality health care. As Kiplinger’s Jessica Anderson recently noted, medical evacuation for an airlift home can cost more than $100,000.
 
You can purchase medical evacuation coverage on a per-trip basis (starting at around $45) or for an annual fee of roughly $250.
 
Baggage insurance or personal-effects coverage is generally included in most comprehensive policies, providing up to $500 to $2,500 in reimbursement if your belongings are lost, stolen or damaged.
 
Cancellation waivers, often offered by cruise and tour operators, generally run about $40 to $60. But many won’t kick in if you drop out at the last minute — say, two days before a trip – which is often when travelers conclude they’re too sick to travel. Also, these waivers won’t refund money you’ve already paid. They simply waive any cancellation penalties and may cover any unpaid money with a voucher for a future trip. And if the tour operator that sold the waiver goes out of business, you’re sunk.
 
Flight insurance, which plays on travelers’ fear of crashes, costs about $20 for $250,000 in coverage. It used to be sold at kiosks near airport gates, but most of those kiosks have disappeared. That’s probably a good thing, since many consumer advocates call this coverage a rip-off because – despite the recent tragic San Francisco crash – flying is very safe so there's little need to buy this coverage.
 
8 Tips From Travel Insurance Experts

And now, eight travel insurance buying tips from the pros:
 
1. Compare policy terms and prices carefully. The websites InsureMyTrip, Squaremouth and TripInsuranceStore are good starting points because they’ll give you quotes from dozens of firms.
 
2. Purchase coverage from a well-known company. “Avoid buying insurance from a no-name company you found online,” Rick Steves says. Highly regarded companies include Travelguard, TravelEx, Global Alert, Travel Safe and, for medical evacuation insurance, Medjet Assist.
 
3. Find out if you’re already covered. Your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance may protect your electronic equipment and lost baggage; some credit cards also reimburse you for lost or delayed luggage.
 
You may also receive compensation from your airline if it loses your luggage, up to $3,000 per passenger for a domestic flight; $1,500 for an international journey. But airlines base their reimbursement on what the items were worth at the time, not what it costs to buy new ones, and they generally exclude jewelry and furs.
 
The credit card you used to buy your ticket or tour may pay up if your airline or tour operator goes bankrupt before your trip.
 
4. Read the fine print before you buy. This is especially true for trip cancellation policies. Some may cover pre-existing health conditions or vacations scrapped due to a layoff, some won’t. One insurer may reimburse for a four-hour flight delay; another may require you to be inconvenienced for 24 hours. Many cover out-of-pocket expenses if your cruise or tour operator goes out of business, but others will not. They may also exclude companies in bankruptcy or in the midst of labor disputes.
 
Some, but not all, travel insurers protect you against events beyond your control, like a natural disaster or terrorist attack. One company’s definition of a natural disaster may differ from another’s, though — or yours, for that matter. (A hurricane may have destroyed much of the beach you plan to visit, but if your hotel is still open, the insurer might decide this natural disaster doesn't merit a payout.)
 
Read the densely worded policy, not just the brochure or online synopsis, to make sure you know what’s covered. When in doubt, ask the insurer’s representative to point to the specific provision in the policy to confirm his or her answer.
 
5. Consider buying a floater. Some baggage insurance policies exclude expensive electronic equipment, jewelry or sporting gear, even if they’re lost by an airline. If your homeowner’s or renters policy doesn’t include these items when you’re traveling and you want the coverage, you might want to purchase an inexpensive “floater” (insurance jargon for a policy rider) from that insurer rather than buy travel insurance, says the Insurance Information Institute.
 
6. Know what’s required to make a claim. Then keep all the paperwork you may need, including trip receipts, doctor’s bills, proof from an airline about baggage or flight delays and receipts for any necessities you bought because your luggage was delayed or lost.
 
7. Beware of policies sold directly by airlines and cruise lines. They typically offer less coverage at higher costs than those offered by third-party firms. That’s probably because the carriers and cruise companies receive big commissions, Hunter says.
 
8. If you go overseas often, consider buying an annual travel insurance policy. It’s more cost-effective than buying a separate one for each trip. Safe travels!

