Irkutsk

We arrived here this morning after a 10-hour train journey from Ulan Ude. Irkutsk is the main city in the Siberia region and the main point from which to visit Lake Baikal. After a month traveling together, Kristen and I have decided to give each other some space, so while she will visit the southern part of the lake around a town called Listvyanka, I am taking a two-night journey to Olkhon Island which is further north and the lake's biggest island. The island is home to the Buryat people who are of Mongolian descent who are also present throughout this region - the province that Ulan Ude is in is actually called Buryatiya which was also the name of our hotel there. I leave tomorrow morning and there is no internet or even telephone reception on the island so I will report back in four days' time.