I went to Lake Baikal on New Year's Day this year, so let's post the travelogue directly. There is an egg at the end, don't miss it.
The time to leave customs, Maya was called. The customs official called his colleague, took the passport to Maya's face than: look, this photo is really her? It's not like that.
Is it wrong to be more beautiful than your passport photo? It took Maya two minutes to get through the border and she came over to you and me to complain.
They didn't realize that there was such a beautiful woman on earth. I said.
And rightly so, Maya finally turned her grief into joy.
You and I are going to Lake Baikal. All thanks to the woman in front of us.
Maya, Xuefei, and I make up the Standing Committee on Northbound Tourism, which travels together every year. This year you and I added a new member, Vivian, making the standing committee an even number for the first time. This is not good news for democracy, and every vote has ended in a tie.
Nepal?
Can we not go somewhere cleaner?
Harbin?
I've been there.
Changbai Mountain?
It's sold out.
Lake Baikal?
I don't want to freeze to death.
Legally you and I were chattering and debating when Maya sent a message:
The thunderous woman just let you and I board a flight to Irkutsk. It was a city close to Lake Baikal.
After a three-hour flight, we finally landed. You and I applauded in the Russian tradition, and the tourists in front of us all looked back at us. Ah, I forgot that you and I were on a sea plane.
Walked around the city while it was still light.
Irkutsk is the second largest city in Eastern Siberia, but it gives the impression of a separate village. I can't say that I can't buy a candy cane, but I think Harbin is much more cosmopolitan.
In the middle of the city's largest Kirov Square, you and I found the most popular among Chinese tourists, the dwarf horse, everyone walks through the city, "dwarf horse, this is not a dwarf horse"
Square around the square, there are several churches, are within walking distance of the carriage.
My favorite is the Angola River, which flows from Lake Baikal and is filled with fog.
You've probably read a microblogging article like this one, which says that only the Chinese and North Koreans wear fall pants in the whole world, and that it's all a ruse by the Soviets to permanently deprive the Chinese of their ability to survive in the Far East. The article ended with an appalling statement: "If a country wears fall pants for 60 years, there is no chance of ever taking them off again."
I used to think that was nonsense, but then I happened to take this picture (the person in the back of the picture is Vivian) and thought it was probably true. Anyway, in Irkutsk, I couldn't possibly take off my pants - not only could I not, but I wore two extra pairs.
In the evening went to the best restaurant in the city for dinner.
What Maya said when we booked the hotel is still ringing in our ears:
You and I are not only staying in the best hotel in Irkutsk, but also eating in the best restaurant. Thank you so much for the devaluation of the ruble.
The next day, moving to the largest island on Lake Baikal, Orkhon. Considering that you and I four are difficult to get along with other people thing pussy, you and I specially account for the hotel to charter a separate car, the opposite of other people to ride with.
Just after breakfast, the driver of the chartered car came to pick up you and me. After picking up you and I, things began to differ from the wrong head, because the driver drove to another hostel to pick up people. I said that only you and I four a car ah.
Obviously, the driver picked up the wrong person, he wanted to pick up you and me hostel other four this Chinese casualties, the results of this buddy arrived after the question did not ask, see you and I four loaded on the go.
So you and I were thrown back to the hostel on your and my own car.
Legal you and I for the journey finally back on track joyful drumming time, hand carrying a large bag of snacks Xuefei suddenly remembered their own backpack fell in the car before. No one has the driver's contact information, and the hotel does not know which car rental company the car belongs to.
All of them were at their wits' end, and my rare custom helped -- I would take pictures of everything in sight, including the car and its license plate. So you and I asked the hotel to help us find out where the car was, and then decided to get on the road right away, because it was also going to Lake Baikal, and there was only one road leading there, so if we drove faster, we might be able to catch up with it.
Xuefei was in a state of despair because his passport, wallet, DSLR camera and all his valuables were in that bag. I quickly consoled him.
I: Xuefei, all things must be thought of in a good direction, the bag is certainly lost, but you people did not die ah.
Xuefei:...
I: the bag lost does not matter, we bought the ticket comes with insurance, up to five thousand compensation.
Xuefei: You get out...
You and my driver kept playing the wind, as if in the same with different people. You and I want to talk to the master he found the car did not, deploring the language barrier, and wireless hot also lost with the bag, even Google Translate can not be used.
As the most mature and prudent of the four individuals, I predicted that there would be no signal on the road before I left in the morning, so I translated some commonly used Russian screenshots in my cell phone in advance, just in case.
These screenshots look like this:
I thought I was the smartest person in the world, but it turns out these translations don't work.
Rather, it was this ace in the hole for Maya, so repeatedly I almost showed it to the driver:
No blame for my tyranny, I had to plan for the worst for the sake of everyone's cleanliness.
Xuefei suddenly remembered his mother in the 70s time to learn Russian, maybe can be and this Russian driver Ray a little bit, so to his mother to call the wind.
Xuefei: Mom, didn't you learn Russian? I'm not sure if you're a good person, but I'm a good person, and I'm not a good person.
Xuefei's mom: Stop it.
Before I came to Russia, I read the guide, which said that the biggest problem of free travel is the language barrier, and most Russians don't speak English. So what's the best way to get on the same page as the Russians?
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The guide says - it's the smile.
Smile your ass! How am I supposed to use a smile to ask the driver if he found the car?
This time the driver turned his head, pointed his finger to the back of the car, and said: car. then put his left fist in front and his right fist in the back, then swapped the position of the two fists, and at the end interlocked his ten fingers, and said: bag.
Me: Maya, did you read it?
Maya: read it, the master said that the car back to the hotel put down the bag, you and I can wait to return from Lake Baikal, and then go to the hotel to get the bag.