SEE ALSO: 15 Year Mortgages Vs. 30 Year Mortgages — Here's What You Should Know

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Retired mortgage banker Bill Blomquist and his wife Diane are selling their Delaware beach house for $7.5 million, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Tucked away on three lots in Rehoboth Beach, the 8,400-square-foot home is built on land that the Blomquists bought in 1977 for $225,000. 

The Blomquists, their three children, and 13 grandchildren have been using the sprawling beach home for years. With stunning views at 4,300 square feet of deck space, it certainly makes for a nice vacation. Plus it's quieter than the Hamptons.

Bryce Lingo and Shaun Tull of Jack Lingo have the listing.

The home sits along Indian Beach

And has six bedrooms

And plenty of room to relax

America is no longer the fattest of the world's more populous countries. That inglorious title now belongs to Mexico, according to a report [PDF] published last month by the United Nations.

In 2008, 32.8% of Mexican adults were obese, compared to 31.8% of American adults.

(A tiny island in the South Pacific called Nauru still tops the list as the world's fattest country, with an adult obesity rate of 71.1%). 

The rise in obesity rates is not surprising as more Mexicans move into wealthier, urban areas, meaning more fast food choices and less time spent exercising.

"American-sized" portions, soda, and other junk foods are overtaking traditional Mexican fare.

The nation's poor are at an even greater risk of becoming obese.

"The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming obese," Physician Abelardo Avila, a researcher at Mexico's National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition, told the GlobalPost. "In the poor classes we have obese parents and malnourished children. The worst thing is the children are becoming programmed for obesity. It's a very serious epidemic."

A recent estimate revealed that 10 million Mexicans, one-sixth of the adult population, suffers from diabetes linked to over-eating and little exercise.

MAPS: 25 Years Of America Getting Fatter

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Travel + Leisure just declared Mombo Camp and Little Mombo Camp in Botswana's Okavango Delta to be the best hotel in the world.

It received a score of 96.60 out of 100.

Located in the Moremi Game Reserve, the hotel, which is made up of two camps, offers unparalleled luxury in the thick of the wild.

The hotel is designed to take advantage of its natural surroundings: There are outdoor plunge pools, al fresco dining areas, and plenty of decks for wildlife viewing. Even the luxury tents have open windows for viewing the wildlife.

Rooms in the tents start at around $1,750 per person per night; rates include daily game drives, food, and drink.

Most of the facilities at Mombo Camp and Little Mombo are open-air, linked by raised walkways that allow wildlife to wander through the camp while guests can watch from a safe height.

The shaded common living area at Mombo Camp overlooks the open plain, where guests can see animals.

The giant luxury tents also overlook the flood plains, where guests can watch lions, zebras, and other game from their windows.

The woman who infamously told female Princeton students to find a husband before graduation will now have the opportunity to share her gospel with the world.

Susan Patton — Princeton Class of 1977 — has a book deal with Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, the Associated Press reports. The book will be titled "Smarten Up!: Words of Wisdom from the Princeton Mom," a reference to her alumna status and her two sons who attended the university.

Patton first attracted attention in March, when she wrote an open letter to the Daily Princeton telling female students that "the cornerstone of your future and happiness will be inextricably linked to the man you marry, and you will never again have this concentration of men who are worthy of you."

According to a press release posted by New York Magazine, Patton's book will examine "how marriage and motherhood have become thought of as the antithesis of modern womanhood, the heartbreak women may face if they delay marriage and motherhood, and the necessity for young women to plan for their personal happiness as carefully as they plan for their professional success."

The release goes on to say, "To avoid an unwanted life of spinsterhood with cats, you have to smarten up about what’s important to you."

Although Patton claims her letter was "applicable to educated women everywhere who want a traditional family," it is hard to imagine how her book will transcend the initial advice that was widely deemed to be sexist and elitist. As she told New York Magazine, Princeton breeds "the best guys" and Patton herself wishes she married someone from the Ivy League university.

How she intends to reach a broader audience will be something to watch for when the book drops next spring.

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Do you have a picture of the best moment of your life?

That's the question Sports Illustrated writer Richard Deitsch posed to his 85,000 Twitter followers on Monday night a day after Andy Murray won the men's singles final match at Wimbledon.

