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| Lake Baikal: cracks and tracks |
We fall out of bed at the crack of dawn to see the sun rise over frozen Lake Baikal.
The world's most voluminous freshwater lake is not easy to capture with a 50mm lens.
You have to take our word for it that it is big, very beautiful and well worth getting up for.
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| one sole tree and frozen lake as far as the eye can see |
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| our corridor |
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| skiing terrain |
When we look out of the corridor window to the south,
we can see the mountains bordering Mongolia.
Note that I am wearing a T-shirt while admiring a snowy landscape.
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| war memorial in Naushki |
That's only possible because our coal supply gets topped up every couple of stops.
After a halt in Ulan Ude (oolan üday) we arrive at the last Russian station, Naushki, the only extended stop during our journey.
Naushki has a school, a dead park and two supermarkets. The 'Spa(r)' is closed, so we spend our remaining rubles on chocolates at the 'Produkti'.
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| retro choc, the orange one is Russian Cadbury |
The reason for the 3.5 h stop is the border control. Imagine a mix of Genghis Khan and the Gestapo and you can picture the attitude and outfit of the Mongolian immigration officers. Come to think of it, it's not unlike applying for a UK visa. Even price-wise. And we are not immigrating but only in transit. We are not impressed, but in Mongolia.
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