Because jumping while traveling is awesome!
Last moments in Russia ! After 10 days of intense train-ing in Russia, we arrived at the end of this first journey and we were fully ready for Mongolia desert country.
Oh ! And last bit of Cyrrilic lesson (i really love that alphabet):
– Y = oo (like in “food”)
– Ш = sh
– И is still I
NAYШKИ = Naushki (“na-oosh-ky”)
Behind us you can see the train destination: Moscow – Ulan Bator!
Arrived at 6am in Irkutsk, we started the day by a good ol’ breakfast with coffee sausages, schnitzel and mashed potatoes. We then headed to the Baïkaler Hostel, with just enough time to take a shower before going on the Baïkal trek. The shower was cold, but after 4 days in a train (hence without showering), this sounded like paradise !
At 9am, we meet Jack “Yevegeny” the owner of the hostel and also our guide around the Baïkal for the next 3 days. This is also where we met what will become our travel buddies for the rest of the trip, and also some great friends: the kiwis Hannah and Troy from great New Zealand ! Atfer 3 hours driving we arrived in Saint Christovky Bay, a place lost on Baïkal shore. There, you’ll find a farm and guest House where you’ll eat the best home made food ever !! It was sooo delicious!
Lake Baïkal is gorgeous: huge (600km long), deep blue water, deep (1600+ km at the deepest)… and so quiet ! That’s a perfect occasion to concentrate for you jump.
Note that Yevgeny, in the middle, is a fellow jumper. His hostel is full of jumping travellers pictured on the wall. So cool ! If ever you go to Irkutsk, go book the Baïkaler hostel ! (www.baikaler.com).
The Baïkal shore is also very steep and it required quite some effort so up and down all the hills all day. The reward is indeed the wonderful views that you get once on top !
Yet another Auto Jumping picture.
And here is how we do it 🙂
Ever heard of Ilanskiy ? Me neither before stopping there. It is a small town completely lost in Siberia. But there you’ll find an old and gorgeous locomotive from the early days of steam-powered Trans-Siberian railways.
A little lesson of Cyrillic.
– H = N
– B = V
– C = S
– И = I
– б = B
– P = R
So… HOBOCИбИCK = Novosibirsk !
Novosibirsk, largest city of Siberia (and third largest of Russia), is actually very new as it was created only because of the construction of the TransSiberian railway in the late 19th century. It is now one of the most important industrial centers of Russia.
Barabinsk is a small city for which wikipedia says “the most important economic sectors are the production of building material as well as metal and agricultural industries”.
Ok, might not be the hottest touristic spot of Russia.