Deitsch could not have anticipated the powerful responses his followers would tweet back to him. Graduations, weddings, babies, and cross-generational moments are just some of the pictures that Deitsch began retweeting onto his own page.

UT San Diego's Matthew T. Hall rounded up some of the best pictures tweeted out by Deitsch's followers early this morning. Deitsch has continued to tweet out more photos as he has received them throughout the day, and we've picked some of our own favorites.

This is Twitter at its finest.

@richarddeitsch@Sports_Casters#bestdayofmylife Meeting my first born for the first time :) pic.twitter.com/BVVRM9Jroy

— Katie Hughes (@katieannak) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch@Sports_Casters day I graduated boot camp. Mom said she was never more proud of me. pic.twitter.com/kSY38lX5YT

— Jake Eastman (@ThatGuyJakeE) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch The moment I walked my daughter (as flower girl) down the aisle to marry her mother pic.twitter.com/h6OucDJ4rR

— Adam Young (@ayyoung22) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch@Sports_Casters The moment she said yes. #bestdayofmylife#eamespic.twitter.com/sUZY8JucOC

— Scotty (@scottytoodope) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch this was take 2 days before my Grandpa passed. Capturing my Grandparents 66 years of true love. pic.twitter.com/uebrLLoUVG

— Chelsey (@chelslynn85) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch Seeing my son, who once couldn't tolerate skates on feet b/c of autism, skate in front of 47k people pic.twitter.com/CH6oOWHgdt

— Neil N (@pucksandpuzzles) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch@Sports_Casters I'm chunky. But I did an Ironman. 7 am start—11:36:07 pm finish. And I beat Batman! pic.twitter.com/1NsFP9OR6R

— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch proudest moment - seeing dad stick thru yrs of rejection, finally got call to big boy league. (U49) pic.twitter.com/iQPQqKHuX1

— Jeff Hall (@hallstradamus) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch The day my wife woke up after her double-lung/heart transplant. pic.twitter.com/JEYalwt6lr

— Ryan Kaltenbach (@RyanKaltenbach) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch Playing tennis with my dad on Mackinac Island shortly before he was diagnosed with ALS. pic.twitter.com/p2CXGiVjTa

— Nick Barnowski (@NickBarnowski) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch And then this is the other best moment. Bringing our new adoptive son home to meet our 1st born. pic.twitter.com/yfrLbrqqBz

— jeremiah cox (@jeremiahcox) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch@Sports_Casters Hired a photographer in Paris to snap photos of my proposal pic.twitter.com/TEnM91DNCY

— Ben Walnick (@Wx_Ben) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch@Sports_Casters At the Super Bowl with my dad, six weeks before he passed away from leukemia. pic.twitter.com/9mep7kGH1n

— Andrew Rutberg (@AndrewRutberg) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch Late entry: my oldest, now 11, meeting her little sis, now 8. Hard to beat that day. pic.twitter.com/X53uepaupk

— Amy Massengill (@mom2bugnbee) July 9, 2013

@richarddeitsch@Sports_Casters Yup - one year ago today. pic.twitter.com/jZr4Ota8tm

— David Seawright (@DavidSeawright) July 9, 2013

And here's Richard Deitsch responding to the overwhelming amount of tweets:

Thanks for reminding me of every day humanity. Easy the best thing I've ever done on Twitter.

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) July 9, 2013

SEE ALSO: 13 Scientifically Proven Ways To Be a Happier Person

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Saturday's crash landing of Asiana Flight 214 was terrifying, disconcerting, and unfortunately fatal. But that doesn't mean you should change your travel plans.

Not only are airplanes continuously getting safer, they are also the least dangerous way to get to your destination. Everyday activities from walking to driving are still considerably more lethal.

Last year, an MIT statistics professor determined that the death risk for passengers of commercial airlines is one in 45 million flights. According to The New York Times, a traveler could fly every day for 123,000 years and still be safe.

Although travel fatality statistics are represented in a variety of formats, commercial airlines are the safest mode of transport any way you look at it.

A recent report from the National Safety Council put the lifetime odds of dying as a pedal cyclist at 1 in 4,982.

