Lake Baikal, Siberia on Qantas and Siberian Airlines (S7)

[RooFlyer]

Checked out and did the cable car. I've gone to do this a couple of other times but the weather or visibility had been poor do I didn't. Same today, but I bit the bullet. Short walk from the Novatel.

Cable car opens at 10. It's web site wrought let me but a ticket on line either yesterday or today so I queued from 9:30. The rope lines on the street open at 9:40 ( I was 7th) and the ticket offices open at 9:45. Many booths, so straight through. HKD$210. Into a gondola at 10:05.

The weather was cloudy with the peaks shrouded, but the day was forecast to get worse. Interesting rather than fantastic views because of the weather.



The new, not yet completed Macau road bridge.



Da big Buddha at the top. I just walked around for a bit then headed down. As forecast, the weather was deteriorating.

 

[RooFlyer]

I have a 5:15pm flight on S7 to Irkutsk this arvo. Nothing I really want to do in Hong Kong, so I took a punt on there being a check in desk open at the airport, got my bags out of the Novotel ( where the manager was waiting and gave profuse apologies for the incident the previous night.). Took shuttle to airport, but no cigar.

Two+ hours to check in. Decided to get Airport Express to Kowloon ( free same day return) to do in town check in.

AAAARRRRGGGHH!

S7 have no in town check in - since Sept 1!

So turn around and am about to reboard the train to check in in an hour it so.

Valuable lounge time wasted!

 

[craven morehead]

I have a 5:15pm flight on S7 to Irkutsk this arvo. Nothing I really want to do in Hong Kong, so I took a punt on there being a check in desk open at the airport, got my bags out of the Novotel ( where the manager was waiting and gave profuse apologies for the incident the previous night.). Took shuttle to airport, but no cigar.

Two+ hours to check in. Decided to get Airport Express to Kowloon ( free same day return) to do in town check in.

AAAARRRRGGGHH!

S7 have no in town check in - since Sept 1!

So turn around and am about to reboard the train to check in in an hour it so.

Valuable lounge time wasted!

Bugger !!

 

[RooFlyer]

After a bit of a wait, check in opened exactly at T-3 in aisle E.

I'm claiming this as an AFF first ( well, a first S7 business report, if you follow ...)



Only about 25 mins from start of check in to entering the lounge. S7 uses the Hongkong Airlines VIP lounge in the satellite terminal, but of course I having none of that - yet.

Pier First, of course. Late lunch:







Sichuan beef, followed by slow cooked Atlantic salmon. Rather small portions. Austrian vietliner was terrific.




Victoria cake to finish - for the fresh fruit, of course.

 

[RooFlyer]

The Pier First lounge is one of the world's best F lounges. Even the Pantry is fine.

 

[RooFlyer]

Into the Hong Kong Airlines VIP lounge at the satellite terminal

Hey, this is a good lounge! Lots of space, lots of different environments, large buffet area.

Entry



Buffet area. Nothing terribly special, but very adequate.





Nice quiet sunny area right at the end



Even a sleeper area:





Bar is small and wine choice is pedestrian.

 

[RooFlyer]

The ride:



TKWIA: ( I'm expanding my essential Russian vocab )

 

[RooFlyer]

A320 seat (2A) and legroom. Two rows of 2-2 in business ( full). Appears to have no IFE.

 

[JohnM]

But I am now in Okinawa and traditional Okinawan sweets are brown sugar.Normally 100% brown sugar.However Okinawa has the greatest percentage of people living to 100 on earth.

Hmmm, OK - but what are their teeth like? .

 

[drron]

Well they are still able to eat brown sugar.

 

[RooFlyer]

Made it.



Note the business class bus in front. Most of the J pax got on the Y bus! .

 

[RooFlyer]

The business ride on S7 was serviceable but not fantastic. What you might call a 'regional' product. A bit over 5 hour flight.

Menus



Not sure what this page is about. Maybe the flight on the opposite direction?



English Drinks menu in the lurid S7 green:



Started off with a nut selection:



Then the salad ( Neil Perry, eat yer heart out)



Salmon, which was very nice.



The meal was served quickly and after that the crew disappeared behind the curtain, but always responded to call button.

No IFE made it a long flight. It got dark after abt 2 hrs. Some Chinese city down there!



Of course you can take the corporate colour branding only so far...

 

[RooFlyer]

Irkutsk airport terminal is tiny and old. The city has a population of 600,000 but judging by the terminal it would be 20,000.

