Advertisement
Took an unbelievable journey through the remotest part of the world I've ever been in. The tiring, back breaking last few days went something like this:
June 29: overnight train ride from Krasnoyarsk to Abakan, 9 hours
June 30: share taxi from Abakan train station to Kyzyl, 5½ hours, spent one night in Kyzyl
July 1: UAZ (burly Russian 4x4 van) to Mugur-Aksy, 10 hour trip
after spending 3 hours picking up passengers and another 2 hours tinkering with the vehicle's engine, spent one night in Mugur-Aksy
July 2: short 2 hour trip to Kyzyl-Khaya again by UAZ from where I thought I'd catch another UAZ to Altai, eventually did at 7 pm with same driver, arrived in Kosh-Agach at 1:00 am but gained an hour, spent 2 nights
July 4: 8 am minibus to Gorno-Altaisk, arrived at 3:30 pm totally exhausted, will spend 4 or 5 nights in the very nice Hotel Igman
$US ≈ 33p.
Кызыл Kyzyl
Definitely not my favorite place in Siberia. Getting there was expensive as was the run down hotel. The town was ridiculously spread out for no apparent reason as it was a planned
Mungun-Taiga
3937 meters high.Soviet city. It did not help that it was scorching hot and there was nothing remotely interesting near the hotel except the minibus staging area but the minibus to Mugur-Aksy did not leave from there.
Accomodation and food I was the last person dropped off at my destination which up until that point had been unknown. I asked other passengers about a place to stay and they suggested Hotel Mongulek which was where the driver took me. The most basic room was 1000p. and it was barely worth half that compared to most other places I'd stayed in Siberia. The room was decrepit with the worst bed I've ever slept on. The communal shower was down the hall but it had plenty of powerful hot water. Fortunately it was just for one night which made it tolerable and I finally got my visa registered (no charge) after almost 1 month in Russia. Vostorg is by far the best place to eat. Typical Soviet stolovaya fare but it is very good. If there are unappealing glasses of brown, chunky liquid in the drink case, grab one. It is unprocessed apple cider and fantastic especially at only 24p. for ~½ liter.
Arid Mongolian Steppe
Siberian steppe, actually. Same thing - both wicked dry in summer and wicked cold in winter. They also serve desserts and cheap espresso drinks. Кафе Фиюжон (Cafe Fusion) located adjacent and below the defunct Hotel Kyzyl also serves espresso (70p. americano) with the added bonus of WiFi. PCs with internet also available at the post office for 1p./minute.
Transport Share taxi from Abakan train station to Kyzyl is 1200p. but the driver will probably ask for 1500p. or more. The scenic ride is approximately 5½ hours long through the Sayan Mountains but it takes a long time to drop off all the passengers which I found very annoying since I was last. In hindsight, when I had the chance I should have bought a ticket for the Khrushchev-era bus also leaving the Abakan train station at 7:50 am, arriving in Kyzyl at 4:00 pm, and costing a mere 600p. It would have taken longer but the difference would have been minor after factoring in all the drop offs. I did actually try to buy a bus ticket after initially passing but I think either it sold out or the babushka at the ticket window did not want to or was not allowed to sell to foreigners. After dumping my bags in the hotel, I could
not wait to find out how to leave god forsaken Kyzyl. There was a tour office in the hotel lobby so I asked the woman if it were possible to hire a horse and guide for the trip to Altai. She didn't know and called her English speaking friend who told me I could take another share taxi from Hotel Kyzyl to Mugur-Aksy where I could find a horse and guide (turned out not to be true). I walked over to the hotel parking lot and confirmed the share taxi leaving in the morning for 1000p. per person. It was a much longer ride (normally 8-10 hours) in an УАЗ (UAZ) which is not great on gas, half of it on an appalling dirt road, which makes the share taxi from Abakan look like a complete rip off. We stopped a couple of times to eat, first about 2-3 hours after leaving Kyzyl then again at about 7:00 or 8:00 pm where I devoured a potato turnover and a plate of noodles with yak stew which was pretty, pretty good.
