Blogs from Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia, Europe - page 8

Leaving a very cold Ulan Bator platform behind, we boarded a 36 hour train to Irkutsk in the heart of Siberia, Russia. After a nights' sleep on the train, we arrived at the Mongolian border at 06.30 & the immigration process began again. This time we did not have to leave the train, but it was frustrating because we were stationary for so long. After a small train ride across the border, Russian immigration then took just as long, and we did not leave the Russian border until 16.30 - ten hours of border crossing! After another nights sleep on the train, we arrived in Irkutsk early Monday morning to a frosty platform and a chilly minus 21 degrees celcius! All around everyone's breath was visible in the cold! It was a very stereotypical winter scene ... read more

Well hello. Sam here again, and you guessed it, Laura is snoozing We've just got back from Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal, and I'm writing this entry stood up in a hostel in Irkutsk, the nearest city to the lake (70km or so I believe). Czech out the metric! Right, when we last wrote we were about to head off into Yekaterinburg. I can report that we feel we saw some right proper Russia. It was marvellously grey, interspersed with glimmering gold (the churches must be adorned in gold otherwise God cannot see them - which is a mighty expensive way of doing things). The city is known as the capital of the Urals, and stands on the border between Asia and Europe, as I mentioned in the last blog. We were again blessed with some ... read more

Already 5000 km done.... still 4000 in front of us ! To sumarize the famous Trans-Siberian Express: stress at the beginning (who in my room? how can I stay 4 days in a train?), unique experience during the trip (cool people, nice landscapes, good organisation...), but happy in the end to get off and sleep in a real bed, take a shower and not living with stangers in a very limited space ! In the wagon, there were 9 compartiments with 4 people. We shared with a dad (funny little guy who talk to us in Russian as if we understood) and his 13 years old son (football Chelsea who weared the shirt during the whole trip). Our first surprise was to meet very few foreigners... Some Germans and French in other wagons.... but we didn't ... read more

So I've made it as far as Irkutsk, the lake Baikal... the far side of Russia. Last stop before Mongolia. The lake Baikal is quite a sight, cliffs on all sides, pine trees all the way down to the water. An old railway line winds along the coastline and a daily service for tourists crawls the tracks making many picturesque stops. Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and contains one third of the fresh water on the planet. It was a great pleasure to go diving in its clear (and somewhat cold) waters.... read more

It was time to say goodbye to Olkhon Island and head back to wonderful (not) Irkutsk. The 6 hour bus ride was rather uneventful, the highlight was discovering the world’s worst long drop, seriously it was disgusting, poo everywhere, and all up the walls and even on the walk up to it!!!!! Upon arrival in Irkutsk we dumped our bags at our hostel (Downtown Hostel 1080r for 2 in a dorm) and headed out for a slap up Italian where G's pizza base was made out of filo pastry (interesting!!!) but was nicely washed down with some yummy vino before heading to bed. The next day was an overnight train ride to Ulan Ude, we were over the moon to say bye to Irkutsk and even happier to stumble upon the French dudes at the train ... read more