Blogs from Siberia, Russia, Europe - page 33

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Europe » Russia » Siberia » Irkutsk June 10th 2009

After all the hassles of buying the tickets it was incredibly easy to catch the train. We left the hostel at 6.30am and were at the station by 7am. Found the platform easily and the train and our bunks - we had hoped to have the four bunks to ourselves but there was already a norwegian installed. We got ourselves set up and the train pulled away from the station. There's not a lot to do on the train - we looked out the window for a while, had a bit of a sleep and checked out the dining car. The food left a lot to be desired - we thought we'd hit lucky when we got two meal vouchers - wrong!! Lunch was carrot and celery, rice and a few bits of meat in gravy ... read more
Lunch
Mongolian Traders

Europe » Russia » Siberia » Irkutsk June 5th 2009

… And All The Fresh Water You Need Picked up from the train station at Irkutsk, we were whisked through the city, to Lake Baikal, about an hour out, for our home stay. Meeting our host, we were pleasantly surprised to find tea and biscuits waiting for us and even more so when we realised our host had a good grasp on the English language. After 36 hours on a train, you can imagine what the first thing on our minds was, a nice hot shower…. only to find that the entire town is without hot water and there is no indication when it will be back on. I know what your thinking… toughen up princess… drink some concrete… well let me tell you, the water comes straight from the lake and sits at a rather ... read more
Sunset At Lake Baikal 11pm
Irkutsk 10
Depth Model Of Lake Baikal

Europe » Russia » Siberia » Irkutsk May 25th 2009

OKAY HERE GOES, PAY ATTENTION IT GETS COMPLICATED: ARRIVE MOSCOW JUNE 4 ARRIVE IRKUTSK JUNE 8 SIBERIAN EXPRESS LEAVE IRKUTSK JUNE9 BAM RAILROAD ARRIVE SEVEROBAIKALSK FOR THE CAMP CAMP JUNE 12 -22 BACK TO IRKUTSK FOR 10 DAYS A SIDE TRIP TO MONGOLIA PRIZ. NATIONAL FOREST FOR 2ND CAMP ENGLISH PRIS NATIONAL FOREST FOR ENGLISH HOME AUGUST 3 (MAYBE) ... read more

Europe » Russia » Siberia » Lake Baikal May 25th 2009

FIRST OF ALL YOU WILL NEED MY ITENERIAY FOR MY TRAVELS... read more
My new friends in Siberia

Europe » Russia » Siberia » Ulan-Ude May 22nd 2009

C'est avec de tres bons souvenirs en tete que j'ai repris le train en 3e classe, pour rallier Irkutsk a Ulan Ude. Huit heures dans ce train de nuit, fort calme, m'ont paru etre huit minutes. Au petit matin, dernier regard dans le wagon en quittant le transsibérien russe, a bord duquel je ne remonterai plus au cours de ce voyage. 6h10 en gare d'Ulan Ude et Natalia est au rendez-vous pour m'accueillir sur le quai. Elle est guide (mais pas blonde ; dommage pour Bécaud, on y était presque :D) et propose des séjours chez l'habitant dans le centre ville, solution que j'ai adoptée, tant le choix d'hotels bon marchés est pauvre dans le coin. J'ai donc posé mon sac a dos durant trois jours chez Valeria et Nicolai, qui se partagent un trois pieces ... read more
Selanga River pres de Ulan Ude
Ivolginsky Datsan
Je je je je... je veux la daaague !

Europe » Russia » Siberia » Ulan-Ude May 20th 2009

We arrived in Ulan-Ude about 6 am. We had a home stay with Andrey and Svetlana. Andrei picked us up at the station. At their home we had a good breakfast with pancakes that Svetlana had prepared for us . We had some rest and about 11 we left with Andrey to visit the Atsagatsky Buddhist Lamasery. The last Tzar also consulted the Lamas in this temple. The journey from the city to there was really enjoyable. Siberia finally unfolded under our eyes. The landscape is barren but with abundant wildlife. After the Lamasery we visited a Buryat village . Ghelya greeted us at the gate of her log cabin with green tea and milk. The Buryats were nomads in the past. Like the Mongolians they are very proud of their dairy products. That part of ... read more
Atsagatsky Lamasery
View from the Atsagatsky Lamasery
Ben in the Buryat country, Siberia.

Europe » Russia » Siberia » Irkutsk May 19th 2009

On 16 May at 9.10 we arrived at the station in Irkutsk after 52 hours on the train. We were then taken to the village of Listvyanka, about 1 hour drive. We shared the car with Natasha from South Africa and Derek from England. Both had been traveling the Trans Siberian from Beijing to Moscow, so Ben and I had plenty of questions. They told us the stories of the Mongolian traders crossing the border to sell goods in Russia. In Mongolia it is much cheaper. The stories of how the traders hide their merchandise was quite scary. Amused us for some time. This region of Russia is very different from what we had seen so far and the day before it had snowed in Irkutsk. We still saw from the train the snow that had ... read more
Lake Baikal
Wild life in the lake - Baikal Seals
Washing my face

Europe » Russia » Siberia » Lake Baikal May 17th 2009

Dimanche 10 mai, 8h00, dans un petit hôtel d'Irkutsk. J'émerge difficilement, les yeux bon plissés, un arrière goût de vin moldave au fond de la gorge. Ouh pas simple! Hier, c'était le jour de la victoire en Russie, une grande fête patriotique commémorant la fin de la 2e guerre mondiale et la victoire sur les Nazis. Voyageurs danois, anglais, écossais, hollandais, suisses et personnel russe de l'hôtel, nous sommes tous sortis pour voir le feu d'artifice et nocer jusqu'a 4h du matin à grand renfort de bière, de champagne russe et de vin rouge local (pas si mal). La perspective de devoir affronter six heures de bus pour gagner Olkhon Island ne m'enchante guère ce matin. Mais bon, on assume! Deux heures plus tard, à la gare routière d'Irkutsk, mes deux compagnons écossais, deux Suissesses et ... read more
Crepuscule sur Cape Burhan
Kuzhir
Paradis de la rando




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