Matanya diesel

Circum Baikal Rail Road

Good news, everyone! Taking "Circum Baikal" railroad has never
been easier than today.
Here is how to manage a custom trip on your own.
Don't forget to ask questions about anything.

IRKUTSK -- PORT BAIKAL VILLAGE
!!! BUT it is ONLY: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday.
1) Take a public local ('elektrichka' -- sitting train) train from Irkutsk train station to Sludyanka. About 100 RUB per person.
Leaves at 8:35 am, arrives to Sludyanka at 12:18 pm. 
This train is everyday 'elektrichka'. You can buy tickets on the train, or at the train station.

2) Take "Matanya" diesel train from Sludyanka to port Baikal village. Around 100 RUB per person.
(this is Circum Baikal railroad)
(Take some food and drinks with you, it is expensive on the train.)

Leaves at 1:30 pm, arrives to Staraya Angasolka at 2:22 pm,
arrives to port Baikal village at 7:40 pm. 

Matanya Diesel

Some cargo carriage

Travel with locals
4th class ;-)

PORT BAIKAL VILLAGE -- IRKUTSK


To return to Irkutsk you can take a ferry from Baikal village to Listvyanka village, across Angara river, that flows out of lake Baikal.
BUT Ferry is not that often!!!
As we know so far, it is only 3 times a day:  8:15am, 4:15pm, 6:15pm.

From Listvyanka there is a regular minibus and bus transportation to Irkutsk until 6:00-7:00 pm. Around 100 RUB per person.

Also you can take "Matanya" train back to Sludyanka.
Leaves Baikal village at 2:25 am, arrives to Sludyanka at 8:15 am.

!!! BUT it is ONLY: Monday, Tuseday, Friday, Saturday.

From Sludyanka you can take 'elektrichka' train to Irkutsk which
leaves at 8:40 am and arrives in Irkutsk at 12:22 pm.


EXPRESS to Baikal and Back
Also there is an EXPRESS train that takes you straight from Irkutsk
to Baikal village every wendsday and saturday.  
Leaves at 10:45 AM, arrives at 7:10 PM
You can take this express to go back to Irkutsk on thursday and sunday. 
Leaves at 10:50 AM, arrives at 11:18 PM


TUu-TUu! 
GOOD LUCK!

Irkutsk to Beijing

We left Irkutsk with some friends from the hostel. The trip to the border with Russia is empty. That is the right word. Especially when you come closer to Mongolia the landscape is getting more empty, no trees, only some hills, grass, sheep and some occasional huts and buildings here and there. Fascinating was that our wagon was the last one on the train, so we could look out from the back of the wagon on the tracks.

At the Russian border town (forgot the name) the russian train personnel leaves the train and disappears. At first we thought we could only leave the train for some minutes, but soon it became apparent that we would stay on this station for quite some time. A locomotive began to shunt the wagons of our train from irkutsk from one track to other tracks. The motive for shunting was unclear for us but the mongolian driver was having fun and used his horn to cheer us up quite often. Shunting took 3 hours. The only wagon left on the track was our wagon, the wagon with all the bloody tourists. There were only 4 locals in it, the rest came from Europe and one guy from India.
When discovering the vicinity of the station, there was a little cafe with very unfriendly, very russian personnel. They sold cola and old potato fried bread. Bwahh! Outside however, there was an old woman with a pram. In the pram, there was no kid, but a big cooking pot filled with stew. Very nice! (there are relatively clean toilets (payed) on the platform in the direction of where the train came from).
With topped up stomachs, we went back to the station and found a relic locomotive from the better times of the USSR with a broadly smiling mongolian driver on it. I was the first to glance into the cockpit, he noticed and invited me into his 'cubicle'. NO RUSSIAN, NO ENGLISH, ONLY MONGOLIAN, were the only words he said. Did not matter at all, because sitting in the driver seat, pushing all the buttons was a childrens dream come true. The guy had loads of fun as well.
Luckily the weather was perfect, because before we knew, 7 hours of waiting abruptly ended when a parade of unfriendly russian border patrol women! came out of a building and commandeered everybody back to the train. Back in the train they took away our passports and started taking apart the wagon. I did not expect to discover so many hidden panels.
An hour later we were on our way to the mongolian border town. First we passed the russian fence with machine guns on it, very friendly guys. As we were in the only wagon behind the locomotive, the still smiling driver could see us hang out of the windows. While driving on a very curvy track at 50 km/h he started hanging out of the window as well, waving his arms, faced backwards that is...

