Note: I also updated the previous two posts with photos, please go back and check them out!
We got up at half past six this morning and walked to the train station, where we embarked on a single-wagon tourist train headed for lake Baikal. The on-train entertainment alternated between live Russian language commentary and Russian language DVDs about the lake. From the DVDs we learned things such as Moose can not only swim in the lake but they also dive(!), and that the cute seals from the lake make excellent pets.
The train stopped at select places on the tracks for about 15 minutes each time and we got to get out and take pictures. At one spot we went down to the water, and to my surprise a number of the tourists stripped and went for a swim in the cold water which probably was around seven degrees Celsius. Later the train was abandoned in favor for a boat, and then a bus in turn, which brought us back.
The best part however were again the people. The crowd consisted of assorted Russian tourists, three older Finnish gentlemen who traveled all this way from Helsinki by train, and ourselves. Teppo, a very sympathetic man born in ’44 with biceps of steel spoke English, and told us about how we used to teach road construction to Russians, and how he is now a knife smith. He helped create a wonderful mood on the train, and in fact everyone was sharing their food and drink that they brought along… we also got generous helpings of sausage, tea, vodka and Russian liqueur. The people took turns singing in Russian and Finnish until we arrived back at the hotel in the evening.
What made us even more happy was the news I received from Rostislav when we returned: He is asking us to show up at the train station with our bikes tomorrow, so it seems that there will be a train for us!
Adam, it’s so cool that you set off for such a journey ) I am envious) But why are you considering taking a train? I would think you could make it further on the bike if it is ok instead of sitting in Irkutsk and getting bored. You will be following the Transsiberian anyways, so you could arrange hopping on the train at a more western location if you wish.
We can get to Chelyabinsk from Irkutsk by train in just 3 days, but if we drive ourselves it is more than a week. And we need to save some time so we can go to Kazakhstan before our vacation runs out. This is the reason we are trying to make this ‘optimization’. Also, I believe driving through Siberia will be just infinite forests for many days which we think is perhaps not so exciting after a while. We have seen 500 km of these forests in the last days already. 🙂
Actually the further you go to the west, the more dense the population is. Kransoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk are all cities with ~1M inhabitants each. There should also be nice mountainous landscapes if you divert to the south from the Transsiberian from Krasnoyarsk or Novosibirsk, but probably you won’t have time for that. There’s a road all the way north to the Arctic Ocean from Tyumen, but I guess it’s a private Gazprom road, so you would require additional papers, so I am just telling you so you consider this route next time ). But even the Transsiberian itself is probably much more densely populated and scenic than Kazakhstan. What route are you going to take through Kazakhstan?
I would support a next time … wouldn’t mind to take the transsibirian train and join with u from time to time 😉