Siberia, Siberia, Siberia

Crossing the vast expanses of Siberia by train was a unique experience. Along the way, lovely cities and amazing encounters.

Day 15: A long day in Krasnoyarsk

I arrived to Krasnoyarsk ridiculously early - just after 0700 local time. As usual in one-day visits, I dropped my bag in the luggage room, and went to explore the city. Also as usual, everything was closed that early, meaning that I went around just spotting potential visiting places. The train station was a bit far from the centre, but not wanting to go through the "catch a bus in Russia" stress, I walked; it turned out to be a 1h walk, in which I managed to sneak a visit of the catholic church (I basically jumped the fence and went around the church grounds, praying - literally - that no-one would turn up that early). It had a haunted feeling at dawn:

Upon arriving at the main city square, I realised that the Hotel Krasnoyarsk staff were not helpful in organising an excursion to the Stolby site (one of the main attractions around Krasnoyarsk, more info below), so I just kept walking, past the Local Studies museum (closed) along the Yenisey river to the Stalinist-Gothic (!) river station (closed), and all the way to the SS Nikolay, the ship in which Lenin was shipped to exile (yes, also closed).

After nearly 3 hours of wandering around, I finally found a good, modern, WARM coffee house, with - surprise surprise! - a wifi connection, so I just sat there for a good while, enjoying a Cappuccino and some блины (Russian pancakes), reading my guide book, and surfing for a good while, booking further accommodation, keeping in touch, etc.

Back in the centre, I visited the Local Studies museum (which had finally opened). Most small cities in Russia seem to have one of these; they're a mixed bag, with anything from local stuffed animals and old Russian house reconstructions, to Czarist coins, Soviet medals, and even recent satellite models.

The wonderful Anatoly

I then just sat in the main square, watching the musical fountain show, unsure of what to do with the next 12 hours before my next night train. I started chatting with Anatoly, an old pensioner sitting in the same bench as me. We had a great chat, and he even showed me a few corners around the centre that I hadn't spotted.
I then told him I had planned on visiting the Stolby forest, but that I had no clue on how to get there, and he immediately took upon himself the task of getting me there. We went to a bus stop and waited 1/2 hour for the bus I was meant to get, which never came, so he took another bus with me, all the way to the city edge; once there, he waited with me for a second bus, which took me to the start of the forest. I can't begin to describe just how amazing poor Anatoly was - I really wanted to give him a nice souvenir, but that day all I had in my pocket was a silly pink lighter with an LED (he didn't even smoke).

The road leading to the Stolby entrance

The Stolby Nature Sanctuary is a forest with massive granite rock pillars (столбы), some as high as 100m, with the most bizarre shapes. It is a big rock climbing centre, and somewhat reminded me of the Fontainebleau forest in France.I got walking to the start of the pillars - a 5km climb, according to the guide book, which forgot to mention the initial 3 or 4km to get to the start of the path.

As a result, the walk up was much longer than what I anticipated, and the endless photo opportunity stops only made it longer. No time (nor place) for lunch, which only made the climb harder (a cup of tea and a Mars bar kept me going the whole day). It was hard to believe, being practically lost in a forest in the middle of Siberia. The forest itself was beautiful, with tall, ancient trees and mystical roots. I had an amazing time exploring it, and even dared bouldering one of the pillars, to enjoy the spectacular view from the top.

Some of the local fauna

The spectacular view from one of the pillars

Time flies when you're having fun, or in my case, the afternoon passed much faster than anticipated, and I found myself having to almost run down the mountain, for fear of not getting back to the city in time for my train.
Coming back to the centre was also quite an adventure, as I wasn't sure of when to change buses, but somewhat managed to find my way back.
Once there, I looked for a nice Russian restaurant, but couldn't find any, and my empty stomach (and seriously tired legs) forced me into the first place that served large portions of meat - a (seriously overpriced) German grill, where I treated myself to a massive steak.

I still had time for a last wander around the city; for such a remote city, there seems to be a great effort put into making it pleasant, with music played on the main street (making good use of the old Soviet announcement speakers) and a light and music show on the main square.

Going back to the station, a last bus adventure awaited me (there was no way I'd walk one hour back to the station, with the state of my legs). I caught the correct bus, but literally had to jump out after realising that it was coming from the train station and not to the station (next stop was already across the river). The fun of catching buses in Russia!... I finally boarded my night train, and fell asleep like a rock.

