Leaving Russia

Well, it’s harder to leave Russia than it is to get in! We have now been parked at a small out of the way railway station called Naushky (or something similar), in Buryatia, for over 5 hours while various uniformed people swarm over our carriage checking passports and customs forms and shining torches into dark corners. There was a bit of drama when we arrived as some people were pulled off the train by guards with guns and handcuffed and thrown into a van. Illegal immigrants …. a prison van? No idea but quite exciting at the time. Needless to say we kept our distance as images of the cold war flashed through our minds. Couldn't help feeling sorry for the people though.

This train trip is a two-nighter from Irkutsk to Ulan Bator in Mongolia. It’s good to get moving again though it’s hard to shake off the tiredness of the last two nights uncomfortable accommodation at Lake Baikal. The lake was stunning, the air clear and fresh, the local smoked fish ‘omul’ delicious….but the beds!!! If Ian and I had been house-hunting at Lake Baikal and walked into this one we would have thought it had great potential if you first stripped it bare, dumped the furniture and did a renovation job. Our host was however lovely and a very good cook – Valerii – a marine biologist who dives in the lake to study the algae (over 1000 species) and teaches at the university. Lake Baikal is a Unesco world heritage site, in that it is the largest body of fresh water in the world (you can dip your bottle in and drink straight from the banks), and 80% of its species can only be found in this lake. Valerii also arranged a banya for us and our train-friends – this is a Russian sauna in a cedarwood cabin – complete with twig massage! I could just imagine coming out into the deep snow and -30 degrees in winter. Luurvely.

Our previous homestay host in Irkutsk was also lovely – very beautiful and sparkly Helen, or Elena, in what we think was a fairly typical, and very small, apartment in a large block. She says “the English always surround themselves with parks and beautiful gardens, but the Russians, they don’t care about such things”. This about sums up the initial appearance of most Russian towns – but if you scratch the surface it’s not much different to Europe in what is available. There is definitely a feeling of hardship though – having now seen inside some homes I wonder who is actually able to shop in the well stocked malls at such high prices.

So, if I had to sum up one lingering impression of Russia – it would be the warmth! Both on the trains and in the houses, with all the heating and hot water provided by the government in copious quantities. So, we can now forget our Russian, spend our last roubles and prepare for Mongolia – help!