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Irkutsk - Olkhon Island, Lake BaikalHaving sampled the delights of Krasnoyarsk's one nice restaurant, we were more than happy to get on a train to Irkutsk. Unfortunately for us however, we had to try to sleep as a baby beneath us was screaming all night long. Ear plugs didn't make any difference and we arrived in Irkutsk rather tired and weary. However, the town immediately seemed more welcoming than Krasnoyarsk, and we managed to find a nice hostel, where the staff helped us to organise our trip to Olkhon Island.The six hour journey to the island started off well, with only three more people than there were seats in the minibus. Having an already overfull bus didn't stop the driver from picking up anyone who flagged us down on the way! We arrived at the lake to find out that the ferry was broken so we were to be taken across to the island on a fishing boat alongside buckets full of omoul, the local fish, which is endemic to Lake Baikal. Once safely on the other side, even more people had to pile into an even smaller bus, for the final hour of our journey to the fishing village of Khuzir. We didn't have much space as the driver's main priority seemed to be the delivery of fruit and vegetables he had just collected. On our first night here, we met a crazy Ukranian man who took it upon himself to be our guide. So, the next evening we followed him towards the banya, without really knowing what to expect. We had to sit for as long as we could bear in the steam room, and when you couldn't take it any longer you had to lie down to be beaten by the Ukranian with birch branches. When the rather painful whipping was over, he chucked ice-cold water over us and told us to go outside. Here he had provided beer and smoked fish, so it seemed like a good way to relax after the banya experience. However, after a little while we were summoned back into the steam room; the process had to be repeated about four times, taking more than three hours!We have spent the last week exploring the island and marvelling at the size of the lake, which seems more like a sea. A rather friendly dog has followed us on every walk we've been on so far, chasing down anything threatening: cars, cows and even birds! It has been nice to be able to catch up on some sleep and feel refreshed for our journey to Mongolia in a few days time.
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