Are you a hydrofoil?

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I recently realized, after many confused emails and messages from people, that some of you have no clue why I am in Russia. And others of you are very curious as to why I am traveling with a weird furry thing named Jenkins. So, some answers... My friend Lauren and I are doing the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Beijing by way of Lake Baikal and Mongolia. We are roughly halfway through the journey right now. The first leg of our trip, from Moscow to Baikal, was 4 nights and 3 days on the train. The next leg, which begins tonight, is 2 nights and 1 day to Ulan Bator. We plan on hanging out with Mongolian wrestlers at the Naadam Festival in UB before continuing on to Beijing on our final 2 days/1 night train ride. And Jenkins...is a very well-traveled cat from my job that I won through rock-paper-scissors. =)

Anyway... We just spent 3 very relaxing days by Lake Baikal doing a whole lot of nothing. The village we stayed in, Listvyanka, had a total of 3 streets. We lucked out and found a really cheap hotel that was right on the lake (here's a lesson to all you "planners" out there - it CAN be better to wait till the last second! ;-) and spent our time walking aimlessly, skipping rocks in the lake, and eating strange Siberian fish. Aside from a drunk man from Uzbekistan and the endless wait for a hydrofoil to take us to the next village, my time in Baikal was wonderful.

I've attached some pics from the past week. The last one, in case you're a little confused, was taken in a bowling alley in the city of Irkutsk last night. It was a super exclusive place, apparently, since we had to pass through a security checkpoint with armed Russian soldiers. I had to explain Jenkins, which was a bit awkward, since there's really no reason why anyone would need to bring a stuffed cat on a bowling excursion... ;-)

We're getting back on the train in a few hours - cross your fingers and wish me luck so that I don't get stuck in a cabin with a mutton vendor!!!

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Photos

Olga, our train carriage attendant
who kept trying to sell us beer, snacks, weird nerpa seal souvenirs, etc.

Lake Baikal
it was worth the journey

the door to our hostel...no joke!
but thankfully it is much less scary inside...

Siberian Bowling
where I lost 3 games in a row to "Lora" (apparently that's the Russian spelling for Lauren)...which is why I now owe her a Milka bar and some Chinese dumplings

Comments

[Annie Shah]

That Door
Is freaking crazy. My favorite picture is of the one of you bowling. I like your technique and I cannot imagine how Lora beat you three games in a row. Things are going well for me. I started school on Thursday. Thinking so much is absolutely exhausting. When do you come back sweetheart? I miss you.

[Annie Shah]

That Door
Is freaking crazy. My favorite picture is of the one of you bowling. I like your technique and I cannot imagine how Lora beat you three games in a row. Things are going well for me. I started school on Thursday. Thinking so much is absolutely exhausting. When do you come back sweetheart? I miss you.

[Christine]

the door....
to that place looks condemned ....hope that worked out ok! the silouette is gorgeous of you, hope you ladies are having fun! thinking of you! enjoy it! Christine

[Bramo Bramovich]

ahh baltika
hope you kids are enjoying the baltika beer.. the adventure sounds amazing..