Irkutsk - after 3 and half day in train :)

---

(some pictures from Moscow and Irkutsk we will upload asap, we forgot to bring the card reader today 😞 )

So we made it to Irkutsk early this morning. The journey was nice ! Better than we expected. We were in one "kupe" with nice older russian couple, who were on their way to visit family living at lake Baikal. The journey had started with shots of vodka and eating cooked chicken with them. Very nice people 😊
Again, we were mostly among russian people, only some of them were tourists, going as well to Baikal.
Most of them do not speak english, and if they do, only on very basic level. As they explained, it is because they have no reason to learn or no opportunities to practice. If they go on holidays, it is within the country, or to Belarus, Baltic states ... and there they all speak russian. So we had to brush off our russian language skills 😊
We passed many large cities, where there are large factories, they seem like from the good old communist times ... now very very old...
On the platforms we could buy food from the local people, the beer too.
Otherwise it is a vast country of taigas, steppes ... here and there few houses.

In general, people are very friendly and generous. But there were few instances that left bad taste in our mouth. In Irkutsk, again, it is as it was something illegal to run a hostel. No plates, nothing. Hostel is some apartment in a block of flats. You know the number of the flat, go there but are unsure whether you are at the proper address. Absolutely nothing saying "hostel". So we have asked the passerby before ringing the bell. And inside, normal hostel with tourists from all over the world.

And we were told we should register our visa in every larger city or region we visit. Here it cost us 300 RUB.
It really seems like they do not want foreign tourists here, or they want them to keep at bay.

I have asked on the train one 23years old Russian guy, what is the population of Russia. He told me it can not be determined, but certainly something between 400 mil and 500 mil. And told me that it is the second world's largest population. I disagreed.
I told other older (again Russian) guy what I heard from this one, he told me it must be even much more as Russia is very very big country.
Strange logic.
The newspaper I came across says it is 142 mil.

The day after tomorrow we are going to lake Baikal, to Olchon island, which is some 300 km from here (we got the bus tickets only for that day). We will explore Irkutsk in the meantime. It is a dirty city, some clash of the european and asian culture.
I hope we will upload the pics soon.

---

Photos

Russian people
the couple we travelled with in the "kupe" (with Zuzana :).

One of the train stations
on the way from Moscow

typical villages
in the middle of nowhere

Comments

[Dennis]

Population
"He told me it can not be determined, but certainly something between 400 mil and 500 mil. And told me that it is the second world's largest population. I disagreed." LMAO!!! Those who yell that Americans are stupid should look closer in their own backyard :)