In Mongolia the whole passport thing started again but only took an hour or so. At this station it is important to keep your wagon in sight, because it will be shunted to another passenger train that arrives from ulaan bataar. Funny thing happened when they started shunting. The border patrol had our passports, then the wagon started moving. Some guys panicked completely. Oh my passport, help, my passport is still not here! But after a few hundred meters the train stopped and was driven back to the passenger train.

Very early in the morning you are woken up by the provodnitzas, still some 50 km away from ulaan bataar. The landscape has completely changed again. No grass anymore, only dust and stones, the sheep are still there, but what they eat, I have no clue. The sun was coming up, everything had a golden lining. In Irkutsk we booked beds in a hostel called Golden Gobi. Arriving on the platform still sleep drunken, a kind women from this hostel welcomed us in well spoken english, something that would amaze us some more times in the coming days. We were driven to the hostel in a minibus that had no strait axles anymore and not a single panel that still had its original shape. Cars are strange in mongolia. Lots of people in UB have 4x4s that would be considered top class luxury SUVs in the states or europe. Even in the countryside, the nomads are driving new passenger cars imported from japan through the steppe. There is no real business to earn money with in Mongolia, apart from herds and tourists...
In the hostel a small breakfast with bread, marmalade and tea was served. The start in this hostel was good, but later it seemed the family was particularly fond of its guests when you booked something with their tour guides. If you did not, like us, they did not like you. Showers were ok though, not always warm, but after 4 days living in a tent between sheep, goats and camels, that doesn't matter anymore.
Next day we discovered UB and had our 'orientating' lesson with the organization that would let us travel among nomad families in the inland, Ger-to-Ger. In the evening we discovered the best, probably the only, good western kitchen restaurant in UB, called Veranda. It is close to the central square. Although you might think that we are cultural barbarians eating steaks instead of local dishes, this was actually a good idea. We didn't know that by that time though.

Next day very early we left the hostel to take a bus to Sansar, a small village (actually, 5 huts along a road) 300 km west of UB. At the bus station our bus was already loading people and lots of luggage, no animals though. After leaving UB, where the roads are particularly bad, the road became of western quality. Actually, it was a road build with development money. After 100 km though it abruptly stopped. The bus left the road and continued off road. I have never seen anything like it. Sometimes it could go 40 km/h but most of the time it was navigating big humps and pits/ditches. After 20 km, the road continued as if there was no discontinuation in between.

At Sansar we were met by a local who brought us to our first family where we would spend a day and a night. The first family was a bit distant. My brother made a lot of effort to communicate through the small dictionary we got at ger-to-ger. The father was drunken most of the time, but he managed to put us on camels for a walk to the other side of the valley. Oh and btw, the landscape is breathtaking in this area. Sometimes it looks like what you would imagine on Mars. Mountains are rolling through the landscape. Herds of horses are galloping through the open grassland and everywhere you can discover little white spots, the gers where the nomads live.
After the ride on camels, our bottoms would hurt for another two days, we got our first meal. Dried sheep/goat meat (mutton) with home made pasta, cooked on a stove, heated by camel excrement. Very tasty actually, but as you get it three times a day, you have had enough after 4 days. Not something for people with a sensitive stomach. Some families also make their own yoghurt. I come from a country where they make excellent yoghurt, but this was so fresh! It was prickly on your tongue.
The next day we walked with camels to our next family, where we rode horses onto a mountain and back. Again, the view is beyond imaginable. This family was much nicer. The mom and dad where actually working together in a manner I am used to. Nothing traditional wife and husband thing. In the evening it started raining and storming. Amazing enough, you don't notice any of that in the Ger, until you have to pee. I nearly lost my clothes while trying. This was actually the first rain in the year, we're talking mid May. Our next family was so happy because of the rain, that they did not have time to show us around. They were all way too drunk. Straight walking was impossible for them. Instead we rode horses with grandpa, who trained horses for the yearly horse racing festival in mongolia, the most important thing that happens in a mongolian year. He brought us to a place where you can see five different climates in a stretch of 4 km. Green, rounded hills, then the kind of grass you expect in your garden, then water with living creatures in it like frogs, then dunes that could come from the sahara and last but not least, very sharp and bare, red mountains. The strangest thing.

