Part two of our Trans Siberian train journey from Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk in Siberia typically takes two days and two nights with a potentially lengthy border crossing on the second day when we enter Russia. Once again our transport and guide arrived on time to take us to the station. Our guide even stayed with us all the way until the train depa...

The journey to Irkutsk took three nights and two full days. This was mostly spent reading, eating pot noodles, drinking beer and counting down the kilometer markers. Infrequent trips were made to the dining car (for beer - the food is better left alone) which to our joy played videos of 1970s Russian pop music. Quite a musical treat we can assur...

OK I didn't actual stay here. But I did jump off the train and on again here. The highlight of the day was always when the train stopped. We all drive off the train and run around for 10 minutes collecting supply's which normally consisted of beer, noddles and some other snack. Then sometimes if we were lucky there be Siberian women selling hot ...

Le voyage en train vers Irkutsk sera un peu moins joyeux que le precedent et c'est dans un train ou tout le monde dort deja que l'on arrive. On se mettra au niveau et ca sera le squat de nos lits pendant 90% du temps, le reste etant pour nous restasurer et fumer des clopes. On arrive donc tot le matin en remarquant que la campagne environant la ...

T: We got to Irkutsk early morning. After a few hours of walking around, we didn't find this city very inspiring. Some interesting wooden houses, Angara River, and the rest is just a regular Russian mix of concrete buildings, markets, and aggressive drivers (most of the cars have the steering wheel on the right side, imports from Japan). It is a...

I'm back on the road again, trying to catchup with a little treasured internet time, but i'm not having much joy in Irkutsk, slow connections and fees for bandwidth, it's a bit of a nightmare really.. : ( Still, it might all change, as it's my last official day in Russia, heading to Mongolia this evening.. Irkutsk was a pretty wish-washy day, 3 ...

Irkutsk. More adventures. All you need to know for now though, is that tomorrow at 5 am, we leave for Mongolia, and I get to test out my new temporary Swedish passport at the 7 hour Russian border check. So, if you dont hear from me again :).... Knock on wood. Should be fine, but I will probably get nervous. Handwritten passports that have been ...

We spent three days on the train, traveling from Moscow into the heart of Siberia. It was actually quite a pleasant trip and the train was relatively modern and quite clean. However, the journey didn't start out well. In fact, I wasn't sure that I would survive the first night . . . I read in Lonely Planet that of the many characters on the Tran...

Next few days were spent travelling a line around one side of Lake Baikal. This was basically along one side of the lake to Litsuyanka and back the next day. In terms of scenery, this was the highlight of the trip for that aspect. Crisp clear days and views for miles. Lake Baikal was beautiful, scenery a little like in Canada across some of the ...

back in irkutsk for a bit of free time - ie internet for email and blog stuff. not sure when the next opportunity will be after this... catching the train this evening, to arrive in ulan ude at 0630 tomorrow. will let you know if we are unlucky enough to get the stinky snorer again. wonder if she had a wash in a banya since we last saw her. ew. ...