Irkutsk where we met up with Hermann and Amit

Trip Start Nov 21, 2007
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Trip End Oct 01, 2008

Flag of Russian Federation  , Siberia,
Friday, June 27, 2008

Irkutsk is basically a town to take a break from the train. The town does not have too much to offer, but we got to see great friends and meet new ones!!! Mike Hermann, a guy Jana went to A&M with, Amit, a guy I met through Hermann, Ali, and Allison, both friends of Amit's from Wharton MBA program, were on their way on the train too, just the opposite direction finishing in Beijing. They were cool enough to plan to meet up. We had given up seeing them because our schedule was a little different than we thought and we had not heard from them after sending a message via email...BUT we met them in the lobby of our hotel! So awesome to see fimilair faces. We shared lunch, beers and bowling. It was awesome to see them, even for a few moments! What great memories!

We took a few walks around Irkutsk. One thing to mention, weddings in Russia take tours around the towns for photoshoots. The entire wedding party follows the couple around with champagne. Also, the "witnesses" or bestman and bride's maid wear shashes like beauty queens to make sure everyone knows who they are.

Irkutsk had a new tradition along the riverside. Each wedding couple would place a lock at the gate. Most of them had been engraved with names and dates of the wedding. The locks were to symbolize the commitment to each other. Pretty cool!
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