Мугур-Аксы Mugur-Aksy
It was a quick in and out of Mugur-Asky as we arrived late Sunday
Russian-Mongolian Border Fence
White dots in the distance are Mongolian yurts belonging to herdsmen. Or herdspeople as the case may be. night and I was fortunate to find a ride out of town at 12:30 pm Monday.
Accommodation and food There is only one place to stay - the Гостиница ('gostinitsa' or hotel) where I paid 500p. for my own room with TV seemingly broadcasting from Mongolia. There was an outhouse, no shower, and no visa registration which did not matter as there was no semblance of police or any type of security personnel which was mildly surprising since the town is adjacent to the purportedly sensitive border with Mongolia. Cafe Magarita serves as the town's only restaurant. A couple of fried eggs, bread, and juice went for ~30p. Post office does not have internet but it is supposedly available at the nearby electronics shop.
Transport I ran into our previous day's UAZ driver on Sunday morning and he asked me about my plans. A little while later he introduced me to his friend Nikolai who would take me to Altai. At least that was what I though at the time. Turned out he was only going as far as Kyzyl-Khaya but assured me I could get to Altai the following day. He picked me up at the hotel
Not Sure What the Name of This Place Was
Or if it even existed. Didn't seem to be a settlement of any sort there. and we agreed on the 500p. fare for the 2 hour trip. We stopped a lot for pit stops and taking pictures which were really just Nik's smoke breaks and he pointed out some mountains and the Mongolian border guards on patrol. I'm pretty sure I was not supposed to be that close to the border but no one stopped me along the way. According to the map, the road to Altai skirted the north side of Mungun Tayga mountain but it sure did seem odd that the mountain was constantly to our right as we were driving in a general westerly direction. I soon got very nervous that Kyzyl-Khaya was either in Mongolia or we were going to drive through Mongolia on the way to his village. We did not pass through Mongolia but the road did go right along the border. I got dropped off at the civic building which contained the hotel and stolovaya but they were both closed while the interiors were being repainted. We also found out that the only transport to Altai left earlier in the day. So no ride and no place to stay. Interesting. Nikolai took me to his house, we drank
some tea with yak milk, and supped on stew with lamb, potatoes, and pasta. I was thinking that he was going to put me up for the night seeing as I had no place to go. We filled the time looking at pictures on my laptop, playing Grand Theft Auto (Vice City), Call of Duty (both on his son's laptop), and talking about Siberian weather which can reach -60°C in winter. A few hours later his friend shows up and we all start talking about a price to go to Altai. I asked when and he said, 'chas' which I think is the Tuvan abbreviation of the Russian word 'seychas' meaning now. It was almost 7:00 pm and I knew it was going to be a long ride but for 1500p. it seemed like a deal. Besides, I had no idea where I was going to sleep or when the next ride would be leaving. I knew it was going to be rough when 5 minutes out of town we were driving through a dry creek bed. Then the road got worse. There wasn't actually a road. Until Kyzyl-Khaya I had always been on a maintained road, however poor, as
Река Толайты
Tolayty River there were kilometer markers, posted destinations, and distances. But this ride was almost entirely across nomadic lamb and goat herders' territory with the occasional yak, horse, or cow interspersed with their fellow livestock. These people were living in yurts in the middle of nowhere and here we were driving all over their 'hood in the middle of the night. There was a bit of a track in places but it was very bad and the passengers had to hold on to the seats so as not to bounce up or sideways and hit their heads on the UAZ ceiling crossbars or windows. I never could figure out how Nikolai was making any money as I was the only paying passenger and 1500p. probably just paid for the petrol consumed to Altai not to mention the serious wear and tear on the 4x4.
Кош-Агач Kosh-Agach
Kind of an end of the world butt hole feel to it which is only natural since it is the end of the world butt hole. I guess it could actually be worse at the border with Mongolia. That consolation did not assuage my feelings for Kosh-Agach but I was too physically
spent and mentally drained to care. It made me pine for the days of Kyzyl looking like paradise at that point which was definitely no easy task.