My bed finally arriving

Day 16: Train life

I was seriously tired from the hectic day in Krasnoyarsk, and managed to sleep 11h in the train. I thought that was a lot; however, my sole kupe companion managed to beat that (a man with Asiatic expressions - sign of the approaching Mongolian border; we exchanged about 10 words, and I never got his name). Not even being in an old, noisy and very rocking train impaired my sleep: at some stage during the night, I thought we were about to topple over, such was the swinging of the wagon; I just turned to the other side and slept some more.

Squat and keep your breath

The train really was quite bad however, the worst of the lot: very dirty, with foul-smelling toilets, and unfriendly passangers. Thankfully, the carriage assistant was very considerate of my shameful Western need of power to charge all my gadgets (camera, laptop, phone) and kept an eye on my stuff, as it hung off the sole power socket in the whole carriage, by the boiler.

It was also incredibly warm and sweaty, as the weather had seriously improved again, yet the heating must have been on steroids. Thankfully, someone broke the rules and opened a window, which helped me to cool down, and also provided good shots of the swinging train across the Siberian plains.

Say again?

I arrived to Irkutsk in the early evening. I had some trouble finding the correct ticket booth, and then went through the whole procedure of buying the two tickets I needed. And after that, the whole trouble of finding the tram stop, making sure it's the correct one, and guessing which direction to catch it. Life as a tourist in Russia can sometimes be stressful, even when speaking a bit of the language!

At the "hostel" - another apartment whose owner (Max) decided to transform into a hostel, by buying a few bunk-beds - I met Fabio, a really cool Italian also staying there, who showed me around until Max (the owner) came along.

That night I went to a Mongolian restaurant, a bit pricey (the Lonely Planet effect...) and serving way too much boiled meat, but it was nonetheless an interesting experience. I ordered a soup, a sample of Mongolian dishes, and a cup of tea. My soup came first, and being really hungry, I gulped it all down. A few minutes later, another bowl of soup - I was confused for a few minutes, until I realised the first bowl was my tea. Oups.

Cool, my soup! Oh. Damn.

Day 17: Irkutsk

I ended up going to bed really late, trying to book a place to sleep in Lake Baikal, and as a result, I woke up quite late as well. I went for a nice walk along the river front, the weather was really warm (24 degrees!). I went to the regional museum - basically another "local studies" museum, smaller than the one in Krasnoyarsk, but interesting nonetheless.


I then carried on exploring the city, famous for its old wooden houses and many churches (orthodox and catholic). It was hard to believe my luck with the wonderful weather.

After a long pointless search for a Siberian food restaurant (indicated by my 3 year old Thomas Byre guide - the restaurant didn't exist anymore), I ended up having the weirdest calzone pizza ever. Then it was back to the hostel, pack, wait for the owner to pay, wait for a tram, get off at the wrong stop and walk all the way back, finally find the bus station but sit in the wrong Marshutka (you're supposed to spot the one with the most passengers, as that one will leave first)... That resulted in leaving Irkutsk at 8pm, instead of my planned 6pm, and as a result, I enjoyed wonderful sunset I predicted... from the back of a minibus (instead of in Lake Baikal). And what a glorious sunset it was!

I arrived to Listvyanka, on the shore of Lake Baikal, already with full darkness. I stayed at the expensive Hotel Mayak, but was glad I did - it was right at the minibus stop, and it would have been nearly impossible to find any other place, as nearly no streets were illuminated. The dinner in the hotel restaurant was tasty (baked omul - a fish only found in Lake Baikal - with shrimp, salmon, wild mushrooms and cheese), but the company was dodgy: on one corner, a group of Russian businessmen with a Brit, discussing business and drinking far too much vodka, while on the other corner were two Russian couples in their 50s, extremely loud and rude (whistling to get the waiter's attention, etc). They convinced the poor waiter to put on some really cheesy and loud dance music, taking on the tiny dance floor, much to my despair and the rage of the drunken businessmen. As I quietly paid my bill and left, the two groups were already exchanging insults. Classy.

Day 18: Lake Baikal

Rain, rain, rain. I had remained optimistic, despite the forecast (how could the weather turn like that, after such a glorious previous day!), but it was rainy and really cold. The boats weren't running, meaning I couldn't get to Port Baikal - I couldn't even rent a bicycle, as the tourist centre was closed (probably for the best, as it would have been madness to cycle in that kind of weather). So I just wandered along the lake front, eventually making my way to the Listvyanka market. Ended up chatting with a stall keeper, who was first just really keen on selling me stuff, but gradually became interested in my trip, and eventually we had a lovely chat.

