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By tomorrow morning we'll have done 2,900kms through Siberia on the trans-Siberian railway from Ulan Ude to Omsk which has taken us a couple of weeks as we've been stopping off en route.
Lake Baikal (the world's deepest lake at 1 mile) lived up to its reputation as the 'jewel of Siberia' from our viewpoint on Olkhon Island. This was a 7-hour bus journey from Irkutsk and was worth the terrifying speed of the outward journey. We stayed in a quirky homestead set up by a former Soviet table-tennis champ in the island's largest town, Khuzir with a population of 1,500. The snow-capped mountains on the west of the Lake looked gorgeous and the water of the lake changed between milky, glassy and deep blue during our 4 nights on the island. There was even a bit of impromptu partying on one evening with Fran getting a bit of a swollen nose from a clash of heads on the 'dancefloor'.
We've done 2 overnights on the train so far and both times have met some lovely Russians, some of whom have had a bit of english - bonus!. Even some of the 'provodnitsas' (female carriage attendants) have failed to live up to their reputation of uncompromising dragons. The scenery hasn't been as intriguing as it was across Mongolia, but it's not helped by the dirty train windows which don't open. Not only does this mean no photos, it also means no fresh air, and no cold air to cool down the extremely effective carriage heaters.
We're currently in Tomsk, a former capital of Siberia, full of fascinating wooden architecture in varying stages of repair. By 4pm we'll be on a train for another 15-hour journey to Omsk, and thereafter to the Ural Mountains. So the end is very much in sight, but before that Fran's parents are coming to join us for a few days in St Petersburg and then we're meeting college friends of Fran's in Estonia for a long weekend.
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