Although it was a big adventure, it was so nice to drive back to UB with the prospect to have a shower and eat steaks in the Veranda again! After eating we decided to go out and find a club with the head of Stalin in it, a relic of the communist period. Other tourists in the hostel told us that they also searched for it, but couldn't find it. We thought they were amateurs, so we got into a taxi and asked the driver to bring us there. He put us at the side of the road at a stretch of buildings that didn't look particularly attractive. But the buildings weren't the biggest problem, the drunken people were. Mongolian guys get drunk, not the girls, and when they do, some of them get aggressive. They don't look for foreigners in particular, but if your are in reach they will hit you. Don't make too much eye contact!
We didn't find the club, but were drawn into a basement full of mirrors and dancing locals. The guy at the door, 2 by 2 by 2 meters, brought us to a empty space of little bars tables and stools and gave us a beer. Within no time, the empty spots were taken by mongolian girls only. I guess they don't get to see blond people very often. I started reasoning, if these girls are the girlfriends of some guys, who are also here and they are drunk, then we might have a problem. I wasn't finished thinking and the whole mirrored wall came down on one side of the basement. Two guys had started a fight. The bouncer took the guys and threw them out like you see in a cartoon. Music was out, everyone back to their places. After 10 minutes the mess was gone and the music started again. This was apparently a normal thing in UB. We didn't feel very comfortable though and left the premises. On the way back in the cab, we almost got caught up in a traffic accident. Mongolian drivers put their foot down if you are walking on a zebra. The trick is to cross the road lane by lane. Traffic lights are for amateurs.

Early in the morning we left UB with the diesel train to Beijing. At first I thought it was a steam train because of the smoke, but that was just because the engine was still cold. The first stretch the train is rolling through a hilly landscape trying to get up the mountain with lots of black smoke, the track is making almost circles in the process. After a few hours we stopped at a little city that marks the beginning of the gobi desert. Climate change. From 9 C in the morning to 35 in the shadow in a few hours. Then the crossing started. Clouds of dust would come into the wagon regularly, even when all the windows were closed. The dust is so fine, you can see it as mist and taste it. Your hair is getting sticky, you can do all kinds of strange things with it. The ventilator in the compartment is a welcome treat (although no net of steel is build around it, so let your long hair not get caught up in it). In the evening we reached the border with China, where the platform is occupied by soldiers standing exactly 5 meters apart. Some piece of mozart is blasting through the night to welcome us in china. After passport checks, the train is shunted backwards into a big shed. The whole train fits in it. Every wagon is decoupled and lifted with everybody in it. The bogies are changed from wide gauge to standard gauge and then rolled back to the station, where you can buy your last supply of chengiss khan vodka.

After waking up, the first thing you notice is that the track is so smooth. Look out of the window and you see that everything, EVERYTHING, is brand new. The diesel locomotive seems out of place here, high speed tracks are normal. Left and right of the tracks you can see russian build nuclear powerplants in numbers that shock. If the Chinese are building a building, they build 20 flats at the same time, not one. Another regular sight is that of oxen pulling a plow with a farmer behind it. So much about the difference between rich and poor.
After arriving in Beijing, the first thing you have to do is navigate the big square in front of the station. It is packed with people, so tight, that it is almost impossible to walk. At the street side of the square there is a taxi stand. Our guide said that it is easy to get a taxi in Beijing and they are cheap. It couldn't be more wrong. There was a row of people of at least 300 waiting for cabs that weren't there. We circumnavigated the row and got an offer from a taxi driver. He would bring us to the hotel for only 140 euros. We told him to rip off some other tourists and he suddenly could say dirty words at us in english. Very strange.

