The Land that time
forgot
Having been on the train for 75 hours I managed to spend one night in
the town of Irkutsk before hopping on a minibus to Olkhon island on Lake
Baikal. Olkhon island is “considered one of five global poles of shamanic
energy by the Buryat people” Lonely Planet Trans Siberian railway. Lake Baikal is the world’s oldest and deepest freshwater lake and curves for nearly 400 miles through south-eastern Siberia and is north of the Mongolian border.
The bus took 6 hours on mostly good roads to get there and
after a short ferry ride we landed on the island. Views from my route
I stayed in the village of Khuzhir at Olga's guesthouse. She is renown for her home cooked food and I can agree that there is plenty of it and its delicious. The sleepy village is amazing, the streets are still made of sand, houses are made out of wood and every house is different and probably added on to as the family got bigger or decided they needed more space. Wow, this is the land that time forgot.
When we arrived we were presented with a welcome pastry and drink then I went off exploring the town with two people from Taiwan.
Images from around the village
Cute and warm way to watch the sun set
local toilet
The coast
line is Jurassic and beautifully picturesque. Plenty of photographs later we
watched the sun set over the spiritual rocks.
Dinner was the local delicacy fish known as Osmk which is like a white salmon. We ate this with potato and tomatoes. All home grown in
the greenhouses. Followed by cake. Tastes good but even better drizzled in
lemon and ginger tea for added moisture.
The next day I booked a tour to the northern point of the
island. The roads were none existent and the sandy tracks were many – driver to
pick the one they thought had the least deep craters.
We were joined by four Russians who had been drinking since at least breakfast probably when they arrived onto the island the afternoon before. They sort of made the trip more interesting with their incessant banter in Russian between the boys.
Most of the stops on the tour were to see various rocks and
wooden posts or trees that people had tied ribbons to as prayers to the Gods.
The driver did not speak any English so one of the Russians acted as
translator. We entered the national park along with several other tourists.
Thank goodness we are here during low season, I would hate to think what August
is like. In July the local Baikal seals can be seen. These are the only
freshwater seal on the planet.
Lunch was fish soup prepared by the driver over an open
fire, head, tail and all were included. Delicious once black pepper was added…..
This was served with tomato and cucumber salad and dry wafers for afterwards.
The Russians bought along Vodka and wine for the ladies which was shared.
Evening meal - Fish and mash potato with tomatoes and cake for dessert
I decided to stay an extra day. I needed to get my laundry
done (with some help from the little boy who lived at the guest house) and
wanted to spend the rest of the day chilling out and exploring the village
alongside Dani from Germany. We visited the local supermarkets who were one
of the few places that accepted credit cards on the island. We stopped for
drinks at the only place which appeared to have fresh coffee and whilst
chilling a white feather landed in front of me.
Maybe confirmation that it was indeed a spiritual place?
Also tried a local delicacy of pinecone jam. It was
delicious and had a unique flavour.
Lunch was tuc biscuits
with local smoked cheese with grapes for dessert. We decided to eat this at the
top peak next to our prayer ribbons which we had tied on after making a wish.
Definitively a lunch I will remember for a while both for the location and
conversation.
The hostel is amazing, it looks like it has been built up over
the years as they got more tourists. At the moment the workmen are changing the
windows to double glazing ready for the winter. Toilets are varied both local
and western. Shower is solar powered so hotter in the afternoon. Laundry for me was by hand (lots of practise
on previous trips) whilst they washed all the sheets in a washing machine. As
its so sunny at the moment drying is easy. Not sure what happens in the winter
months when the ice is around.
A great use for old tyres which must be plentiful due to the
roads.
Tomorrow is back to Irkutsk and hopefully the day after a spot of
sightseeing before getting back on the train to Novosibirsk.
Siberia has been amazing and definitely would recommend.