Another beautiful day in Listvyanka, unfortunately we were leaving. After breakfast we were back on the bus heading back to Irkutsk and we were stopping off at the Open Air Wood Museum which was a re-creation of the typical houses and villages from the early Evenks (similar to the North American Indians) through to the Buryats from Mongolia and the Russians during the 1800’s - 1900’s. They made their houses from solid logs as you would expect and in later years some of the woodwork was quite ornate and intricate. They were also into glassworks both for windows and to make [View Full Entry]

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Once again there was thunder and lightning and rain overnight but by the morning the rain had stopped. Unfortunately it was still overcast and threatening rain but that was ok, after breakfast we jumped on the bus and took a short trip up the road to the local Ecological Museum. Sergay talked at length about the lake, it’s history, the fish life, the seals, the lake, the fish life, the history,….. he is very passionate about lake Baikal. During the war before the connection between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude was completed on the Trans-Siberian railway they even pushed railway carriages [View Full Entry]

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Cereal in a cup for breakfast again before arriving at Irkutsk, the capital of Siberia, at around 8 am. We were met on the platform by our new guide Sergay who carefully ushered us out to our bus and our new driver Sergay (yes, they were both Sergay). We were driven to our hotel just so we could exchange some cash before heading out to the lakeside town of Listvyanka 70 km away where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. We headed out on the Eisenhauer Road (which was originally built for a visit by the then US [View Full Entry]

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Woke up this morning at around 7 and had cereal in a cup and coffee for breakfast. When we got off to use the toilet we discovered that we only had 2 carriages and no engine, we had been abandoned! The guards arrived at about 7.45 and waited on the platform smoking and chatting away to themselves and the dodgy looking money exchange man, until they decided to check our cabins and passports at around 9. A little later on we were joined by an engine which took us and our guards across to Naushki on the Russian side of the [View Full Entry]

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After thunder and lighting and a few heavy showers overnight we awoke to another crisp clear morning - now that’s the way I like it! We had breakfast and organized ourselves for the bus trip back to UB, we had left most of our gear at the hotel so it wasn’t too hard to pack but I think everyone really enjoyed the fresh air and countryside and would have liked to have stayed a bit longer. We stopped at the UB memorial to all the conflicts Mongolia has been involved in over the years which overlooked the city. As usual there [View Full Entry]

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We awoke to another crisp and perfect morning after a good night’s sleep. (only a slight tinge of a headache from the bull’s blood but it was gone in no time) We had a one and a half our hike (more of a wander really) over the hills to Turtle Rock planned so, after a leisurely breakfast we wandered off. As I said before the scenery here is spectacular and there are no fences so you can just wander where ever you wish. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful clear day, after about 5km or so we reached [View Full Entry]

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Breakfast this morning at 8.00 was simple but adequate; we had a couple of visits planned then off to the Guru Ger Camp about 70 km out of town. The first visit was to a famous Buddhist Temple and monastery and we all filed through while they were at prayer which apparently was quite normal but seemed a bit intrusive as was the visit to their school where the younger ones were also praying - but I guess they are used to it. The actual temple had a huge copper and gold Buddha inside which was most impressive but it cost [View Full Entry]

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The Gobi Desert stretches for miles and miles in all directions and looks pretty flat and dry. It’s pretty dusty as well and the dust permeates into our carriage and coats everything with a fine film. The desert may be dry and barren but it’s not without life as there are hundreds of Mongolian horses roaming free in small herds, crows (or ravens), and a few hawks (or eagles). We passed the odd ger parked in the wilderness and the odd small town on the way and stopped at a couple for some reason or other where the young kids on [View Full Entry]

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Screwed up something with my days, I,ve got 2 day 19's??? No matter it just carries on Up just after 5 this morning to board the bus back to the train station. The hotel had made us takeaway breakfast packs to take with us and we also had a few extra provisions so we carrying a bit more than normal and the bus could not park very close to the station so we had to walk for about 10 min. Getting through the station was no sweat for seasoned pros like us and when we boarded the train we were pleasantly [View Full Entry]

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Didn’t sleep too badly, although the aircon could have been a little cooler for my liking. Down for breakfast before heading off to the Great Wall at 8.30 We were going to the restored Mutainyu section of the Great Wall, about 1 and a half hours drive from the hotel (that’s half an hour to get out of Beijing and 1 hour further) It was a bit further than the Badaling section but is apparently a lot more impressive in the way it is constructed and the forest setting. The restored part is 2km long with and it was quite a [View Full Entry]

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