Siberian soul

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Hi again...we have just spent the last week in Siberia....travelling in the Altai region...the change from Mongolia to Siberia was so different!!! Suddenly we had roads, bitumen ones at that..and then from the minute we crossed the border, no more gers...(do miss them!) Just by the by we ran across one of the contestents in a London Mongolian car rally in just about the most remote spot in the worls you could think of, sitting by the track in the pass between Mongolia and Siberia ...(they didn't know what they had ahead of them in Mongolia, let me tell you...the car was a 1800 VW sedan with only about 12inches clearance and only 2wd!!) We had trouble with 3 foot clearance, and 6wd!!)

However, much as we loved Mongolia, Siberia has been awesome...the Altai mountains afre out of the fairytale books, nature at is most beatuul - absolutely magnificent. We followed the road, winding around the mountains clothed in forests of larch and fir (expecting a Ruski bear to pop out at any minute) beside a wonderful clear river, filled with tumbling water and beauful grassed meadows for something like 450 km. We camped overnight in the meadows, to wake up to ice on the tent and snow on the ground a few hundred yards further (slightly cold geting the fire going and breakfast on at 6am!!)

We are now in Barnaul on our way to the border (260km away) to Kazakstan, where we will continue to camp and trek in the mountains, before staying a few days in Almaty (the capital) a hotel and hot showers! Catch up with you all then...and hopefully post all the pix (no capacity to do it here either!)

Cheers A&L

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