Accommodation and food We rolled in to Kosh-Agach at 1:00 am, turned our watches back an hour, and drove to Hotel Tranzit which was closed. We ended up at the nearby Hotel Zarya where Nikolai, his wife and young son, and their friends took their own room (again, very puzzling with regard to how profitable this trip would be for Nik) and I took my own for 350p. with a share bathroom and kitchen. I asked the manager about registering my visa the next day but he would have none of it. In fact, he told me he was closed when I asked him about staying another night. Fortunately Hotel Tranzit was open for business and Sergey, the manager, said I could spend the night for 350p. and he would ask the police about registering my visa. He did however say that registration was unnecessary since I had the documentation from Kyzyl which would stave off any issues for 5 business days. Turned out he was right as the local police would
not register my visa. I would get it taken care of in Gorno-Altaisk the following day much to my relief. For dining options the market has a nice stolovaya which is closed for supper. Cafe Telets filled the void late in the evening. Internet is available at the post office for 1p./minute.
Transport Daily marshrutka to Gorno-Altaysk, 8:00 am departure from Siberbank, 450p., stop at uninspiring cafe for lunch in Onguday, arrive in Gorno-Altaysk around 3:00 pm. Buy tickets the day before from the sporting goods store across the street from Siberbank. Look for the 'Касса' or cash office sign.
Горно-Алтайск Gorno-Altaysk
I came to Gorno-Altaysk a couple of days ago for some desperately needed R&R and to take care of registering my visa. I actually ended up here much sooner than expected but there's not much to do right in town so I've been a bit bored. I do have a very nice room in a hotel and there are a lot of places to eat and get good coffee so staying here for 5 days isn't so bad. The wild Katun River is nearby but the trips on that section are all multi
days and don't line up with my schedule, There are other excursions but they involve a lot of travel time which I'd rather avoid. Sunday afternoon or Monday morning I'll take a 4:40 bus ride to Barnaul and from there to Tomsk for 3 days on a Monday evening overnight train. Almost everyone I met who's taken the train from Moscow has stopped there and says it's nice.
Accommodation and food Igman Hotel, across from bus station, is the best deal in Russia. 800p. got me a very schwank economy room with share bathroom, cable TV, hot water pot, and WiFi. The rate is for 24 hours so I'll be able to checkout at 4:00 pm whenever I decide to leave. Being close to the bus station is convenient for the decent stolovaya and cafe although they close too early, at 6:00 and 7:00 pm, respectively. There is also a good coffee machine in the bus terminal, 15p. for a black coffee, 20p. for a double. Excellent coffee can also be swilled at Café Natalie where a double espresso is 70p. They also have good food and are open much later than most places but are also more expensive.
Nikolai and His Reliable УАЗ
UAZ is the vehicle of choice in Tuva and Altai. Serious cloud over Mungun-Taiga. Internet cafes around town. Also open late are the cafes in the shopping mall across from the Lenin monument.
Transport There is no train station here but Russian rail tickets can be bought in the bus station with a not so minor flat 180p. commission which seemed steep for the 1024p. ticket that I bought from Barnaul to Tomsk. There is a direct bus from here to Tomsk for 733p. but it is 12 hours and I think better served by train as much as possible. There are also buses to Novosibirsk, Barnaul, Biysk, Chemal, and Lake Teletskoe. Minivans to Kosh-Agach leave from just outside the bus station parking area. If you need to head south, I would wait across from the gold domed church starting at 3:00 pm the day before you want to leave and talk to the drivers about arranging transport.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.143s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 14; qc: 32; dbt: 0.0306s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.2mb
John Loomis
non-member comment
The sound of silence
Wow. Looks like stuff I've seen in Natl Geo films or read about in books. What a different feeling it must be to be so far out there. Cool stuff.