Although the temperature was close to 35C and humidity at 100% we decided to walk with our bags to the hostel, some 6 km. (one tip: don't pack too much. choose your clothes in layers. put everything you think you need on your bed and then leave half of it at home. although you are going to the end of the world, it doesn't mean there is nothing to buy there. as things are mostly incredibly cheap in russia, mongolia or china, just buy it there if you need it) On the way to the hotel we got an offer from a lady in a three wheeled motorcycle cab. We negotiated a price and were happy tourists. Arrived at the hotel, I gave her the money and she asked where the rest was. The rest? This was what we negotiated right? No the price was for only one person. :-) Very funny. Stupid tourists. Anyway, in Amsterdam we would have paid 5 times more. The Beijing Jade international youth hostel, 15 minute bike ride from the forbidden city, was perfect. Personnel was inflexible, but room and breakfast was ok.

In Beijing do one thing: rent a bike and travel by bike. The bike roads are separated from the normal roads, traffic is reasonably safe and if you have some experience, driving a bike is not a problem. The bike is fast, you see a lot of things and you can decide what to do. Beijing has excellent food markets on the street, you can visit the silk market for clothes that costs 20x more in europe or usa and buy tea in one of the specialized tea shops. The forbidden city is a must and around it you can find a lot of nice little street restaurants. We ate a sichuan hot pot at such a terrace. Two blond guys completely red in the face from the peppers. They laughed at us, but the food was good!

By Douwe Braakman.

Even in tempest, Siberian lake is a jewel

SOUTHBOUND ON LAKE BAIKAL, Siberia | Though mainly celebrated for its beauty, this jewel of Siberia also commands respect for the frequent mighty gales that can whip along its 400-mile length in any season.

The winds have names, often taken from the topographic features down which they rage — river valleys, and the canyons of mountains rimming the chasm that contains the lake.

At their worst, they can howl at 40 to 50 meters per second — 90 to 110 miles an hour — and create waves as much as 20 feet high.

The one we met today may have been the one called the Kultuk, a lesser storm, but exciting enough.

The day began with banks of low clouds gathering in the southwest, and for much of the morning we progressed uneventfully, the boat nosing through a mild chop.

By the time we gathered for lunch in early afternoon, the wind had freshened greatly. Rain was falling in blinding, horizontal sheets, and the boat’s pitching was much increased.

Borne up on waves that Victor estimated at between 2 and 3 meters, or more than 6 to nearly 10 feet, it would slam down in the following trough with a thunderous jolt. Water cascaded over the bow and the forward window of the galley.

Standing or walking was a challenge. To venture out onto the deck was unthinkable.

Fortunately, the Yaroslavits is a stout, steel-hulled craft. But in the name of comfort, if not caution, the crewman at the wheel reversed course to run with the southwest wind and the waves, not against them.

We all sat tight in the galley area, waiting for the storm to ease, as presently it did.

It was discovered later that a porthole in Victor’s compartment, not securely latched, had swung open and admitted spray that doused his sleeping bag. But apart from that there was no damage.

The sky began gradually to clear, the tumultuous clouds breaking away and sliding down to make a frame above the mountain peaks.

And as we rounded the tip of a peninsula that blocked the wind entirely, we glided on a surface smooth as glass to our anchorage once again in the Bay of Snakes, the very place we’d left that morning.

The evening was spectacular, with clouds lighted from below by the setting sun, and ranks of mountain ridges, one after another, receding in shades of forest green, purple and blue.

Our retreat from the tempest meant that we would return to Victor’s rescue base near the mouth of the Angara River and to the city of Irkutsk a day later than originally planned.

But I don’t for a moment consider that a day lost.

Irrespective of the schedule, an extra day spent on the world’s most beautiful lake is by any reckoning a bit of luck, a day gained.

