The adventure is well under way: I have reached the famed Irkoutsk, the mystical town one always reads about in stories of goulags and exile, the heart of Siberia, the bear country, the harshest place one can think off, buried under meters of snow and thrown about by hurling winds, the place where only the fittest and strongest survive, most die of excess vodka. Well it is isn't true, the people are pleasant, the girls slim and good looking, the sun is shining and life is enjoyable. I recently got off the trans-Siberian and am enjoying the sun and easy going provincial atmosphere of the town. It is small but not without its charm, there are still a lot of old wooden houses build by the families of the Decembrists, when they were exiled here. Irkoutsk
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