Hopefully this video posting should finally work...
Zhila byla devushka kotoraya na Baikal poekhala
0 Comments Published by mym(e) on 15.6.07 at 9:36 AM.
When I was reading up on traveling in Russia, I read that I was to specifically avoid an aviation company called “Siberian Airlines”. I read many stories about how airplanes keep falling on their way to or out of Siberia. I swore to myself to do everything to avoid taking a plane to Siberia.
And so what did I do a few weeks ago? I took the plane to Irkutsk, not on “Siberian Airlines” but on S7. Unfortunately, it turns out that S7 is just “Siberian Airlines” with a new name. I was a bit worried. Fortunately, apart from an intense burnt plastic smell at the beginning of the flight, nothing scary happened.
However, we didn’t get a second of sleep on the overnight flight, due to stupid neighbors who kicked seats, pulled hair, shouted and offered us vodka. And so, when we got off the plane, we were both intensely sleep deprived, not to mention jet-lagged and freezing. When we left Moscow, the weather had been hovering around 30 degrees for two weeks. We, as the good tourists we are, neglected to take into account 1) the weather forecast 2) the fact that we were indeed going to Siberia, which, I don’t know if you people are aware, is reputed for its cold climate. And so there we are at the airport, in our tank tops and sandals. Everybody else is wearing a winter jacket, some are even wearing boots. Keep in mind this was at the end of May.
Stubborn and unfazed, we decide to proceed with our plan to spend the day (and possibly the night) in the small village of Listvyanka, located on the shores of lake Baikal. An hour-long ride on a marshrutka (mini-bus) and we are there. It is cold. We decide to put socks in our sandals. Well-equipped backpackers on their way out of town laugh at us. I understand them. I would too if I was wearing long pants and a coat. We ate some overpriced French fries and then we decided it would be wiser to leave on the next marshrutka.
When we got back to Irtkutsk, the driver asked that we pay not for 2 spots, but for 3, since we had luggage with us. We refused, since he hadn’t mentioned anything about that when we got on. He then proceeded to insult us with very terrible mat (Russian swear words). A warm welcome that was.
We somehow managed to make our way to the hostel, plumped down on the only bed available and came back to life a few hours later. We took a walk around town. We were expecting a typical grey soviet city, but instead we found a pretty mix of old wooden houses and neo-classical architecture à la St. Petersburg.
The overall atmosphere in the city was radically different from Moscow: everyone was relaxed, and, dare I say it, even smiling. With a fun Frenchman, we saw a Mongolian traditional/rock band on their first tour outside of Mongolia. They were amazing. That was definitely one highlight of our trip. Throat singing over rock music!
Then it was time to go to our center’s seminar. The seminar was four hours away from Irkutsk, on the shore of lake Baikal, right across the mystical Olkhon Islands.
Highlights:
- Vasily Petrovich: one of the participants, Besheyn, brought in a seagull while we were eating breakfast. The seagull, named Vasily Petrovich, was quiet and friendly and soon became our friend. Unfortunately, he died at the end of the day.
- We went to the banya, jumped three times in the lake and were officially declared to be Siberians.
- If anyone wants info about the seminar itself, it will be posted eventually on the Center’s website :www.interethnic.org .
- We became friends with Akhmed, the nicest Dagestani in the world. After the seminar was over, he gave us a tour of Irkutsk, brought us to the mosque (my first time ever), gave us cds, entertained us… We were happy to learn that he would be going to the Krasnoyarsk seminar with us
And so what did I do a few weeks ago? I took the plane to Irkutsk, not on “Siberian Airlines” but on S7. Unfortunately, it turns out that S7 is just “Siberian Airlines” with a new name. I was a bit worried. Fortunately, apart from an intense burnt plastic smell at the beginning of the flight, nothing scary happened.
However, we didn’t get a second of sleep on the overnight flight, due to stupid neighbors who kicked seats, pulled hair, shouted and offered us vodka. And so, when we got off the plane, we were both intensely sleep deprived, not to mention jet-lagged and freezing. When we left Moscow, the weather had been hovering around 30 degrees for two weeks. We, as the good tourists we are, neglected to take into account 1) the weather forecast 2) the fact that we were indeed going to Siberia, which, I don’t know if you people are aware, is reputed for its cold climate. And so there we are at the airport, in our tank tops and sandals. Everybody else is wearing a winter jacket, some are even wearing boots. Keep in mind this was at the end of May.
Stubborn and unfazed, we decide to proceed with our plan to spend the day (and possibly the night) in the small village of Listvyanka, located on the shores of lake Baikal. An hour-long ride on a marshrutka (mini-bus) and we are there. It is cold. We decide to put socks in our sandals. Well-equipped backpackers on their way out of town laugh at us. I understand them. I would too if I was wearing long pants and a coat. We ate some overpriced French fries and then we decided it would be wiser to leave on the next marshrutka.
When we got back to Irtkutsk, the driver asked that we pay not for 2 spots, but for 3, since we had luggage with us. We refused, since he hadn’t mentioned anything about that when we got on. He then proceeded to insult us with very terrible mat (Russian swear words). A warm welcome that was.
We somehow managed to make our way to the hostel, plumped down on the only bed available and came back to life a few hours later. We took a walk around town. We were expecting a typical grey soviet city, but instead we found a pretty mix of old wooden houses and neo-classical architecture à la St. Petersburg.
The overall atmosphere in the city was radically different from Moscow: everyone was relaxed, and, dare I say it, even smiling. With a fun Frenchman, we saw a Mongolian traditional/rock band on their first tour outside of Mongolia. They were amazing. That was definitely one highlight of our trip. Throat singing over rock music!
Then it was time to go to our center’s seminar. The seminar was four hours away from Irkutsk, on the shore of lake Baikal, right across the mystical Olkhon Islands.
Highlights:
- Vasily Petrovich: one of the participants, Besheyn, brought in a seagull while we were eating breakfast. The seagull, named Vasily Petrovich, was quiet and friendly and soon became our friend. Unfortunately, he died at the end of the day.
- We went to the banya, jumped three times in the lake and were officially declared to be Siberians.
- If anyone wants info about the seminar itself, it will be posted eventually on the Center’s website :www.interethnic.org .
- We became friends with Akhmed, the nicest Dagestani in the world. After the seminar was over, he gave us a tour of Irkutsk, brought us to the mosque (my first time ever), gave us cds, entertained us… We were happy to learn that he would be going to the Krasnoyarsk seminar with us