From here: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/11/2216328/even-in-tempest-siberian-lake.html

Irkutsk Virtual Tour

This is great video, very nicely made! 34 minutes across Irkutsk, catching the most important stuff. After watching you will have a good image of what to expect when you travel to Irkutsk city in winter, near lake Baikal.



Bruno, you did a really good job! Thank you very much for this video!

Thanks to Baikal

But Irkutsk is an exception. On first sight, it seems like just another flat Siberian city, undistinguished in orientation or architecture, having the usual Lenin and Marx streets, the Musical and Drama Theatres, the Philharmonic Hall, Orthodox Churches and the Eternal Flame dedicated to those who died fighting the Second World War. But if you dive a little deeper, the city is littered with backpacker- hostels serviced by friendly English speaking staff - a concept alien to the rest of Russia! This little ecosystem of hostels is no accident because even at 70 km away, Irkutsk is the closest city to the worldґs deepest lake, Baikal that sustains this ecosystem by attracting travellers from all over the world.

Thanks to Baikal, Irkutsk became an exception for yet another reason. I was no longer alone on the Trans-Siberian; I had made 5 new friends. It was Ryan and Tom in the compartment next to mine, who were speaking in English. They along with their friends Katy, Lizzie and Gary were going to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia for 6 weeks as volunteers from the University of Edinburgh to work with children on protection and development. But before heading to Ulaanbaatar, they too were going to spend a couple of days exploring Irkutsk and Baikal...

The easiest way to get to Baikal from Irkutsk is through mini-buses that run on the hour. So off we went; the 6 of us cramped together in one of these to Listvyanka, a tiny village on the shore of Baikal. Baikal - the "Pearl of Siberia"; the deepest lake in the world; an ocean in the making that with the rift in the tectonic plates over millions of years will split the Asian continent into two! The phrase "crystal clear" must have been coined by someone standing at Baikalґs shoreline. Even from a distance, we could see the plants and rocks below. Baikal seemed like a thin sheet of silvery mirror placed delicately between the tree-covered rocky cliffs around and their undisturbed upside-down reflections!

A quotation from here.

Sightseeing on Lake Baikal

Although Russia ranks as one of the planet’s most-visited countries, it may not jump to the forefront of the mind when thinking about some of the planet’s most natural scenic locations. Take for example major cities such as St. Petersburg. This famous city is packed with incredible sightseeing opportunities such as the Bolshoi and Red Theatres, the Tretkayov Gallery and its staggeringly beautiful churches, but all of which are manmade. Of course, Russia is a country of staggering landmass and one part of the country that undeniably belies the facts above is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lake Baikal.

A popular stop for the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Lake is located near the Buryat Republic and the Irkutsk Oblast in Siberia. Those that have been fortunate enough to have visited can vouch for the incredible natural beauty the world’s oldest lake possesses. The lake boasts innumerable natural wonders in the form of virginal forests, spectacular mountain ranges and the bluest waters you are ever likely to encounter. In fact, 20% of the Earth’s fresh water can be found here amongst the 336 rivers and streams which serve the lake.

As well as its evident natural beauty, there is also much to see and do for visitors at Lake Baikal. The southern part of the Baikal region has the most developed tourist industry and structure than any part and is in possession of many hostels and camps and also has good motorways for those who are using car hire to take in the sights independently.

Many begin in Irkutisk and work their way to the island of Olkhon. There are many interesting sacred spots en-route and places to eat before you board a ferry to the island. The unblemished wilderness here will amaze in the form of pretty creeks and tiny villages as well as the picturesque bays and inlets dotted around.

After a night’s rest, consider a tour of the Burkhan Cape. This ranks as one of the most sacred parts of Asia where you will find ‘Youth Bay’, where locals believe the waters offer rejuvenation to the body, mind and soul. Also go and see the Shaman-cliff, where shamans once used to perform their rites in the cliff’s cave.

