Ulan Ude and Ust Barguzin... the end of Russia

I am in Ulan Ude exhausted and getting more and more cross listening to Whitney Houston in a cafe. I love Whitney, just not the same song over and over and over and over, you get the idea. I arrived in Ulan Ude on 1st August, and set off pretty much straight away to Ust Barguzin. It is a small village on the east side of Lake Baikal, very close to Zabaikalsky National Park and the Svyatoy Nos (Holy Nose) peninsula. Look them up, they are worth it. It really was my first real adventure because I had no idea where I was going, whether I would get there or what I would find when I got there. I was only going because an American/Russian I met on Olkhon who worked on the Great Baikal Trail recommended it to me and apart from the big, squinty head (I'm impressed Pete) Ulan Ude was pretty quiet and I was a bit of tired of museums so thought I'd give it a go.


So I've worked out that the blog is only good when I am having "issues" because they make interesting stories, so apologies for the next bit because I had a wicked time! I took the bus at 7am and met some lovely people who shared their lunch with me including their vodka - my first in Russia. The guy was in a US Air Force outift, had a knife the size my leg and... well make your own mind up.

What does that mean Sacha (Alexander)?

Anyway, they were nice. So arrived in Ust Barguzin after 7 hours on the bus drunk (ha!) but sobered up pretty quickly when I realised I had no idea where I was, or where I was staying. Anyway, turns out, thanks to the American/Russian, I was staying with a couple who worked in the National Park in their homestay. So wandered aimlessly for a while and luckily came across the National Park Office - for a village the place is quite big. It was great. The couple were Eva (German) and Andrei (Russian), and a girl was staying with them called Ailene from the States but was very kind and we pretty much went everywhere together for the time I was there. She spoke about a thousand languages, and worked for a eco-NGO trying to get money for Baikal. This was a trip of firsts, as I also had my first Banya (Russian version of sauna, with birch branches for slapping etc). One has to be naked when entering the Banya, and much to my displeasure I had to get naked with a 19 year old Russin goddess - oh life is unfair, I'm so glad Simon wasn't there. Now, before I left Simon said that if I met a guy called Vladimir I would run away with him. Well, Simon, I have something to tell you, I met him and I wish to devote myself to him forever....

The cutest thing I have ever seen.... I even got the photo with a cat bum in for Katie! I'm such a good friend.
But seriously, I spent the rest of my time there walking around the lake, the park, the mountain, getting eaten by mosquitos, smelling the delicious pine, seeing chipmunks, mushrooms, berries, stoats, ant hills and eagles. I actually think this is the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. It's incredible. Svyatoy Nos is the mountain (1800m) and on a clear day from the top you can see for miles and miles and miles and miles. The surrounding mountains form the Barguzin range which are pretty much undiscovered in that no one goes there. I will almost certainly go back and I urge anyone who goes to Russia to go here. The sky is so big, I just couldn't capture it.

So today I made it back to Ulan Ude after 3 days in Ust Barguzin, and actually this is my last day in Russia. I have to say, as you all will know, it's been a trip of ups and downs in Russia but I'm ending on a high and want to come back already (so I think I have won). So I'm off to Mongolia tomorrow, hopefully, dependent on whether my registrations are in order. Keep your fingers crossed. It's unlikely I am going to be able to update my blog at all in Mongolia, so I will say goodbye for now, but I'll update when I get back to the city and when I am on my way to China - in about a month.... до свидания!