In the “Cudablin” project, we send completely different people on trips at our expense! Maxim Markelov visited Lake Baikal, where he traveled by train, tried to find a volcano and tasted the water from the deepest lake on earth. More details in his report!
Four nights on a train without a shower or normal internet seemed endless to me. My compartment was almost always empty, and the next carriage was completely filled with foreigners, with whom we tasted strong drinks and talked about the bear that lives in my house 🙂 There I also found a fellow traveler – a girl from Canada, who was on her way to Olkhon (the most large island of Lake Baikal) and allowed her to join her.
One big plus about traveling by train is that the views from the window are amazing.
In order to get to Olkhon Island from Irkutsk, we had to travel another 6 hours in a “loaf” and transfer to a ferry.
When we boarded the ferry and saw the sunset, I realized that this would be one of the most amazing trips of my life.
The village of Khuzhir is the largest settlement on Olkhon Island. We decided to stop here. Already after midnight we reached the place and checked into the tower, which in terms of money cost the same as a good three-star hotel.
Woke up early, rented a bike and went to Shaman Stone.
On the way, I was speechless when I saw how clear and beautiful the water is on Lake Baikal!
I planned to go around the entire island, but after talking with local guides I learned that a day would only be enough for one 7-hour off-road excursion on the same “loaf”. I took the advice, bought a ticket for 1,000 rubles and hit the road.
During the excursion, our driver worked as a cook: for lunch we had fish soup, which he cooked for us.
My travels are never without adventure. At 7 am I woke up from people’s screams, looked out the window – the neighboring building was on fire. We spent the next hour fighting fire.
On the third day on Olkhon we went on a horseback ride along the coast. Once you’re there, don’t even think about it, go!
Only on the third day of my stay on Baikal did I remember that I had an unfulfilled task to climb the volcano, but there was no time for that, and I had to improvise so as not to fall flat on my face. In the village of Listvyanka there is a rich excursion around the lake with a visit to the Baikal Railway.
That’s where I had a blast, in front of the foreigners wrapped in jackets, I first scooped up a glass of water, drained it and went to undress.
Yes, I jumped 🙂 I have never experienced such cold, it feels like thousands of needles are piercing my whole body.
At the end of this trip, I spent the sunset on the mountain and thought about how beautiful Russia is. Now I will try to discover new places every year!
If you have more than 1000 subscribers on one of the social networks, participate in the Kudablin project, and we will send you anywhere on the planet at our expense. Where you will go and what you will do will be decided by your subscribers.
Travel is closer than you think. Apply to Project Kudablin and you might be the next one to go on an adventure!
Author of text and photo: Maxim Markelov (@maksimmarkelov)
Preview photo: unsplash.com
