Olkhon Island – the bumpiest Island in the world – FACT!

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After we stepped off the train at Irkutsk 8.00am we had to make our way to Olkhon Island, an island in Lake Baikal that we were booked in to stay for the next two nights. Eventually found a mini bus heading to the island that wasn’t leaving till after lunch so we’d a few hours to kill , had something to eat and I was confronted with my biggest fear - the long drop– ohhh myyy gooddd – after three hours and a near burst kidney - I faced my fear lol

We got squashed into an old shack of a minibus and belted up – oh wait there were no seatbelts!! After the bumpiest 7 hour journey, with roads that hadn’t even been made yet and a boat trip across Lake Baikal, we eventually arrived at Nikitas Homestead all in one piece – minus a few brain cells from the bumpy ride, we had a log cabin that looked onto lake Baikal and the mountains.

Olkhan Island is pretty amazing (and crazy) – its full of dirt tracks for roads and wild cows and horses roam through the streets. It feels like the wild wild west!

We were taking for a tour in a Russian 4x4 van around the north of the island. The scenery was breath-taking – it was so beautiful it didn’t look real and we were totally gutted when the camera battery went flat in the middle of Phils Karate Kid impersonation shot at the start of the day (forgot to charge it after three days on the train-were not used to technology anymore).

The driver made us fish soup for lunch – Phils bowl had the head of the fish in it with the eye peeking out watching him – hes a vegetarian now!!

We thought wed already seen the worst roads in the world on the way to the island but they were like motorways compared to the dirt tracks we drove through on our day trip. Were hoping our travel insurance covers us for whip lash lol

Tomorrow we’re heading back to Irkutsk and hopefully some civilisation and internet connection – and a meal that doesn’t contain fish eyes for Phil.

Hopefully some more photos to follow when we get them from a few friends who’d thankfully remembered to charge their cameras after the train!!

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