Source: National Safety Council

That number jumps up to 1 in 907 on a motorcycle.

Source: National Safety Council

1 in 749 as a pedestrian.

Source: National Safety Council

Chipotle has kicked off an awesome contest to celebrate turning 20. 

Beginning July 13, The fast-casual Mexican chain is launching a contest that involves solving a puzzle a day for 20 days. 

At the end of the contest, 20 random participants will win free burritos for the next two decades. 

Sign up here.

And check out some more details: 

SEE ALSO: The 25 Most American Foods Of All Time

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Terry Staggs of Kentucky was visiting the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas on July 4th when he saw something in the dirt sparkle in the sunlight.

It turned out to be a 2.95-carat, champagne-colored diamond, according to United Press International. Mr. Staggs has named it the Patriot Diamond in honor of the day it was found.

The Crater of Diamonds is a 911-acre state park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas that contains a 37.5 acre plowed field in which visitors can literally dig for diamonds. It's the world's only diamond-bearing site that's accessible to the public.

The world's most perfect diamond (the 3.03-carat D-flawless Strawn-Wagner Diamond) was found there in 1990, and the largest diamond ever discovered in North America (the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam) was found there in 1924. Other gems and minerals that can be found at the Crater include quartz, amethyst, garnet, jasper, and peridot. 

Dozens of tiny diamonds are found in the field annually, but the Patriot Diamond is

by far the largest stone to be found so far this year. Mr. Staggs, originally of Richmond, Kentucky, had been wandering the park for about 2 and 1/2 hours before he spotted the diamond in the field. He said he's visited the park and its diamond field several times a year for about 28 years. 

SEE ALSO: See the 101-Carat Diamond Harry Winston Just Bought For $26.7 Million

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Average asking rents in New York City have climbed to $3,017, according to REIS research. Everyone is freaking out about it.

As far as we can tell, most New Yorkers have spent today complaining about high rents on Facebook instead of actually doing the high-paying jobs that allow them to pay so much rent.

But one thing we haven't seen in all those conversations is a discussion of why the rent is so damn high. Here are eight key reasons we have to pay so much to live in New York City.

1. There's only so much space. Last month, I spoke with Trulia's Chief Economist Jed Kolko about why San Francisco home prices are so high and he said, in reference to the city's geography, "God wanted San Francisco to be expensive."

That applies in New York, too: There are only so many square miles of land in the city, and especially in Manhattan. When lots of people want to live in a limited space, they bid up land prices, and that flows through to rents.

2. Zoning rules inhibit supply. Of course, you can get more apartments on a given amount of land by building taller buildings closer together. And compared to most cities, New York is very dense. But it could be even denser.

Take a look at this zoning map of the East Village, a popular neighborhood in Manhattan. Most of the neighborhood consists of R7A and R8B zones. These allow for a Floor-Area Ratio (FAR) of 4.0: four square feet of building area for every square foot of lot area. And accordingly, most of the housing stock in the neighborhood is closely-packed buildings of four or five stories.

If the neighborhood were instead mapped for R10 zoning, like parts of the Upper East Side, building FARs could go up to 10.0. That would allow for 2.5 times as much building space on the same amount of land. A larger supply of apartments in the East Village would mean lower rents, especially if zoning were relaxed all over the city.

Incidentally, contra Hamilton Nolan, this is a reason non-rich New Yorkers should cheer the construction of "superluxury condos." Wealthy people are going to buy in New York one way or another. When we limit their ability to build shiny new towers in Manhattan, they come over to Brooklyn and bid up the prices of brownstones that used to be almost affordable.

3. Rent control raises your rent if you're not rent controlled. While the average rent for available apartments in New York City is now over $3,000, the U.S. Census Bureau says renters in New York City were only paying a median of $1,125 in 2011. What gives?

The answer is, there are lots of cheap apartments in New York. You just can't get one of them, because they're rent controlled, and tenants with great rent controlled deals cling to their apartments until they die.

