Part 2

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Sooo. After we had realised our timing error we examined our options. They were limited. If we tried to catch a minibus down, we risked missing the train and we weren't entirely confident that we would in fact find a place to sleep the night at Angaskolkya. We headed back to the guesthouse, to check the internet and once again check the train times so we could be sure/or not sure of making the circum-baikail.....low and behold their were two Irishmen that had just arrived and that was the end of us for the day. Paddy had been deprived of serious drinking buddies for long enough so there was no leaving Irkutsk for the moment. We skulked back over to Galina, and begged for our room back, even though she had stripped our bed, and decided to relax after yesterday's frenetic activity. At some stage we went and found a bar, and then collected the Irish (Hugh and John) and took them back to our appartment. The appartment had three bedrooms, two doubles and a twin, and by this time two Spanish guys had moved into the twin, luckily they also decided to join in the fun. To cut a long story short, many beers were consumed, much banter, followed by an expedition to a Russian nightclub at midnight which promised ten-pin-bowling that failed to deliver. More beers, a nightclub full of absolutely stunning but young Russian women (girls really...unfortunately the Russian men aren't really much to look at), and a home time of 3 am led to to some difficulty making the train at 9.26am.......but we did!!!!

Thursday, the day we were meant to get the train, was a beautiful sunny, warm day. Friday, dawned cloudy and cold. On the trip down, snow was falling, and I was more than a little concerned about our plans to walk for an hour down a track that we weren't sure existed, to meet a train that we weren't sure was coming. We chatted badly to some Russians on the train, who understood enough to move us to the carriage of the Provodnitsa, so she would be able to tell us where to disembark. We disembarked into the rain, and proceeded to follow another group of people who had left the train at the same place and eventually, arrived at Angaskolkya. Here we waited in the rain for another hour (by which time I was frozen), chatted to a Russian about his cat which decided my lap would be a great place to perch, and then jumped on the train. A combination of tiredness and weather prevented us from fully appreciating the scenery, and we were glad that by the end of the journey we had secured accomodation for the night with one of the other passengers, who just happened to run a homestay in Baranchiki.

Anastasia's Homestay is listed in the LP, with a price of 300R for half-board, she seemed like such a genuine lady we didn't even think to question whether the price was up-to-date and correct, so we were very taken aback the next morning when we were asked to pay 1, 500R for the night (it did include 3 meals....if you call pot-noodles a meal), completely excessive. So other travellers out there, whilst the family is lovely, and the idea of a homestay attractive, we find it hard to recommend Anastasia's as the price is too steep for a room with no running water and an outdoor pit toilet!

The next morning we took a walk up and down the tracks, had lunch, and then made our way up to Port Baikail to await the ferry. By the afternoon we were back in Irkutsk after the most painful mini-bus ride of our lives (hot tip, beers before a ferry ride and one hour bus ride are NOT a good idea). Here we organised our tickets for the train to Moscow the next night.

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