Me: you are not stupid, the master is saying, that car in the back of you and me, wait for them to catch up with you and me, the two cars will meet, you can get the bag.
Maya didn't believe me and asked again, so the driver did the same gesture again.
I was scared to death to see the driver's hands on the steering wheel at the same time,
Maya said!
The result proved that my ability to read body language is more and more reliable, Xuefei took back his bag, five hours later, you and I finally arrived at the port of the ferry going to the island of Olh?o.
There are three ways to get to Orkhon Island from the ferry port. between April and December each year, large ferries go back and forth between the ferry port and Orkhon Island, and these ferries can carry cars. between February and April, when Lake Baikal is completely frozen over, vehicles can be driven directly onto Orkhon Island through the ice. And January, the month you and I visited, is the off-season for the entire year, and people either get to the island via hovercraft or, as you and I did, on a fighting man's icebreaker.
Nah, the time the ship broke the ice and moved on was something like this:
After an hour of traveling on Lake Baikal, you and I arrived at the island of Orkhon. When we stopped at the port, there wasn't even a diving board set up, so the sailor made you and I climb over the carving rail to get on the ship itself.
There was another interval from the port to the B&B, and the owner made an appointment for a car to pick you and me up. The car is a four-wheel-drive off-road bus made by the Soviet Union's Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, which looks a lot like a Volkswagen MiniBus and used to be commonly converted into military transport vehicles.
Once they arrived at the B&B, the miths were hungry to go out and take pictures.
The result is that you and I look like this:
To advise you that if you want to take a pretty picture in a place like Siberia, you need to wear less, and you need to wear colorful clothes, or else you won't know who you're shooting at all.
The owner of your B&B and mine is a twin sister, sister called Tasha, extraordinarily enthusiastic and talkative, English is also very good, is a bit strong attribute of the spit. The one on the right is Tasha.
First meeting.
Tasha: Hello, my name is Tasha.
You and I: Hello, my name is Charlie, my name is Maya, my name is Vivian, my name is Steve.
Tasha: ahahahaha, great, you all take the name of the Russians can be pronounced accurately. In the past, Chinese tourists' names were so hard to pronounce that I had to call them "Hi".
You and me:...
Tasha said she and her sister came to Lake Baikal for the first time more than 10 years ago, thought it was exceptionally silent and exquisite, and decided that they would definitely want to come to Baikal to survive in the future. An opportunity arose and she came to Orkhon Island.
I asked: what opportunity?
Tasha: Ah, there happened to be an opportunity to marry on the island.
Me: ...
Tasha: My husband is a former Russian table tennis champion.
Tasha's sister interjected at this time: I have no other choice but to come along.
I asked: Tasha, have you ever heard of the song "Baikal" sung by Li Jian.
Tasha: Of course I have, and every Chinese tourist who stays here is sure to play it for you and me.
Me: Ah, huh huh...
I lowered my head and calmly turned off the music player I had just turned on my phone.
Tasha: More than ten years ago, due to a Frenchman's documentary on Lake Baikal, a lot of French people came to this island; and in these two or three years, due to this song, a lot of more or less Chinese people came to this faraway island again.
Maya: You and I like this island so much. Can Chinese people buy a house here?
Tasha: Hahaha, every Chinese person asks this question.
Maya: ah, heh heh heh...
Tasha said that on the island you can choose a piece of land and if you build a house on it, the land is yours. But if you don't usually live on the island, you'll have to hire a private person to look after the house for you, or else there will be some drunks on the island who will break in if they see the house is unoccupied.
Maya: Ah, that's not so bad.
Tasha: Yeah, that's why you won't even buy it after asking.
Maya:...
This is the B&B where you and I are staying
Tasha's not a bad cook, sadly Russian food really isn't. In the spirit of good neighborliness, you and I want to eat all the rice to show my great country's etiquette, but no help... I didn't like the beet soup, Vivian didn't like the grilled fish, Steve thought the cake was too sweet, and Maya thought the cereal tasted rare. Only pancake and meatballs are loved by you and me.
So when Tasha came over to collect the plates, she added:
Huh, Charlie doesn't like soup.
Huh, Vivian's fish is not finished, I found out.
For the sake of friendship between the two peoples, you and I are under a lot of pressure.
The next day's trip was to the south of the island to see the blue ice. Since you and I wanted to charter our own car, Tasha helped you and me find a small jeep, which looks like an Alto, but has a lot of power. (Meticulous look at the mood of these two private
Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, at 1,637 meters. It is also the largest freshwater lake in the world, accounting for 20% of the world's freshwater reserves. Let's move on to map release time.
The climate is not very good, but you and I still saw the most waiting for blue ice.
Rolling with joy on the ice.
This is me taking pictures of the small fish under the ice.
The trip was including lunch, so the driver made a fire in the field and made hot tea and grilled fish for you and me.
After we were full you and I blew out our tires.
The cracked ice that was accidentally invented while wandering around the lake. Fear of water Xuefei heard the sound of water gurgling activity under the ice, immediately escaped after taking pictures.
One thing that's rare is that the dogs and cows on the island have eyes like doge.
At the end of the day, you and I saw the evening sun.
On the third day on the island, the sky finally cleared, but you and I were leaving.
The dogs that Vivian had bonded with over the past few days all hugged her and wouldn't let her go.
As she said goodbye, Tasha asked, "Will you come back?
You and I: Yes, yes, yes.
Tasha: Haha, you say that, but you won't be coming back, right?
You and me: ah, heh heh heh...
Maybe ten years from now in the summer, you and I will return to this island to see the blue Lake Baikal.
Egg video: favorite acting Baikal seals
Total budget: round-trip airfare from Beijing + chartered car + accommodation + meals, 6K
B&B: GuesthouseVoskresenie
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