(no subject)
We've just returned to Ulaanbaatar (or UB, as everyone here seems to call it) from a short trip out into the countryside. We spent a day at Terelj Nataional Park, hiked out to a traditional Mongolian meditation center, and then spent the night in a Ger with a nomadic family. There was an endless swarm of baby goats teeming around the barn, and they captivated our attention for the vast majority of our time there. Natalie, the only one of us who did not indulge in a little vodka last night (and that includes our guide), got up early and was rewarded by witnessing a baby goat being born.
I was greatly surprised by our last days in Russia- after traveling form St. Petersburg, which I enjoyed, to Moscow, which left me with a lingering depression, and seeing endless empty, coldly beautiful landscape from the train across Siberia, I have finally found something to love about Russia. Our train dropped us in Irkutsk, notable for its Decemberist architecture and history but not much else- according to our guide book, it is the only city in Russia where there is a real risk of personal violence, although we didn't experience anything of the sort. From there we arranged a trip out to Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal. If anyone is planning a trip to Russia, this is the only bit of it that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
To reach the island we took a public bus out to the "port", which at this time of year was a bunch of boats frozen into the lake, observed with very little interest by a small group of dangerously skinny cows. After being unceremoniously dumped from the minibus (not without some relief- the ratio of people to seats having slowly increased throughout the ride until each one of us had at least two beer-swilling locals perched on our lap). At this point we were rescued by a van sent from our hotel, which drove us out across the frozen lake (the only way to the island from January to April) and to our guesthouse in Khuzhir. The people there were amazingly friendly, as were their dogs, several groups of which accompanied the guests everywhere. We spent a few happy days scrambling about the rocks and ice and eating the delicious Omul fish, which lives only in Lake Baikal and can be prepared any of a hundred ways, as demonstrated to us by the extremely talented kitchen staff. We each had our own room- in fact, the group of us that traveled together were given our own eight-bedroom house- and all meals were included. The price was 600 roubles per person- about $23.00.
The only thing to mar these otherwise idyllic days was the presence of a horribly offensive Swede named David. He is undoubtedly the most annoying person I have ever had the displeasure to encounter, and that is saying a lot given my previous work experience. If you meet this person, and you will recognize him right away based on this description alone, be forewarned: DO NOT SPEAK TO THIS CREATURE. He will muckle on to you immediately and thwart all attempts to escape his horrifying presence. If you are wondering if the person you have encountered is indeed David, ask yourself the following questions: is he thrashing about spastically, talking incessantly about going to the toilet and accusing all other cultures of being racist/blatantly homosexual/linguistically stunted or killing their retards? Congratulations (or should I say regrets), you've encountered David. Godspeed.
We were the last group of the season to be able to drive along the "ice highway" off the island; the ice is melting early this year and although we were assured it was perfectly safe, the sound of slush under the tires was extremely nerve-wracking. For the next month, anyone finding themselves on (or off) the island will have to remain there until the ice melts enough to allow the first ferries of the season to resume operation.
It was not to be able to leave Russia without a bad taste in my mouth. I think I might even return to Olkhon Island someday, if only to see firsthand how differently breathtaking it is in the green of summer.
Tonight is our last in Mongloia. This is good in that having lost David in Irkutsk, he reappeared again at our hostel here (thankfully, he didn't join us on our outing to Terelj), and so far it doesn't look like there's any chance he'll be on our train to Beijing in the morning. UB itself is not terribly exciting, although, to be fair, we haven't done tons of exploring. It is reported to have quite the nightlife, which I will be able to judge for myself firsthand tonight. Over and out.
I was greatly surprised by our last days in Russia- after traveling form St. Petersburg, which I enjoyed, to Moscow, which left me with a lingering depression, and seeing endless empty, coldly beautiful landscape from the train across Siberia, I have finally found something to love about Russia. Our train dropped us in Irkutsk, notable for its Decemberist architecture and history but not much else- according to our guide book, it is the only city in Russia where there is a real risk of personal violence, although we didn't experience anything of the sort. From there we arranged a trip out to Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal. If anyone is planning a trip to Russia, this is the only bit of it that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
To reach the island we took a public bus out to the "port", which at this time of year was a bunch of boats frozen into the lake, observed with very little interest by a small group of dangerously skinny cows. After being unceremoniously dumped from the minibus (not without some relief- the ratio of people to seats having slowly increased throughout the ride until each one of us had at least two beer-swilling locals perched on our lap). At this point we were rescued by a van sent from our hotel, which drove us out across the frozen lake (the only way to the island from January to April) and to our guesthouse in Khuzhir. The people there were amazingly friendly, as were their dogs, several groups of which accompanied the guests everywhere. We spent a few happy days scrambling about the rocks and ice and eating the delicious Omul fish, which lives only in Lake Baikal and can be prepared any of a hundred ways, as demonstrated to us by the extremely talented kitchen staff. We each had our own room- in fact, the group of us that traveled together were given our own eight-bedroom house- and all meals were included. The price was 600 roubles per person- about $23.00.
The only thing to mar these otherwise idyllic days was the presence of a horribly offensive Swede named David. He is undoubtedly the most annoying person I have ever had the displeasure to encounter, and that is saying a lot given my previous work experience. If you meet this person, and you will recognize him right away based on this description alone, be forewarned: DO NOT SPEAK TO THIS CREATURE. He will muckle on to you immediately and thwart all attempts to escape his horrifying presence. If you are wondering if the person you have encountered is indeed David, ask yourself the following questions: is he thrashing about spastically, talking incessantly about going to the toilet and accusing all other cultures of being racist/blatantly homosexual/linguistically stunted or killing their retards? Congratulations (or should I say regrets), you've encountered David. Godspeed.
We were the last group of the season to be able to drive along the "ice highway" off the island; the ice is melting early this year and although we were assured it was perfectly safe, the sound of slush under the tires was extremely nerve-wracking. For the next month, anyone finding themselves on (or off) the island will have to remain there until the ice melts enough to allow the first ferries of the season to resume operation.
It was not to be able to leave Russia without a bad taste in my mouth. I think I might even return to Olkhon Island someday, if only to see firsthand how differently breathtaking it is in the green of summer.
Tonight is our last in Mongloia. This is good in that having lost David in Irkutsk, he reappeared again at our hostel here (thankfully, he didn't join us on our outing to Terelj), and so far it doesn't look like there's any chance he'll be on our train to Beijing in the morning. UB itself is not terribly exciting, although, to be fair, we haven't done tons of exploring. It is reported to have quite the nightlife, which I will be able to judge for myself firsthand tonight. Over and out.