Witnessing the solar eclipse on the shore of lake Baikal!
What more can one ask for?
Well... what about a swim in the 5˚C cold healing waters? Or a juicy eye-ball of the local smoked omul fish? [see photos section]
Not forgetting the typical summer storm that took us by surprise and almost flooded the area...
Oh, and the monster insect bite that caused a small bump on my forearm at first, but later turned into something that looked like a second arm growing from inside...
My experiences from this journey are becoming richer and richer!
Back to Irkutsk, the rain went on, but I really felt at home staying at Elena's place; a modern young Russian woman who lives with her 14 year old daughter Katja - a great fan of My Chemical Romance ;)
The nice dinner (served with greek salad!) was followed by poker lessons and an interesting conversation about life in Russia, movies, music, Japanese culture and even Greek philosophy :]
Once again though, the time to say goodbye came all too soon, and I found myself on the #6 train to Mongolia...
We had a loooong stop on the Russian border, in suffocating heat inside the train carriage. The PowerGen key from my electric meter box came handy, as it fitted perfectly the locked toilet door!
Past the electrified fence to the Mongolian side, I was attacked by hordes of insects the minute I stepped off the train, but at least the immigration procedures were swift...
And I was impressed by the black market dealers asking to change money, following immediately after the border guards...
Early in the morning, we crossed the endless green and yellow of the Gobi desert...
Nomad tents, called yurts and budhist shrines occasionally interrupted the monotony of the landscape...
Ulaan Baataar, the capital of Mongolia, seems stuck somewhere back in time...
Run-down buildings and numerous peasants is all I see..
A few minutes ago, I was standing at the Suhbaatariin Square, in front of the house of parliament...
There has been bloodshed here just a few weeks ago, as supporters of the opposition party confronted the police...
I get a funny feeling that this might be an interesting day too, as I see television vans pulling aside by the square...
I'd rather go looking for some camel milk to taste... yummie!
Read more!
Tuesday 5 August 2008
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