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The first part of our Trans siberian experience was our longest stint on the train without a proper stop off. This leg of our journey on the train was basically 4 days and 4 nights - longer than we had been led to believe! Despite this though the time flew by and it wasn't too uncomfortable at all. If anything the time on the train was beneficial to our group as it allowed everyone to get to know one another over countless games of cards and bowls of noodles! It was a really good laugh!
Our first major stop - i.e. for more than 30 minutes - was at Irkutsk. We got off at Irkutsk and went straight to Lake Baikal where we would be spending the next 3 days and 2 nights. Our first impression of Irkutsk was that it was freezing!! Minus 15 degrees celcius when we got off the train before adding in the wind chill factor!
If possible it was even colder in Lake Baikal - I don't even want to guess how many degrees below zero it was! Lake Baikal was an awesome sight! The largest fresh water lake in the world - I've been told - completely frozen over! The ice was literally metres thick!
The place we stayed at in Lake Baikal was really nice, even if the sink did leak a little when you turned on the tap and even if the room decor did look like something out of an 80s erotica film! We got breakfast included at the guesthouse and this was a combination of fish, rice, pasta and pancakes. Very filling, even if a little different from back home!
At the lake we did a lot of hill walking which was tough when trekking through foot deep snow. We also went dog sledding which was a lot of fun and played on the frozen lake - good times!
After our 2 nights at the lake we returned to Irkutsk to do a bit of sightseeing before boarding the Trans Siberian to Ulaanbaatar.
We both really enjoyed our time in Irkutsk and Lake Baikal and would recommend to see the lake in all it's frozen glory!
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