I'm Chucking My Guidebook Away!!!!
Irkutsk, Siberia - 2 July 2004
tai•ga - noun - a sub arctic, evergreen coniferous forest of northern Eurasia located just south of the tundra and dominated by firs and spruces. Well, ain’t that the truth!!! What is not true, however, is the reference in the guidebook to the 'slowly evolving landscape' of the Trans Siberian railway. The first 5185km of this trip has been trees, trees and more trees and then just for good measure a few more trees. The only that thing was slowly evolving was my state of mind - from good to not so good.
Although on the whole the vistas were vapid though, I did have the good fortune to meet a couple of nice middle-aged doctors from Siberia who had been on a shopping trip to Moscow. Our fourth companion was a chap who stayed only one night. He was also middle-aged and looked like he'd lived his years - he worked in a diamond mine in the Gulag. None of them could speak a word of English so all communication was reliant on the 10-15 words I already knew, plus the trusty Russian/English phrasebook - and the charades!
The doctors took me under their wing for some reason (I think it was after I explained that I was travelling around the world on my own) and made me eat some of their food. Our menu for the four day trip was: mashed potatoes in a pot, radishes, noodles in a pot and rye bread. My contribution was marmite sandwiches, processed cheese and chocolate, washed down with the odd beer or vodka shot. When they alighted, about 12 hours before I did, they gave me strict instructions not to talk to anyone else who might come into the compartment; not to tell anyone I was travelling alone and they also made sure I hid everything I own under my bed so no-one could get at it. Very sweet. I have promised to send them a postcard each from China although I'm not sure what the point is as they will not be able to read it.
Our carriage also contained a group of old German blokes. I was able to converse with them by dredging up my German from school days. It turned out they spoke some English anyway and had had a great time in Aviemore a few years back. They were a funny old bunch, especially on my last night when I couldn't sleep and had gone out into the corridor to use the socket to charge up my mobile; one after the other three of them exited their compartments, in various stages of undress, to use the loo. I don’t think they expected to see anyone and it was a comical sight I can tell you!
I arrived in Irkutsk, Siberia on Tuesday morning after 88 hours on the train and have been staying with a very nice couple called Jack and Yulenna in their apartment. Thankfully, they have very good English so I've been able to have some decent conversation without the aid of a dictionary! Last night I was introduced to a drink called Russia-Alaska – it’s sort of like vodka I think, but looks like brandy and tastes a bit of vanilla. Anyway, it was jolly tasty!
Jack took me up to Lake Baikal yesterday. It may well be the 'pearl of Siberia' and indeed the Lake is very beautiful with hills blanketed in wild flowers rising up from a narrow pebble covered beach, but Listvyanka the famous village on its southern tip was just awful. Once again, a misguided description in the guidebook, '...the tourist-wise village offers a charming village atmosphere.' HELLO! Did the writer actually go there or just look at pictures?! I was confronted with a village stretching about 3km along the shoreline which was more like a rubbish dump. Everywhere I looked, and it was worse on the beach, there was litter; bottles, cans, paper plates and cups dumped after the contents consumed, plastic bags. It was revolting and just in case you've just eaten I won't go into the public toilet experience suffice to say I was trying to pee and not be sick at the same time. Apparently Greenpeace came a few years ago and cleaned up the whole village but within six months it was back to being a rubbish tip. I can't understand how the locals can abuse what is such a stunning place. Not to mention the impression it gives tourists. Or could it be a cunning plan to try and keep them away I wonder?!
Anyway, today is my last day in Siberia. I catch the Irkutsk - Ulaan Baatar train tonight at 8.00 pm (12 noon your time, I'm 8 hours ahead) and arrive in UB on Sunday morning at 7am or something like that - 35 hours should give me time to learn some basic Mongolian. Three weeks of countryside lies ahead, horse-riding (never done before, think I will try a pony first!), camel trekking (done once in Turkey but the camel was a bit psycho so I'm hoping for a nicer one), camping in the desert, living with nomadic Mongols in their Ger tents - I can't wait!