When we de planed, there was a pretty obvious business class minibus waiting, in addition to the several regular Airport type busses.



For some inexplicable reason, most of the J pax got onto the regular buses! So 3 of us since of then had immigration to ourselves and it was easy ( no landing card, they just work of the visa).

Bags took a little while but mine was 3rd off. Big Alsatian sniffer dog plus a lady who collected your luggage tags as you left

Car driver waiting there, got cash from an ATM Next to the exit and onto the Courtyard Marriott.

 

[RooFlyer]

Courtyard Marriott. Really helpful in reservation process and with visa assistance ( issuing the required invitation.). All done by email with good English on their side.



Room was pretty standard, bathroom modern and everything works.

 

[RooFlyer]

Forecast for today was early showers so I was really pleased to wake up to a fully sunny morning. Today is just an easy day to see Irkutsk before heading to Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal tomorrow.

One of the things immediately obvious is that the city boasts lots of old 'siberian' wooden buildings. Unfortunately, not easy to photograph due to low sun, trees and maniac drivers ( can't stop back onto the street).

 

[RooFlyer]

One place I was looking forward to seeing was "130 Kvartal", described as an open air museum of old Siberian wooden buildings, some transported here, some newly built.

What it turned out to be was a tourist trap. Ersartz buildings with lots of Western brands on them, restaurants etc. Didn't bother with any pics, except:



"I love Irkutsk" - of course.



Trams:



Guess where?



Hints. It's the corner of:



and



Streets.

The streets are well signposted for the sights, in English and there is a trilingual ( Russian, English, Chinese of some sort) waking tour marked it with explanations.





This is babir, mythical Siberian best, symbol of Irkutsk.

 

[RooFlyer]

More from the walk-around:

A fine piece of soviet-ear monolithic architecture. I think this is the regional government building



In the 1960s the Irkutsk 'oblast' (region) was awarded the Order of Lenin:



The Soviets liked their military heroes. Here's a prominent memorial to some great general of the great Patriotic War (WW2):



Mind you, for reverence of those killed in war, no country does it like the USSR and today, Russia. This is the local Eternal Flame:



Tsar Alexander III was the only Tsar to ever visit Siberia. Irkutsk was a hold-out against the Bolshevik Revolution, only crumbling to the revolution some years after western Russia.



A bust of Yuri Gagarin



Monument to the founders of Irkutsk opened in 2011 on the 350th anniversary of the founding of Irkutsk, It was therefore founded in 1661 - by a Cossack garrison to extract fur tax from the local Buryat people and for gold trading.

In the early 19th Century, the town became a place of exile for the 'Decembrist' revolutionaries against Tsar Nicholas I and as many of these were artists and intellectuals, the area became a centre of culture and writing.

 

[RooFlyer]

A bit about the city of 600,000 people. its quite pleasant - all streets in the centre area at least are tree lined and there's not much litter about. Pavements in good nick; traffic lights obeyed by pedestrians and motorists alike. Quite a few derelict buildings - including factories along the Angara River, which is wide and flows strongly. The trees are just changing colour for Autumn now.

The river flows out of Lake Baikal (the only outflow, I think) and is known as the 'daughter of Baikal'

The town was connected to Moscow by road in 1760.



Quite a bit of civic improvements - granite paving on the streets, buildings tarted up etc. In spite of its 'remoteness' it does a fair tourist trade - witnessed by the bilingual street signs and even street names and the tri lingual explanatory plaques on the walking trail. The Marriott I'm in is a nice hotel but by no means the best - it ranks about 4 or 5.

The Lonely Planet says its known as 'The Paris of Siberia'

This is the Church of the Saviour, built in 1706. The external murals are original, and restored.





A nearby monastery



And another church. Wasn't paying too much attention today

 

[RooFlyer]

This afternoon I found even more reason to like Irkutsk. Fronting the main town park is this fine building:



... which is the Geology department of the University of Irkutsk





Some more of the old wooden buildings that are everywhere:

 

[RooFlyer]

The restaurant at the Marriott had a bit of a reputation, and add I plan to eat either tonight, I have it a go for lunch.

This is the Cedar Bar, that serves the restaurant menu.



Appetiser of Baikal fish with ? Lingberry juice. I didn't expect the fish to be raw, but it was nice - in a rye bread basket.



Sauerkraut Shchi soup with sour cream and pickled pork, with crispy rye.



Both delicious!