Blogs from Olkhon, Siberia, Russia, Europe
November 3rd 2011
Next morning we headed to the bus stop and we found a group of people already waiting for the same minibus. We looked at each other and decide to wait anyway. We did not like the idea of waiting for the next one for 3h in freezing weather. The driver allowed us in but later on started to ask something about the phone. Good we had a Russian speaking Cyril with us but we still had no idea what he was on about. Apparently this bus is for bookings only so we were asked to leave very quickly. Shame that no one at Nikita's mentioned it to us. The driver obviously felt bed or just wanted more earnings, as he asked people to squeeze in and we managed to get place. Cyril was not very happy ... read more
August 22nd 2011
It was way too late to get out of a big city like Irkutsk. Especially because I could not even find my way out. The traffic was horrible for a biker not accustomed to Irkutsk traffic. Decidedly I went out to Olkhon as my couchsurfer friend Stefan had recommended it. He told me that I in particular should stay in a hostel called Nikita's. I had a book I needed to swap, so I was going the 300 k out there to do that. I took many a detour and when I was finally on the right course, it was really dark. Tatiana had been right. I should have waited until next day. I found a spot of forest between the noisy state road leading to Bayandai and some industry. I was actually not displeased with ... read more
Lake Baikal - Wodka connecting people!!!
Published: August 16th 2011Europe » Russia » Siberia » Olkhon
August 9th 2011
Hallo again!! Just for all nationalities, we start to write in English. After a very funny night with 4 nice Germans in the Bierhaus/Irkutsk (we met the strawberry king of Irkutsk - Stefan - mi Erdbeere es su Erdbeere) we found finally our way to Lake Baikal after a bumpy busride and ferrytrip. It was a fantastic week camping in the forest with beach acces directly in front of our tent. Sandy white beaches with icecold crystalclear water made this island of Olkchon unforgetable, also Sascha and Anja, our friends living next to us and a Iwan the Russian policeman with his family. WODKA CONNECTING PEOPLE!!!! After all a magic place in the heart of Siberia - forget Chuschir - go wild in the nature on Olkchon. Next destination after going back to Irkutsk - MONGOLIA ... read more
July 25th 2010
'Hvordan var det lige du fik mig overtalt til at tage tilbage hertil' citat Claus Havde glemt det daarlige vi saa i Rusland og russerne men blev mindet om det forste gang allerede i Berlin da vi saa de foerste russere. Heldigvis var 'landet' helt anderledes, og vi har nu ogsaa positive oplevelser af Rusland og enkelte flere russere. Turen til Olhkon tog i alt 5 t hvoraf ca 4 paa MEGET bumpet vej. Vi har ALDRIG provet noget lignende i saa lang tid. Oen var flot og folk soede, glaeder os til at vise billeder og fortaelle. Irkutsk var som saa men den private inkvartering var en super oplevelse; en normal russisk lejlighed(!)... read more
October 9th 2009
Baikal Lake Area Hi Dear Friends! Sorry for not writing so long, it's not because we have forgotten about you. Since our last entry we crossed from Europe to Asia and after our adventureous trip on the Trans Siberian we arrived to Irkutsk on 1 October. 4 nights, 3 days on the train sounds horrible, but actually was not that bad... we shared our cabin with 2 Russian guys, both on a 7 day trip to Vladivostok... ouch... one of them was a military pilot. We asked him why he did not fly on this long trip, he said he does not trust the Russian commercial airlines... maybe he likes to be in control??? We had some funny chats with him and his friend, he understood approx 20 % of what we said in English, ... read more
July 26th 2009
When we woke up and I crawled outside the tent, my breath caught in my throat the second time this trip. Across the lake there were mountains and cliffs brilliantly lit by the sun, the blue water of the like was shining and perfectly clear but for white seagulls floating here and there, waiting for fish. Then they would fly and stop moving their wings, and sort of hover in the wind. The ever-present wind on Baikal means that it is never too hot - even if it is 30C. The further you get from the lake, the hotter it gets. But the wind can also get too strong - and that is quite uncomfortable, temperature-wise for one, and also because of the need to secure everything you use. When we got to the beach, we ... read more
July 25th 2009
The journey to Olkhon is not a short one. Thanks to our host, we had tickets reserved and only had to show up at a bus stop by the Central Market. The market is awash with strawberries - apparently, the climate in that area is favorable for growing strawberries, so there is plenty of them. Of course I had to run and get some - and by the time I was done, our mini-bus, or marshrutka (coming from the word marshrut - route) was there. We ended up at the back row, cramped and uncomfortable, so the ride seemed to last ages. We stopped after 2 hours at a road-side cafe and ate some pozy - Buryat dish, a large dumpling filled with minced beef or lamb. Usually two or three of those thing are enough ... read more
July 25th 2009
Back to our journey. Our bus driver agreed to drive us to the edge of the village, from where we could proceed on foot through the forest and to the beach. When he dropped us off on a hill and we turned around, we couldn't believe our eyes. To our right we saw a desert. To our left we saw far-away mountains of the mainland and the water. Between those was a pine forest, and more sand. Still marveling at unexpected presence of the desert, we hoisted our backpacks and our bags with food and set off. (Our host advised us to buy the majority of food in Irkutsk, which we did but didn't need to as there are plenty of shops in Khuzhir selling all the food you might want). We walked through sand, and ... read more
The Most Amazing Place on Lake Baikal - Olkhon Island
Published: August 7th 2009Europe » Russia » Siberia » Olkhon
July 19th 2009
Facts about Lake Baikal: Lake Baikal is in southern Siberia and is also known as the "Blue Eye of Siberia". It contains more water than all of the North American Great Lakes combined. At 1,642 meters (5,390 ft), Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake in the world by volume. Lake Baikal was formed as an ancient rift valley, having the typical long crescent shape with a surface area of (31,722 km2/12,248 sq mi), less than that of Lake Superior or Lake Victoria. Today we were heading to Olkhon Island, 500km from Irkutsk in Lake Baikal. We had heard great reviews of this island so were excited to go. First we had to figure out how to get there, after discovering we couldn't get there from Listvyanaka by boat ... read more
