Day 13 : Trans-Siberian Express - Km 5185 to Km 6198 Irkutsk to Chita
Time to hop onto the train again at 8am for our final 3 day journey to Vladivostok.
We leave Irkutsk and, after initially climbing into the Primorsky mountains, we start riding along the lake shore from Sludyanka, through fishing towns along the South West side of Lake Baikal, until we veer right and follow the Selenga river until Ulan Ude, the capital of the Buryiat Republic, where we arrive at 2pm.
The views over and across the lake are stunning (difficult to capture from a moving train..., forgive the window reflection...).
The Buryiat are an ethnic group of Mongolian origin, the original inhabitants of this region. Lisa, our guide in Moscow, is a Buryiat. Buryiats now live side by side and have inter-married with Russian settlers, abandoning their century-old nomadic roots and practising agriculture in the rural areas of the republic or opting for an urban life. Post-Soviets, and under their newly found religious freedom, many Buryiats have returned to the shamanistic and Buddhist beliefs of their ancestors.
We go past a small town called Baikalsk reputed for having for many years been the main polluter of the lake, with its large cellulose factory and the chlorine-contaminated waste water it released into the lake. It closed in 2013, but not after all but eliminating most crustacean species in the lake.
Final Views of the Lake
On leaving Ulan Ude the tracks travel along the Uda Valley with hills visible in the distance. We enter Zabaikalsky Oblast (Territory) and travel past quaint log cabin settlements., as we move toward the Amur region of Russia, named after the river that delineates a part of the eastern border between Russia and China.
Our next major stop is at Petrovsky Zavod, where the Decembrists spent 9 years in forced labour in the 1830s. The tracks now head north east down the Khilok Valley, the Yablovony Mountains on the horizon, before ascending into the mountains.
Our fellow passengers are a mix of Western Europeans and Russians. Quite a few French people seem to embark on the Trans-Siberian journey. Maybe an extension of their World Cup holiday? We chat briefly with a German co-traveller who lives in Switzerland. Most of the carriage guests appear to prefer eating in their compartments rather than giving the restaurant menu a go. They fill their mugs with 'Instant Noodles', walk up to the large 'samovar' (thanks Pat!) at the end of the carriage for hot water and retire back to their quarters. A little sad... A lot less socialising than on the Ekaterinenburg to Irkutsk train!
We arrive at Chita, the capital of the Chitinskaya Oblast, traditionally an important fur trading centre with China, and yet another Siberian city that hosted the (imprisoned) Decembrist exiles and that owes its cultural and economic development in part to members of the group who settled here.
Zabaikalsky Log Cabins
Siberian Hills, Rivers and Villages
Khilok Station
This 3 day journey is taking place in the comfort of a 2 berth 1stclass cabin. It does make a difference… It’s very clean and we aren’t stranded on the 2 top bunks, as on the train from Ekaterinenburg to Irkutsk.
The restaurant carriage isn’t as lively as on other trains, and we cut our lunch short to escape from a 60-something Russian who insists on wanting to invite me to a vodka… I’m glad we don’t bump into him again at dinner. We are the only guests in the restaurant and Silvia destroys me at ‘card’ Monopoly:-(
On the way to the Restaurant carriage we have to walk through the 3rdclass compartments… Quite shocking to see how people can be crammed in together in rows of 2 level bunks running across the carriage. You almost feel disrespectful walking through the carriage, as they have no privacy whatsoever as it is, without needing strangers walking past their bunks on their way to the restaurant…
3rd Class Compartment
It’s 11pm. Time to turn the lights out.
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