Litsvykana is also a popular sightseeing spot. Known as the ‘Baikal Gate’ on the Angara River, go to visit the Baikal Environment Museum which gives visitors a better understanding of this unique part of the world and the various rare species which can be found in its waters as well as its fauna and flora.

One of people’s favourite parts of a visit to Lake Baikal is by taking the ferry across the Angara to the Circum Baikal railway station in Baikal harbour for a unique sightseeing journey. A similarly wonderful sightseeing tour can be had by boarding another boat up the Sliudyanka River, which sits majestically below towering mountain scenery.

This will prepare you for the sensory overload offered by Tunkinsky National Park. The dominant peaks of the Tunkinksy and Khamar Daban Ranges flank the simply majestic valley of the Irkut River. Be certain to stop at the numerous sacred Buddhist and shaman places of worship along the way before making a stop at the pretty village of Arshan that sits on the banks of the ferocious force of the mountain river. Here you will find some beautiful waterfalls and walking trails, however if you’re feeling tired after so much travelling, Arshan boasts a number of beautiful spa resorts to rest those aching limbs at the end of this wondrous outdoor adventure.

Dad and Dave

Here is a blog by father and son about traveling through Russia from Vladivostok to Moscow. Pretty interesting with nice photos.

Я Люблю Choco-Pie

On our trip to Russia, we became quite fond of Choco-Pies. Our liking for them started on the Trans-Siberian railroad, when they would come with our tea (for an extra charge, of course). We developed a love for the chocolate-coated spongey cakes filled with marshmallow. The phrase "Я Люблю Choco-Pie" even became a bit of an inside joke. On returning to the States, and subsequently moving to England, I had forgotten about the brief summer affair with the mass-produced pastry. Today a friend asked me to go shopping with her at the local(ish) Japanese grocery. Much to my suprise, I found some Choco-Pies there, sitting on the shelf and begging to be purchased. I complied, and am now happily reunited with the junk food.

Online tourism

There are many online tour agencies that offer sevices and try to sell them on Internet. Recently I found an intresting company based in China which offers interesting tour packages to anywhere from Vladivostok and Beijin to London. Can you imagine what a big market they are covering?! They really work hard, and they have a good website. Monkey Business is the brand .

And it really seems that they can attract people to Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk.

Getting to Baikal

In my Russian History class, the professor said "Can you even imagine how long it would have taken to get to Irkutsk in this time?" My mental response was, "Actually, I can, because I can tell you with complete certainty that even now it takes forever to get there." To reach Baikal we flew to Yekaterinburg, and then took the Trans-Siberian Railroad across the vast expanse of Russia to Irkutsk. The Trans-Siberian Railroad is relatively famous (perhaps infamous?) and romanticized as the last great railroad in the world. I confirm that the train journey is certainly an experience.


We travelled in "hard class" so we were grouped four in a cabin. Our furnishings were two bunk beds with a small aisle between them. In this aisle was a small table which we used to eat, or more frequently, play Scrabble. The journey from Yekaterinborg to Irkutsk was to take fifty hours, so it provided an excellent opportunity for us to get to know our travel companions very well. In addition to socializing with our travelling companions, we met many other travellers on the train. Some got to know the man in charge of the dining car, and from him procured many a Choco-Pie. We also met a young Australian couple who had recently been living in London, who were moving from London back to Australia, and taking trains as far as possible. Also on our train were a group of young Russian soldiers who were being re-assigned to the Far East. We also spent a great deal of time sleeping on the train, and writing in our omnipresent journals. After fifty hours spent thus, we were glad to arrive in Irkutsk, although our journey was still not over.



We were met in Irkutsk by our Russian companions, and loaded onto a bus to drive to Baikal. The drive took approximately an hour. When we reached the shores of Baikal, amazed by how beautiful it was, but too disoriented to properly process where we were, we had a one hour boat journey to our final destination. When we arrived, we were greeted with breakfast, and were glad to have a place to stay and call our home for the next few weeks.

Photographs:
top: The view out the window from our car.
bottom: At Krasnoyarsk, an historical train commemorating the Great Patriotic War (WWII)

www.trans-siberian.co.uk