I ended up having a hot smoked omul for lunch (a wonderful delicacy!). After that I walked for about one hour under the rain, and went to visit the Baikal Museum, well worth it (and with a consistent theme for once). It even had a series of aquariums, showcasing some of the species only found in the lake, including a pair of sweet water seals swimming from wall to wall, in far too small a tank.


It pays to be an optimistic, and by the time I left the museum, the weather had improved (meaning no rain), so I set off climbing the Cherskiy mountain (755m), behind the museum. Ill equipped with a local map, I eventually found my way through the forest, to the ski resort lift. It turned out that it was working (you just had to knock at the window for the controller to turn it on, just for me), so I just sat and enjoyed the magnificent views.

At the top I really enjoyed the fantastic scenery, and then decided to wait for the sunset, in the hope that the weather would clear a bit further. I had a beer and a few pirozhki (of dubious quality) in the cafe at the top, all for myself apart from the devushka keeping the place, while listening to really loud cheesy Russian pop, as usual throughout Russia.

There's a place right at the top of the mountain, called Cherskiy stone, with a Shaman rock and an observation point, giving magnificent views over the source of the Angara river. The sun never fully broke out, but still shed a beautiful golden light over the perfect landscape. It was one of those magical moments you will always carry in your heart.

Day 19: In between places

After such a fantastic day, the next one was quite devoid of excitement. I slept quite well in the hotel, and after breakfast, packed up my bags (including the laundry done overnight, one of the advantages of booking a hotel from time to time) and caught a marshutka returning to Irkutsk. The weather had completely changed yet again, beautiful, but really cold: it even snowed in the morning (yes, after 24 degrees just two days previously!).

I visited the Decembrists museum, fairly interesting, but again completely in Russian (such is the fate of foreign visitors to Russia - pay triple the local admission price, and struggle to understand anything). The trouble was, with a train to catch in the late afternoon, I was carrying my two bags (the 1h return trip to the train station to leave the bag there wasn't appealing).


Despite the cold, I went for a nice walk around the city once again - if nothing else, I needed at least a snapshop of Lenin's statue for my growing collection. Following that, the hunt for a pleasant cafe wasn't successful (the guidebook recommended three - two were closed, the third was full), so I ended up in a pizzeria, forcing some blini and nescafe into me and struggling not to fall asleep.

Already in the train station, while waiting for my train, I briefly chatted with a young kid, keen to know about Portugal and my trip. He was interested in money, so I gave him a 1€ coin: he was really pleased, and slightly confused when I refused the 40 roubles it was worth (which he had collected from his friends). Shortly before his train left, he came to give me a gift in return: turns out he was a young fireman, on his way to a training camp, and gave me a small card of his division.

Day 20: Russia or Mongolia?

My sole kupe companion on the way to Ulan-Ude was Anatolii, who told me a bit about the city, and like other Russians, thought I was crazy for doing this trip. When we arrived at 6am, he was really nice and walked with me to a street with two hotels (I hadn't booked accommodation). The problem was, the first one was full, and the second didn't answer the bell. So there I was, 6am, in an unknown city, out of bounds of my sole city map, with all my luggage, looking for a place to stay! After an hour wandering around, I did find a hotel - the most expensive of the whole trip (in what was probably the cheapest city). But given that I went straight to bed and slept the whole morning, I did get two nights for the price of one.

In the afternoon I went for a walk around the city. Ulan-Ude's main attraction is its Lenin statue - actually, just a head, but the biggest Lenin head in the world.

My main objective of the day was a visit to the biggest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Russia, Ivolginsky Datsan; a marshutka followed by a collective taxi took me there. It was a really nice experience, seeing all the colours, hearing the prayers and chants, touching the prayer wheels, and being chased by babushkas selling souvenirs at the entrance. I had lunch in the main canteen, along with monks and visitors, typical Mongolian food (boiled mutton dumplings, with bread and a glass of green tea with milk).

The main temple in Ivolginsky Datsan

I came back to the city in the evening, and just wandered around. Being quite close to Mongolia, Ulan-Ude feels quite different from most other Russian cities: no high-street perfume shops, no coffee houses. I had some more Mongolian food in a restaurant, and had a wonderful night's sleep.