After
our adventures in Omsk we decided to leave ourselves enough time in
Irkutsk just in case we had some problems with the Mongolian visa.
Everybody said it's a formality, but then again they said the same
about the Kazakh one. And too much time is not a problem as we know
we will be able to spend it nicely on lake Baikal. We were even
wondering if we should go to Tomsk at all or just drive further
towards Mongolian consulate, but so many people told us what a nice
city it is, that we decided to give it a try. And I won't be
exaggerating if I say it changed our journey for good.
Tomsk
really is a nice city. Small, sweet and with this unique atmosphere
only student cities can have. And it's full with wooden houses we
came to love so much. We were really having some good time there. And
then it got even better.
We
decided to find a hotel as it was finally time to take a hot shower
again, but the first one, the Sputnik Hotel didn't really convinced
us. The building and the interiors certainly remembered the times
when Lenin was still a baby, but the prices where on quite a modern
European level. Unfortunately it is a very popular combination in
Russia. So we decided to trust Lonely Planet again and went for
another place. When we saw
their parking we already knew we're staying there. There was a Toyota
Hilux parked just in front of it with a self-made world map on
one side. As a overland traveler you develop a strong curiosity for
other peoples cars and that was the first foreign one we saw, so few
minutes later we were watching the car from all possible angles. The
sticker in the front was saying it's owner plans to circle the world
in 800 days and that was enough for us to stay in a hotel and try to
find out more. Even if the hotel was at the 5th floor
without a lift and we knew we will need to carry about 60 liters of
water to fill out tank again.
We
didn't need to wait long until we heard some noises downstairs. 2
people unpacking the car. We haven't seen any foreigners since we
left Moscow so we raced down to talk to them without much thinking.
And so we met Emma and Andy two Brits with their perfectly equipped
car “Bee Bee”, who are really planning to circle the world in 800
days and choose Asia to be the first step (for more check
www.aroundtheworldin800days.com), choosing a similar route to ours. I
can't even tell you how nice it is to talk to people who actually
share your plan and ideas. And they told us there is one more guy
from Germany a day or so ahead of us, trying to do the same thing. We
finally felt we're not the only crazy people in this world Since I
have to say that not only some of our friends and family found our
idea a bit strange, the Russians are regularly laughing at us too.
Every time they see our car they want to know if we really did drive
from Germany on our own and they always find our answer hilarious.
When we want to make them laugh even more, we tell them we're
actually heading to Mongolia and then they are already laughing so
hard they can hardly breath. And if we think they can handle a bit
more we add, that it's actually our honeymoon. You should see them
then...
Anyway
we decided not to spend too much time in Tomsk and meet Emma and Andy
again in Irkutsk, hopefully with our Mongolian visa sorted out.
We
decided to take the shortest way to Irkutsk, sleeping along the
highway (if you can call it this way) to save the time. We already
tried it once or twice so we knew we'll be fine. There are always
quite a few guarded parking spots with 24h restaurants along the main
road where you can sleep and grab some nice Russian food. When we
were stopping at one of them that evening we couldn't expect what's
awaiting us. The place was run by 2 very friendly ladies, Natalia and
Nadjezda, who welcomed us warmly and told us to park the car right
next to theirs so that they can keep an eye on us and make sure we
sleep without problems. But it took a while before we could actually
go to sleep. They too wanted to know where we are from and what our
plans are and they too laugh a bit when they heard we drove all the
way from Germany. We decided they can handle the honeymoon part too,
but this time the reaction was different. They found it brilliant!
And wanted to know how long we are actually married. Funny thing is,
it was actually exactly one month. Racing to Irkutsk or not they
decided we need a proper celebration. After few minutes there was
chocolate and a bottle of Russian cognac on a table and we spent a
lovely evening using our limited Russian skills to discuss politics,
family plans and all other issues. David even got some clear
instructions about buying a house, planting a tree and having at
least 3 children.
We
also got to know the local truck driver who helped us plan our way to
Irkutsk, providing us with information about the road conditions and
helping us pick up a place for the next night. The general rule is:
follow the truck drivers. Sleep where they sleep and eat what they
eat and you won't have any problems in Russia. I have to say it
worked for us. If you enter a bar with a huge menu ask any truck
driver which food he can recommend and you will end up with a list of
3 or 4 dishes. Later on you will notice that every driver entering
the place will order one of those things without even looking at any
other food. And the list changes from place to place. But as the guy
said, if you are driving the same way all the time for 10 years or so
you know pretty well who makes the best pancakes and who makes the
best soup.
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