The Cato Institute produced some great charts on this back in 1997, but the same dynamics still hold in the market today. In cities without rent control, rents for available apartments form a normal distribution around the Census median rent. Here's a chart of Philadelphia rents in 1997:

But in cities with rent control, most of the available housing stock exceeds the median rent. Here's the New York chart from 1997:

Then as now, average advertised rents were about three times higher than average rents as measured by the Census Bureau. And when you look at data from the Furman Center at New York University, it's not hard to see why.

In Manhattan below 96th Street, 35% of rent regulated apartments are occupied by a tenant who has lived there for more than 20 years. Less than 3% of market-rate tenants have been around that long.

Many of those rent regulated tenants would have moved if they had to pay market rent, whether within the city or to Florida; when they hold onto their great deals, they reduce supply available to new renters, and that drives up prices for everybody else.

Rent control is not the sole driver of the gap between the REIS and Census figures. The Furman Center found a median market-rate rent around $1,550 in New York in 2011, compared to $1,160 for rent regulated apartments. But very longstanding tenants with low regulated rents are one key driver of the gap between average rents and average available rents.

4. Property taxes are very high. I wrote about this last month. New York has the second highest property tax rates on rental apartment buildings among large cities in the country; only Detroit's are higher, and that's because property there is barely worth anything. Some portion of this added tax burden gets shifted to tenants as higher rents.

5. High construction costs. In 2003, Economist Ed Glaeser reported data from the R.S. Means company showing that residential construction is 19% more expensive in Manhattan than Chicago. Higher construction costs mean higher rents.

There are lots of reasons for high construction costs in New York. Wages here are high for all kinds of workers, including construction workers. Many New York construction sites don't have spacious lots where you can store materials.

But regulation is also a likely culprit. For example, New York has an unusually stringent law requiring frequent and costly inspections of building facades, which is why you see so much more scaffolding in Manhattan than other cities.

And there are no non-union crane operators in New York City, meaning any construction project tall enough to require a crane must be built with union labor. That adds costs; union work rules require overstaffing, according to the Real Estate Board of New York, and some crane operators in the city make over $500,000 a year including overtime and benefits.

6. Affordable-housing set asides. Much new multifamily construction in New York City is built under programs where developers get a tax abatement in exchange for setting aside a fraction of the building for affordable housing.

That's great for people who win affordable housing lotteries and get below-market rate rents. But the set-asides also reduce the returns to developers, which reduces the amount of housing stock that gets built, which drives up market rents for everybody else.

7. Minimum parking requirements. In general, buildings below 96th Street in Manhattan don't have to have parking. But in upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs, developers are forced to build parking (often, more than is demanded by tenants) if they want to build apartments.

That drives up costs and discourages construction. My neighborhood of Sunnyside, Queens is a testament to this.

I live in a six-story elevator building four minutes' walk to the subway. My building was built in 1937 and has no parking. If you wanted to build it today, you would have to put a parking garage under it. As a result, even though the neighborhood is desirable, new construction is limited.

The building in the picture is next door to mine. It was built after New York City's 1961 zoning reform and so it has above-ground parking. It's one of the few post-1950 apartment buildings in my neighborhood. It's also hideously ugly.

8. Tenant-friendly laws. It's really hard to evict a tenant in New York. That's great if you're a deadbeat. It's also the reason that landlords almost uniformly require a full month's rent in deposit—New York's legal maximum for most apartments. I didn't even know this was abnormal until I moved away from New York for a time and discovered that tenants with good credit could sometimes post little or no deposit in other markets.

The hassle of being a landlord in a tenant-friendly jurisdiction also discourages rental construction at the margin (again driving up rents) and encourages landlords to be extra picky about tenants' credit. It's just another reason it's so difficult and expensive to rent here.

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Depending on where you shop, a fiver plus a handful of change can get you a lot on the Lower East Side.

The melting pot of cultures — Chinese, Jewish, Latino and more — has generated a wide variety of businesses, from bargain hair salons offering $5 haircuts to artisanal cafes featuring $5.25 iced mocha coffees.

With a range of price points, shops and restaurants in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood aim to serve the newer hipster and young-professional crowd, along with longtime locals.

Basic Haircut — $5

Ting Ting Hair Salon at 302 Grand St. chops through about 50 customers each day, and a trim for short-haired adult customers costs only $5, according to licensed hairdresser of two years Yan Zatn.

