Baikal Business Centre Irkutsk

... it would be interesting to have someone else in but we welcome our first opportunity to sit in our own space and stare out the window.<br> <br>It does not take long for our peace to be broken, a guy who had been wondering down the hallway as the train set off, sticks his head in and gives me a 2ltre bottle of beer, Russian tradition he says, he disapears. <br><br>What do we do? When Mick arrives we agree to invite him in, his name is Basha and as it turns out he is heading to ...

... trecking we finally found our hostel. Words cannot describe the smell that hit us when we opened the door......It was if the hallway was being used as a sewage pipe!! Luckily the room was clean and didn't smell. <br><br>The next 3 days we explored the city, heres the pics...

... and he beat me twice in chess (although he was damping my senses by giving me some beer). Nevertheless we were still good friends. We went to the very North tip of the island, Khoboi Cape, together. It which was stunningly beautiful even though there were a few clouds which occasionally decided to spit at us. We stopped off in many places on the way including a beach where we saw some locals get naked and jump into the lake together. I also had much fun ...

... and in the distance we began to see snow peaked mountains. And at last, we saw the lake. When we reached the ferry we were told to get off the bus and as soon as we did the driver took off! We had nothing, no jackets, no documents no rucksacks, no nothing. As we grew more and more anxious, we still convinced ourselves that surely he would come back. And of course, he did. On the ferry we go; to the island we crossed.<br>

... in the roof of the shower. Nice!!!<br><br>I had to walk to the other side of town to get to the bus station. I'd no idea what to expect before I got to Irkutsk and I wasnt quite sure what to make of it when I was walking through town.<br><br>It felt like a real Russian town I guess. Not one sign in english anywhere, apart from the brand names of the shops I could recognise like Adidas, Benetton etc. It was great to be somewhere ...

... facility inside was from a small water tank into a sink situated in a corridor between all rooms.<br>BUT at 18:00 at the other side of the garden we have the use of a banya. This is similar to a sauna and such a contrast to the other facilites.<br><br>During our full day on Lake Baikal the two of us we were taken on a ferry to the railway mueseum and then walked to a small beach where our guide cooked both of us fish for lunch.<br><br>We were staying in a village called ...

... green spaces, some wooden houses and the river, and got dropped off at the bus station 10 minutes later. It wasn't much of a bus station, a little cafe and a cigarette hut were the main attractions, and the roads were in disrepair, and dusty. Pollution was high, cars buzzed by to exchale poisonous fumes &#8211; probably due to the cheap petrol which has been banned in the UK since the 70's. We found the minibus going to Olkhon immediately, loaded our bags in, and waited for two hours ...

... we made in a few kilometers up the road and found a beach to go hang out by for a bit as well as some cliffs for pictures and such. As we wander around, then it slowly started raining harder and harder. We were going to keep heading up despite the rain, but decided that with roads getting wet (being sand) it'd be a bit too slow going and mucky. So we headed back with the intent to go pedal in the forest behind the town instead. Well, by the time we ...

... the hostel and 5 more, plus a kid picked up elsewhere in Irkutsk. We all got crammed into this minibus that was very cozy for 11 people (let alone 12). And that&#8217;s how we were for 6 hours, with a couple pit stops. Not only that, but the driver is a bit crazy and is going as fast as possible, both on paved road which was about half of the trip and dirt the rest. The bus is shaking to the point where ya really can&#8217;t even read. Yehaw! We get to the ...

... sont entourees de vaches. Elles circulent effectivement librement sur l'ile! Nous nous sommes rendus ici en van. Plusieurs compagnie proposent des aller-retour au depart d'Irkustk. Il nous a fallu environ 6h pour arriver. Dans le van nous etions en compagnie d'une famille allemande et de trois ratboys russes un peu plus jeunes que nous. L'un d'entre eux avait decide de pourrir le voyage d'Antoine. Il a reussi! Ca lui a pris 5h, il n'a pas cesse de lui se coller a lui, le ...