Blogs from Siberia, Russia, Europe - page 54

The sleeper train to Ulan-Ude, despite its promising name, unfortunately doesn’t involve any sleep at all. Thanks to a non-closing window allowing passing trains to blow their cheery 1000 decibel whistles directly into my ears and the fact that our enthusiastic train driver slams the brakes on hard every, oh, 15 seconds, allowing me to execute graceful somersaults backwards and forwards across the cabin, I don’t get an ounce of kip and tumble off the train at 06:30 at something slightly less than my most radiant. Still, excited to be in Ulan Ude we dash/stagger to the closest accommodation where the receptionist confides that there is no water available. Niet! However, never ones to shy away from a shower-free experience we shrug limply in the face of the water issue and take a room anyway. On ... read more

Today is V Day in Russia. We left the home stay after a large breakfast @ 9:30 then went back to Irkutsk where we went round the Decembrists museum which opened for the group especially as it should have been closed for v day. We then checked in our hotel and in the afternoon I walked round the town and saw the eternal flame and various churches. In the evening went for a group meal then returned to the hotel. We were advised to turn our phones room phones off as the staff give rooms a call asking if you need any extra services. ... read more

Walking in taiga, full of Siberian spring flowers and blooming azaleas. View through trees to sparkling lake. Picnic at the top of the hill. Blissfull, apart from slightly fear of being torn apart by unseen bears. Back to hotel - disaster! Covered in ticks! (well, 1 anyway). Read the guidebook, no worries, only japanese-encephalitis-carrying ticks in these forests. Aaaarghghgh! Wake up next morning, still alive. Thank goodness for that. Go paddling in lake - narrowly avoiding frostbite. Apparently a dip in Baikal (meaning 'sacred sea' in language of buryat people) adds 5 years to your life. Nico cunningly jumps on to a small rock poking out of the water about 2 ft from the shoreline. I tell him that this doesn't count but he he laughs and wraps his jumper round my blue and shaking feet. ... read more

After elaborate early morning birthday celebrations for Nico (doughnut with candle in Novosibirsk train station) we take the bus to Tomsk where we are spending a few days with Grigory (couchsurfing again) and his family. We entertain ourselves on the 4 hour journey by singing crap '80s songs and eating. Nico's incredible effect on the average Russian girl is again in evidence as while I am buying ice-creams at the half-way stop he is charming free mobile phone calls to Grigory from our fellow lady passengers. I return to find one poor girl giggling and literally swooning. Unbelievable. Nico, of course, is loving it and when we start moving he scours the guidebook for info on Russian residency. Brat! Short interlude for discussion on 70's kiddies tv show: During the journey I also make the discovery ... read more

hey all... we having a dazed kinda surreal day today... we're in ulan ude - our last stop in russia.. crazy has gone so so quickly already... :( we're only here for one day - we're both sleepy - bit dazed and confused as we caught an over night train here last night but ended up in a cabin with a guy who snored (...dad think he could've given you a run for your money!!) so pretty sleep deprived as had to get off the train about 6:40am - ergh!! not good at waking and functioning before it's light outside!! it's quite a random place here though - as soon as we arrived this morning beelined straight for a hotel to ditch the bags(still horribly heavy) then went to catch a bus to Ivolgnsk Datsan - ... read more