The diary of a traveller, entry 13. Part 3 Lake Baikal

13. November

V. returned this morning. After breakfast I set off by myself on another little hike. Headed for the funicular – this is actually a chair-lift about 700m long running along what looks like it could be (and perhaps is) a really nice little ski slope. The chair lift wasn’t working so I had to take a winding walk through the woods following the car tracks to the top of the slope. It is a lot warmer today and the walk up was pretty heavy going. But the view at the top was more than worth it. I passed an old couple along the way but other than that there was no-one around. One of the highlights of my trip. Also made friends with a Siberian cat which had swimming pool blue eyes.

After this I walked back down to the apartment. V. has decided we should go and check out Port Baikal today. It is nearly 2pm so only a couple of hours of sunlight left.

The ferry over to Port Baikal from Listvyanka was a rickety hunk of iron. It runs 5 times a day and has space for 2 cars comfortably but the somehow managed to cram on 7! It was great to get onto the lake itself, although I half expected to sink at any moment. Port Baikal itself was charming – what I was hoping to find in Listvyanka but didn’t. A proper old village of about 300 residents which was a key stopping point for the old Circumbaikal railway. Wooden houses. No hotels or main roads (or cars for that matter). Situated on the bank of the lake a the foot of steep hills and woodland. Valerii took my on a hike up the hill which was virtually a sheer climb in places. Even though it seems I have knackered my knee now view from the top was well worth the effort! 

Whilst waiting for the return ferry in a small museum back in the village I made friends with 8 or 9 boys from Irkutsk who were on a school trip. They were all about 14 or 15 and were a great bunch! Instantly clocked me for a foreign tourist and came over to chat. At first we spoke in English but I’m happy to say that I spoke better Russian than they did English so we switched. Instantly thought I was American at first but I very firmly corrected them! They all wanted their photo taken with me and we had a good chat about football and movies etc. Were so excited when I showed them a $20 note (although I think that might have confused the issue of my nationality further). Don’t think any of them had been outside the former USSR before. 

The diary of a traveller, entry 12. Part 3 Lake Baikal

12. November

Weather has changed dramatically. Best part of a foot of snow must have fallen over night. Been left to my own devices today as V. has gone back to Irkutsk, returning tomorrow morning. First stop was the Baikal Museum which was just a stone’s throw from the apartment. Highlight was the aquarium and the two seals they have there! Mother and daughter pair apparently – mother was rescued by a boat injury and then subsequently gave birth to daughter apparently. They were very friendly (or as friendly as you can be if you’re a seal behind inch-thick glass). There were other species there from the lake like sturgeon and the famous omul – but these were less friendly.

After that I braved the elements and went off in search of a famous rock which had something to do with the history of how the lake was formed or so the legend says – Old Man Baikal threw it at his daughter for marrying the wrong river or something like that. 

Anyway, it was bloody cold and after 30mins or so of walking into the wind and snow I took a photo of the nearest rock which probably wasn’t the right one and then headed back to the apartment to get my scarf. Then walked all the way from the apartment to the village and back again which is a good hour each way. I’m not at all bowled over by Listvyanka as a village/town. It’s basically one long road and is the kind of place you’d want a car for sure. Although that said driving round here seems like a risky business judging by the number of crashes they have!

From the market I bought two large smoked omuls and a loaf of stale white bread – gonna enjoy this biblical dinner later. After that I had another good chat with an impudent young lad running the bar of a café I called into. To begin with he wanted to charge my 500 RUB for sitting down (in an empty café) for fear that I was about to eat my loaf and fish. But the matter was soon cleared up and I bought a coffee with milk and two glasses of aptly named ‘Baikal’ vodka which was very good. All for the reasonable price of £2.30! 

We chatted about Russia, England, how 25 cars fall into the frozen lake each year and how smoking is bad for you.