"We are very straightforward here," said Zatn, who can get the job done in less than 10 minutes. 

Kids can get an even cheaper makeover at $4 per cut in the tiny salon, which has been open for 10 years.
And forget going to Drybar for a $40 wash and blowout — Zatn and her team of five licensed hairdressers will do it for about $8.

"We don't advertise," she said. "These are all people from the neighborhood."

25 Pork and Chive Dumplings — $5

Ten pork and chive dumplings go for just $2 at China North Dumpling, at 27 Essex St. between Hester and Grand streets, but a fiver will give you a meal for two, plus a few left over.

"We take less profit off each order so more people come," said Chen Jin Guo, 57, who opened the store eight years ago with his wife and offers 25 dumplings for $5. "We have a lot of returning customers."

His staff of five work long days to make the hundreds of dumplings, sesame pancakes and spring rolls that leave the store each day.

Gluten-Free Cupcake — $4.95

Babycakes NYC bakery, at 248 Broome St., is the saving grace for the discerning dieter and allergy-stricken customer.

"Our cupcakes are gluten free, soy free and vegan," wrote the bakery’s general manager, Amy Lachenauer, of the business that opened in 2005. "We use only natural ingredients, no artificial colors or flavorings, and make everything in our own ovens in the New York location."

Cupcakes come in a range of flavors such as vanilla, cookie crunch and chocolate mint.

At 4.2 million square feet, The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. is already one of the biggest malls in the U.S. — and the most visited, with 40 million visitors per year,

But starting this fall, the mall is planning to add up to 5.6 million square feet of space in hopes of drawing an additional 20 million visitors annually.

According to the mall's website, the new expansion will aim to attract customers with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more.

Unlike the existing mall, the new stores and lodging options will be in a "boutique" style. The expansion will also add up to 8,000 parking spaces.

The mall has become something of a shopping destination for wealthy tourists from Asia and Europe, and international visitors have been known to spend up to 2.5 times more than domestic customers, according to the Pioneer Press.

Management wants to cater to these higher-income customers by putting an emphasis on luxury retailers and by offering features like valet parking, a wellness center, multiple spas, a permanent museum-quality exhibition space.

They've already added a Radisson Blu Hotel, which is part of an Radisson's upscale chain. The mall is also looking to up the quality of its food offerings; food courts will be known as "food halls" and menus will feature less pizza and soda in favor of more sushi and wine.

The expansion will end up costing about $2.5 billion in total and will take place in several stages, according to the Pioneer Press. The first phase of construction will begin this fall and will cost about $250 million, adding about 50 new stores and expanding the mall to the north. 

The Pioneer Press also reports that among the new amenities will be a state-of-the-art water park and accompanying resort with 300 to 400 rooms and an NHL-sized indoor skating rink.

Check out some renderings of the expansion below:

SEE ALSO: Check out these malls that are even bigger

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Over 29,000 bodypaint enthusiasts gathered in Austria last weekend for the 16th annual World Bodypainting Festival.

Artists and models from 45 countries, including India, Kazakhstan and the Philippines, competed in the "Mecca of Bodypainting" event. 

This year's theme was "Planet Food," and competitors showed off their intricately painted food-themed bodies.

The entire body is used as a canvas during the festival and though all models must wear underwear, they are free to go topless.

Artists compete in categories such as brush, sponge, and airbrush.

The artists take hours to create their living works of art.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — It's not quite "Project Pantsuit," but it's not far off.

Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday honored fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, the man responsible for a teal silk pantsuit she wore when she was sworn in as a senator.

The two previously shared the stage last month in New York when Clinton, a self-professed pantsuit aficionado, presented de la Renta with the Council of Fashion Designers of America's highest honor and joked about a fictional "Project Runway" spinoff, "Project Pantsuit."

They met again Monday evening in Little Rock, where some of de la Renta's work — including the teal pantsuit — is on display at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center.

Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, thanked de la Renta for his work and his friendship as they feted him at a temporary exhibit called "Oscar de la Renta: American Icon," which opened in May and runs through Dec. 1.

"I was not asked to open this relatively brief ceremony because I am the most expert person on this stage in the field of high fashion," the former president said in the company of de la Renta and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.

