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

[RooFlyer]

More of the solar observatory. We were free to wander all along and around the instrumentation. There are staff around, but didn't have any interest in us.







What you can't appreciate from the pics is the sound - a constant chatter from each unit as their servo motors slowly turn each dish to track the sun.

You can see what a fabulous day it was. We had a max of 21 degrees!!

10 mins drive away is another telescope - a radio telescope I think and run by the University at St Petersburg. Here, the gates were firmly closed.



Back on the road and we approached the mountains.








This orthodox church dates from 1814.

 

[RooFlyer]

We drove into the little town of Arshan, which has long been a 'spa town', with several 'sanatoriums' thriving during the Soviet era, but only one struggling as a cheap accommodation place now.

Just before we hit town, we did a little diversion to see some extinct volcanos Just little, tree covered mounds od about 500 m sq each above the stepp plain, a few km short of the range. Remember that Lake Baikal is a 'rift' and even though we are a fair way from there, obviously in the recent past there was some tension in the crust allowing some magma and stuff to pop through.

We got a welcoming committee:



The reds and browns of the scoria contrasted nicely with the greens and yellow of the trees and the blue sky. I was surprised to learn that in the 1970s, one of these little mounds got 'warm' and vented just a little steam. Still life in 'em yet!




We finally drove into town abut 4:30 pm - its a relaxed sort of place.





This was our accommodation for the night and it turned into a problem. The 'administrator ('manager') took us to our room - one with 4 single beds in it, and with a barking dog in the opposite room.



Ah, no thanks. Apparently they didn't correctly understand the booking. No other rooms made up, so why don't we go and have dinner then return and all would be OK? This after long discussions between our guide and the 'manager' who, it turns out was suffering was a bit from the demon.

At this point I got worried and Googled other options in the town. Got a hit on what looked like a 'regular' hotel with room available via booking.com That was going to be my fall-back.

 

[RooFlyer]

We were forewarned that there was only a 'cafe' available in town (it is the off season after all) but the joint was pretty grim. Even more when one of our party discovered that there was no water in the loos or wash basins.



Stole a pic of an adjoining table's order - I forget the name but its cheese +/- meat deep fried in batter. A heart attack in every mouthful!




I went the traditional Buryat soup - mutton soup with noodles and then another Buryat staple - boozys - mince meat filled dumplings, which also have hot liquid in them, so eating them (with your fingers) takes some skill.





The soup was nice. the boozys were - interesting.

As we were finishing a group of local Buryats came in and a floor show commenced. must have been a birthday or some visiting family or VIP. This guy sang in the local language which to me (through the strains of the song) sounded 'Asian' - I imagine it would have been close to Mongolian.



Buryats BTW although retaining their 'sharman' religious traditions, are mostly Buddhist and there are Buddhist temples in most towns.

then this gal came on and really moved it





So we decamped and went back to the accommodation.

Another long discussion between guide and manager ensued. Rooms still jnot ready; she's ironing the sheets. We declined waiting for crisp flannelettes so took the sheets and went to the rooms - three, thankfully each with en-suite.

That's the only thing I was thankful for - this is how the room presented:





I put the sheets on; the filthy looking doona didn't have a cover so I did the best I could. Thankfully only one night here!

I tuned into Turkmenistan TV in preparation for my visit there next year.

 

[cambriamarsh]

C'arn the Blues.

Whoops. Did I stupidly say that aloud?

Amazing TR RooFlyer. Wonderful experience.

Including NZ pies! Did I really see that?

 

[RooFlyer]

Yes. Unfortunately I was very tired last night and decided not to go out to try the New Zealand Pies place.

 

[cambriamarsh]

Yes. Unfortunately I was very tired last night and decided not to go out to try the New Zealand Pies place.

Probably not very fresh ...

 

[RooFlyer]

The next day was another cracker - max 21 forecast. The café for breakfast didn't open until 10am, so, having stocked up with some snacks the day before, we started for a nice walk in a park in the mountain behind the town



This is a seasonal, spring sourced creek. Forest is mainly pine and birch, with some larch. The season up here is obviously further advanced than at lower elevations; all the birch had lost their leaves and the larches were looking a bit ratty.





A typical mix of Buddhist and shamanic religious traditions. Asked who the statue was of, the guide described him as 'an old white guy' - not meaning it in the western, derisory sense, but the colour of the stone used and the age of the subject, but I could relate to it!



We came across an 'activity centre'. One of our group observed that just seeing it would give a OH&S type a heart attack. All about 4m off the ground.





Views out across the valley to the mountain range n the other side of the Tunka Valley.

 

[RooFlyer]

100 steps down was our destination, a waterfall.



Not the greatest one ever, but a good place to stop and go back for brekkie.



This guy, a nuthatch, was very friendly and was looking for a free feed.







A cold spring an drinking water source. Unlike the other spring, it had a distinct taste and there were iron and other deposits around it.



Along the exit of the park were many stalls - mostly unoccupied, as its the off season, but this was selling local herbs. I didn't get a shot, but I bought 4 pairs of Mongolian yak hair socks. The guide assured us that yes, the goods were from Mongolia and although we would pay 'tourist prices' the stuff was genuine and good quality. That's at least 1 Christmas present done.



On the way out we saw a moose!



The Asiatic features of the Buryat people can be seen on this entry gate to the park.



Breakfast was basic. One of the group tried the deep fried battered cheese thing. Bleh!

