TransSib part deux

Hi Folks,

It's me again :) I know, it has been a while but finding access to the web in Siberia is like finding a needle in a haystack......Rite, we arrived in Irkutsk saturday week ago after 78 hours on the train which was quite an experience!

Moscow has treated us very well and it was pretty emotional saying goodbye :p Our train departed at 23.30 sharp so we were there at least 30 mins in advance - don't want to miss this one aye:p Our compartiments were very basic with 2 bunks on each side and our gear was supplied by our very own provenitsa - they weren't as grumpy as people told us :) After a few miles we decided to go for a short recon stroll but we stranded after a few meters in the smoking area - the first vodka drinking encounter with russians was a fact!!! Damn, that was quite an experience as I'm not much of a vodka consumer myself, still not..... :p We drank, ate and chanted with the russians and we made good friends with them, the day after was no difference! Had a liquid lunch with our comrades Bobar and Yuri but that didn't last long as the vodka started to kick in - Yuri wasn't much of a russian as he threw up basically everything he drank and ate! Me and Jay were also casualties as the major hangover last for a few days and we're completely cured from binging vodka I tell ya :p

The landscape we saw wasn't very diverse to be honest - mostly birch trees, green fields and worn off lada's! The train's average velocity was about 66 KMPH and makes you really feel every single kilometre that you travel :) It's also a bit of survival as there's no shower in our platzkarty and the toilet facilities aren't the villeroy&noch that I'm used to.....hahaha back to basic! Preparation is key so we weren't unpleasantly surprised - it's therefore pretty hard to describe how a hot shower after 4 days feels like, use your imagination :)

The arrival in Irkutsk was a fairly cold one as it was 10/15 degrees cooler than on the train(21c) we already booked everything in advance so our hostel gladly welcomed us with open arms! www.baikaler.com in case anyone would like to step into our footsteps :) Irkutsk as a town isn't much different from most of the russian towns, loads of statues, parks, former soviet buildings and worn off lada's. Sunday at 10 was departure time with our guide Jack - who also runs the hostel - to Krestofska for 2 days of hiking in the siberian woods.

The location of our homestay with the locals was pretty amazing and had the resemblance of an austrian ski-resort without the snow and many tourists! Lodges were very, very basic, food was great and the toilet facilities were nothing more than a hole in the ground with a wooden shack built around it :) happy days! Hiking isn't my strongest point but after 30/40 km I felt pretty well and no muscle aches(thank you NAC) had some great views over lake Baikal and most important: no rain! Left on the 3rd day as we headed for the ferry to Olkhon Island on the westshore of the lake.

This was supposed to be a homestay but it was more like a family run hostel with the same lack of facilities in Krestofska :) Beautiful scenery, great weather and hardly any tourists. Chilled out the day after our arrival and went on a russian 4x4 safari yesterday and saw most of the island. We left this morning were we took the ferry back to the mainland and arrived a few hours agon in Irkutsk once again.

We now go for train shopping as from tomorrow our 2nd part of the journey begins - Irkutsk to Vladivostok in 70 hours! I personally really look forward to China but first the trainride and one night in Vladivostok - more news from there or else from Beijing :)

I hereby want to give a few shoutouts:

Holten: feest, feest, KEUNEFEEST! Maak d'r een groots feest van :)
Janneke & Vanessa: Have a good one - happy travels and stay healthy! chúc mừng năm mới, hehehe
XOS: still not missing you lot.......see ya in 2 weeks!

Ok, going for a big fat steak as we speak and probably for a few Baltika beers as well!

Dasvedanya!

Edwin

---

Part of trip: Trans Siberian Express

---