Wintour, meanwhile, praised de la Renta and his work with first ladies and Clinton for her work over the years, most recently as secretary of state.

"She always looked entirely appropriate wherever she was and nearly always in Oscar," Wintour said.

Wintour drew applause from the crowd when she mentioned the former first lady as a potential presidential candidate in 2016.

"It's anyone's guess what the next chapter will be for this extraordinary woman," Wintour said. "I can only hope that all of you here in Little Rock will be celebrating her come November 2016."

Clinton didn't discuss her future or poke fun at her penchant for pantsuits on Monday.

Instead, she thanked de la Renta, whom she has called a "dear friend."

"Oscar has really treated first ladies such as myself and Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush with such great support," she said. "And sometimes, as Chelsea knows, he's even dressed our daughters."

That was evidenced at the de la Renta exhibit, where Clinton's daughter's garb was displayed near her teal pantsuit.

That pantsuit, which hardly needs a placard identifying who wore it, stands near a red, cashmere outfit Laura Bush wore in 2008 and a beige ensemble Nancy Reagan donned a decade earlier.

Visitors also see reproductions of a couple of de la Renta dresses Clinton has worn over the years, but the pantsuit stands out.

The signage surrounding her pantsuit, much like her new Twitter biography, plays on the prominent pantsuits she's worn.

Clinton calls herself a "pantsuit aficionado" on Twitter. However, the wording on a placard at the exhibit — much like the exhibit itself — is a bit more highbrow.

"Pantsuits designed by Oscar de la Renta are perhaps Hillary Clinton's most famous sartorial statement," a sign says.

Across the exhibit, flowers decorate a handful of the designer's evening gowns. Another array of dresses pay homage to the Dominican-born designer's time in Spain. A mannequin wearing a black-and-white polka dot mermaid dress pauses as if frozen while dancing flamenco, her arms snaking through the air.

"What I saw in Spain colored the way I have looked at clothes ever since," de la Renta says in a quote displayed on the wall.

The former first ladies' outfits don't look quite like they walked off the streets of Seville, but they're still clearly de la Renta — a designer who has built relationships with a number of women in the White House.

"Oscar has been a dear friend to me, and many other first ladies. His designs are truly beautiful and exemplify American style," Laura Bush said in a quote near the red suit she wore five years ago for the White House Holiday Press Preview.

___

If You Go...

OSCAR DE LA RENTA: AMERICAN ICON: At the Clinton Presidential Center, Little Rock, Ark., through Dec. 1. Free admission. Open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sundays, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.; http://www.clintonpresidentialcenter.org/exhibits/temporary-exhibits/oscar-de-la-renta-american-icon

___

Follow Jeannie Nuss at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss

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It’s easy to get a little jaded when it comes to heartwarming pick-me-up stories, but it’s actually impossible to be cynical about anything involving five hundred dollars, one man’s generous dying wish, and command to “order a f*cking pizza.” When 30-year-old Kentucky resident Aaron Collins died, he left behind a will with a very specific request for his family. He wanted them to go out to dinner and “leave an awesome tip (and I don’t mean 25%. I mean $500 on a f*cking pizza) for a waiter or waitress.” According to his family, Aaron “was generous with the limited means he had” during his lifetime, and his awesome factor got upped by about a thousand percent when he chose waiters and waitresses to receive his generous payout  (because let’s be real, we all know that waiters and waitresses get the sh*t end of the stick when it comes to food industry shenanigans).

His family filmed themselves carrying out his dying wish and put the entire thing on YouTube, where it garnered such a reaction that thousands of people began donating money to make Aaron’s wish come true again. And again. And again. The family was able to raise over $60,000 and plans to use the money to leave $500 tips in every single one of the fifty states.  Quick recommendation: if you’re ever having a truly crappy day, do yourself a favor and watch a few of these videos back-to-back. You haven’t seen happiness until you’ve seen a minimum wage waitress in a regulation polo suddenly be gifted with $500 from well-meaning strangers, and it’s going to make you smile. Promise.

The entire collection can be found on the family’s website, and you can peep the most recent video below:

H/T + PicThx Eater

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