 

[OATEK]

I take every chance I can to track down historical steam railways & locomotives, but not too fanatical. TRS would be a great journey, but don't think I would get MrsOatek on long journeys. We do s train trip or 2 on most of our OS travel. Your photos of Siberia have been terrific.

Oh, are you a railway-phile too? That post is dedicated to you too. The couple I am travelling with do railway trips all over the place. They are doing Irkutsk to Beijing on the TRS next.

 

[EestiTiger]

View attachment 137927

Another Buryat legend memorial. Eagles feature prominently in these. ( And no, that's not a footy tip).

View attachment 137928

Good footy tip whether you meant it or not!

 

[RooFlyer]

After some breakfast we hit the road for the local hot springs. In the background here is one of those small volcanic cones.





It was very much off season!




300 roubles entry, 50 for towel hire. Changing room. No modesty screen here. Open the door and ... from the outside. The little bowl is to wring your bathers out into.



Two pools - one the natural 55 degrees C, the other a bit cooler.



I had a dip, and survived.

Really nice outside. This is the Irkut river, that flows into the Angara River at Irkutsk.





Down the highway, the full mountain range vista ...

 

[Cossie]

100 steps down was our destination, a waterfall.

View attachment 138949

Not the greatest one ever, but a good place to stop and go back for brekkie.

View attachment 138950

This guy, a nuthatch, was very friendly and was looking for a free feed.

View attachment 138951

View attachment 138952

View attachment 138953

A cold spring an drinking water source. Unlike the other spring, it had a distinct taste and there were iron and other deposits around it.

View attachment 138954

Along the exit of the park were many stalls - mostly unoccupied, as its the off season, but this was selling local herbs. I didn't get a shot, but I bought 4 pairs of Mongolian yak hair socks. The guide assured us that yes, the goods were from Mongolia and although we would pay 'tourist prices' the stuff was genuine and good quality. That's at least 1 Christmas present done.

View attachment 138955

On the way out we saw a moose!

View attachment 138956

The Asiatic features of the Buryat people can be seen on this entry gate to the park.

View attachment 138957

Breakfast was basic. One of the group tried the deep fried battered cheese thing. Bleh!

View attachment 138958

Beware of criticizing the food in some areas like this!

Travel writer's death threats after insulting national dish

 

[RooFlyer]

Oops.

Anyway ... I've been doing this TR on my phone. Now I've gone back to my laptop and am disappointed at the resolution many of the pics have posted at. When I get home, I might do some 'best of' from my Sony camera that I used in tandem with the iPhone.

 

[love_the_life]

Oops.

Anyway ... I've been doing this TR on my phone. Now I've gone back to my laptop and am disappointed at the resolution many of the pics have posted at. When I get home, I might do some 'best of' from my Sony camera that I used in tandem with the iPhone.

The photos are fine. Maybe I’ve got dodgy eyes but I don’t see any problems.
The place looks stunning.
For interest, when is it tourist season there?

 

[Cossie]

The photos are fine. Maybe I’ve got dodgy eyes but I don’t see any problems.
The place looks stunning.
For interest, when is it tourist season there?

I thought the same thing, really enjoying this tr.

 

[RooFlyer]

The there are two seasons. Summer, July & August when the weather is really good and low 30s temps, and in mid winter, Jan & Feb for the 'driving on the ice' experience. The people I was on this tour with did the latter, and raved about it.

 

[RooFlyer]

So we headed back to Irkutsk.



Or guide was intent on getting there ASAP. We asked her to slow down!



A last look at the Lake:



We made it!



After checking into the Marriott ( for the third time) I went for a last walk in the brilliant afternoon sunshine.



Irkutsk is a major railway point. Very large and long freight trains leave on the TSR and other routes many times each hour throughout the day.





A few last old wooden houses to admire ...

 

[RooFlyer]

Decided to have dinner in the Marriott. It's restaurant is pretty good and specialises in Baikal seafood. Only a modest Crimean sav blanc available by the glass. One thing Irkutsk is not is a place for wine indulgence.



Entree of a trio of Baikal fish ( raw)



and a local trout for mains



Oh, here is the little Baikal seal I bought at the mineral museum. It's of charoite ( I may have mistakenly called it Charolite before), so a double win.

 

[RooFlyer]

Next morning a ride to the airport. The domestic terminal looks new and shiney. The international terminal is old and small.



Inside the terminal ( X-ray bags to get in)



Queue for another bag X-ray to get into the check in area. No computers out, no lags worried about.



Check in



I couldn't see any business check in, so I asked an S7 agent nearby ( it was only S7 being checked in). Shrug of shoulders. Eventually my inner DYKWIA kicked in and I went to the front and asked about business check in. The agent then called me forward.

Carry on X-ray after check in, again nothing needed to be taken out.

Then departure immigration. Now, I have lost a lot of weight since my passport photo, and the agent seemed to have a problem convincing herself that it was me ( seriously). Long hard looks at me and the photo and back again. Then she went through the passport peering at other visa pics. Eventually satisfied, she let me out!!

Departure lounge.



I eventually found the lounge. No English spoken but I was given a voucher and I gathered that I could have drinks and snacks up to a certain value. I didn't test that value



The ride. 5 hours to HKG departing at 11:30am

 

[RooFlyer]

Buses rocked up for boarding, but I was held back and I gathered that a business bus would be provided.

It was. We hung back until all economy pax had boarded and then went up last. S7 priority boarding worked well.



Looking back at the domestic terminal



My seat 2A. I switched across to 2F when the seatbelt sign went off to get better views.



Legroom in the A320. Pretty standard.




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