The tour we had planned to do at Lake Baikal was un-able to go ahead, instead we went up to Olkhon Island, half way up the lake and about a five hour mini-bus ride from Irkutsk. Having no accommodation reserved we were advised to go to Nikita's Homestead where they will 'sort you out'. And that they did, we arrived, were told the place was fully booked then placed in the extra room of a neighbour. All the people we met were also placed in similar accommodation which left me wondering who is the elite who got to eat and sleep in the nice bit. Our room was private which was something of a luxury. Our toilet was an outhouse and the shower was a bucket where you mix the hot and cold water then throw it over yourself. This was apparently a traditional Russian bath, called a banya, similar to a sauna. There where only twenty minute slots that you had to book in advance. When we finally got our turn there was no cold water left, so after waiting a while we decided to just strip and start washing. This also happened to be the moment that the hose was pulled out and the door flew wide open. Skye went to the door covered by her t-shirt to close it and was greeted by two men, at least she got a smile out of some Russian's.
There are no real roads on the island, it's all compacted sand and gravel with holes everywhere, generally the cars drove on the right, but it really didn't matter, they just drove where ever it was the easiest to get through. The food was good, was served omul a few times, and lots of bread and potatoes.
The area is really beautiful, the second day I say some of the area on the back of a horse called Mongol, a little brown 2 year old, a little scared, but cute all the same. The afternoon we did intend to go biking up the coast but there were no bikes left, when saying we'd go for a hike, we got as far as over the hill then took a nap on the beach, then went to find ice-cream and vodka at the local shop, very nice and relaxing. Depending how much of your body you put into the lake will give you various number of extra years of your life. I only put my feet in so maybe I will get a couple of extra years, I also drank the water so maybe I will live forever. If you put your whole body in you're supposed to get ten extra years.
Got the bus back the morning over all the bumpy roads and the ferry back to the main land. The mini-bus to the Island was also sorted out by a guy called Ivan that someone at the hostel knew. So even though Russian's don't really smile, I think underneath they know that tourism can bring in the money. Back in Irkutsk we went for dinner with two girls we meet on the island, the place we found had no English menu. Using the phrase book we de-coded the 'vegetable salad' section and picked random dishes. The ones that turned up were all good, except they seem to have a love for mayonnaise that I don't particularly share.
One last thing about Irkutsk that is worth mentioning, right outside our hostel are two twenty four hour flower/plant shops. Skye was looking for pizza and all we found were roses and potted plants. I don't know if these were the front of some other business, or Russian men like buying flowers for their other halves. Maybe it's best not to know the real answer.
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