             

dinner

view to the Lake Baikal 

photos are taken from Richard's archive 

The diary of a traveller, entry 11. Part 3 Lake Baikal

11. November

Staying on the south-west banks of Baikal about 6 km from Listvyanka. Ate a tasty breakfast at Valerii’s cottage this morning then set off for a walk through the village heading into the woodland then down to the lake. I slept like a baby last night – God, I needed that. The temperature is mild, the day clear so we can see 40km to the eastern side of the lake and the snow-capped mountains beyond that. We picked up one or two stray dogs on our walk through the village. One is still with us by the lake hoping to pinch some our lunch. We walked along a narrow and very steep path through the woods to get here. No people around at all but sadly the all too obvious signs of humanity were found down by the lake in the form of several piles of rubbish! At the start of the trail there was a sign which said “Байкал – не место для мусорa” – I couldn’t agree more! Some places are places for rubbish but this isn’t one. Stopped off for a beer on my way back in the middle of the touristy area aft Valerii had headed back to the house. People seem nice here. 

The diary of a traveller, entry 10. Part 3 Lake Baikal and Irkutsk

10. November

Approaching Ulan-Ude soon which means just another 7 hours to Irkutsk. More snow and more beautiful scenery to enjoy. Hardly an uninterrupted sleep though last night – quite the opposite in fact. Was woken around 2.30am by the arrival into our wagon of a huge dark brute of a Russian arriving from some god-awful Siberian outpost. Stupendously drunk, of course – had the obligatory 2lt plastic bottle of something. He was carrying two large hold-alls, each the size of a young child, and also a chain saw. Mercifully it remained in its box. After a few attempts at trying to engage with me he finally made it, with some effort, into the bed above my own where he lay making strange noises, breathing rapidly and occasionally shouting. Thankfully it wasn’t long before he was woken by the attendant to disembark at Chita. An experience to say the least.

We picked up two new traveling companions at Ulan-Ude.  Alexander (who looks just like Alexander III) and his wife who are both friendly Orthodox Christians heading to Krasnoyarsk. Alexander speaks very good English and I am very grateful to be able to have a more comfortable conversation for the first time in 48 hours. We have lots to talk about ranging from whether or not I like John Lennon (I said yes thinking it was the right answer – it wasn’t) to his studies of the Koran. We are coming close to Baikal and my stop now.

I was met off the train by my new host Valerii. He decides we should go straight to Listvyanka – so still a bit more traveling to go. Not sure what the plan is from now but I think Valerii will be acting as a tour guide for the next couple of days. I have never seen so many stars in the sky before in my life – not only the water which is clear round here. 

The diary of a traveller, entry 9. Part 3 Lake Baikal and Irkutsk

9 November

Ok nights sleep but not the best. Just me and Valentina in the wagon for the time being. Maybe we’ll pick up a few more passengers along the way. Feel a bit sorry for V. as she obviously wants to have more lengthy conversations but I am pretty much out of Russian words already. Could just repeat everything all over again with different intonation. Stopped off for 20mins at a place called Amazar in the Chita Oblast where I bought some Pirozhki stuffed with potatoes – hardly a culinary extravaganza but they filled a hole. I insisted V. have one.

Bright sunlight streaming into our wagon through the window as the snowscapes unravel before us. A day and a half of this to go. The provodnitsa opened the window briefly so I stuck my head out for 15 gorgeously fresh minutes. I’ve just noticed that in all this beautiful Siberian wilderness there isn’t a hint of any animal wildlife as yet. Not even a bird. Then again, in this vast expanse of country what animal would opt to inhabit the area next to a railway track.

Had my first taste of the £3 vodka I bought in Khabarovsk. Pretty undrinkable it has. I can’t see V. helping me to polish it off anytime soon. But I can’t complain as she keeps feeding me from her vast food stocks. Sitting back in the Ресторан Вагон for my second evening on the #7 train. Same seat by the window, same uncomfortable lip on the table which makes reading a book awkward. Surprising lack of patrons. Not even the French guys back for another helping on non-descript fish and potatoes. Just the female staff and the bald goon who appears to have the controlling interest in this enterprise. The short-haired woman by the bar counts the rubles, the Asian looking waitress serves the beer, and he does the crossword. I keep hearing a lot of Russian pop music where the  male vocalists sing with quite a sinister growling tone: I’m having such an experience right now through someone’s mobile phone. Publically inflicting crap music on others would be a harshly punishable offence in my own version of Singapore. Musically it’s not bad, just the singing which is so grating. As if Phil Spector had made a compilation of the most prison’s most notorious inmates doing their own renditions of catchy tunes.