Trans-Siberian - Siberia
| Trans-Siberian Trip |
| St. Petersburg and Moscow |
| ... more photos |
| The Trans-Siberian |
| Siberia |
| The Trans-Mongolian |
| ... more photos |
| The Ger Camp |
| ... more photos |
| China |
| ... more photos |
After arriving in Irkutsk on the Trans-Siberian, we spent 2 days at Lake Baikal and Irkutsk before boarding the train to Mongolia.
At the busy Irkutsk train station we left our train and boarded a minibus for the 1 hour trip to the town of Listvyanka on Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is the largest lake in the world by volume and contains 22% of the world's fresh water.
| Wikipedia Links: |
| Irkutsk |
| Lake_Baikal |
At Lake Baikal we were divided up into groups of 2 and 3 for several guesthouses. It was nice to get a shower after 4 days on the train. After tea, we reconvened for a walk into Listvyanka about 2km away for a late lunch.
Then we explored the wooden buildings of the town and then back to the lake for a wonderful sauna next to the lake.
I slept through an excursion up to a local hotel for drinks in the evening. The next morning after a fabulous breakfast at our guesthouse, we met up for a walk to the top of nearby hill for a view over the lake. The weather was poor which limited our view.
| Wikipedia Link: |
| Decembrist_revolt |
Back in Irkutsk, we toured a 'Decembrist' house used by instigators of a 1825 uprising sent to Siberia by Czar Nicholas I. After the tour, we caught up on email and stocked up on food for the next part of our journey.
Back at the Irkutsk train station in the evening, we caught our Trans-Mongolian train for Ulaanbaatar. The train contained a mix of Russian and Mongolian carriages. Our route followed the Trans-Siberian for about 460km to Ulan Ude before heading south to the Mongolian border.
Continue on to the Mongolia page or return to the main page.
