Wild wild east

Mongolia is amazing! And the nature is simply unbelievable here. I have never seen so many different animals in my life! No matter where you look you can spot a creature you have only seen on National Geographic so far. And most of them are pretty unimpressed by your presence. I love it!

Good news is, we got our visas! And we left Ulaanbaatar a few minutes after getting the last one. There are people who like this city, but we definitely don't belong to this group and were really happy to leave at last. We knew we won't get far that day since it takes hours to drive out of the city, but we just wanted to get away and find a nice camping location just for us, away from the noise, dust and pollution we had to deal with the last few days. And we did find a lovely place, surrounded by rocks, a perfect camping spot! We were preparing our supper when we got the first visitors. A group of horses simply came along to see what's going on. Animals, even the domestic ones usually run free in this country, no lines or fences keep them in place, so we get the chance to see them quite often. It's a great feeling when you wake up in the middle of nowhere and suddenly notice you're surrounded by some funny creatures. You look through the window and see a huge horse head looking back at you or you are woken up by 300 goats, making some impolite noises. It's makes camping in Mongolia even better then it already is. The second visitors came a bit later and then we really were surprised. There, in the middle of nowhere you suddenly get 2 people starting to speak German with you. We were shocked, but pleased. They turned out to be 2 students from east Germany. The girl, originally coming from Mongolia, knew our camping place to be a perfect spot to take pictures, so that was why they decided to stop there and were also surprise to find a German car parked in the middle of it. Once again we found out how small this world is, especially that we met them again 2 days later.

We decided to make Kharkhorin our first goal and I have to say I liked it a lot. It must have looked quite impressive once. Mongolia is not really known for its architecture, so we enjoy the few things the country has to offer. Especially the temples, full of blue scarves and funny looking monuments. The one in Tsetserleg was my favourite so far. Next to a huge rock, with a tall Buddha monument it really was a very nice place. And so was the city itself. Based among rocks, with roofs in all different colours it made much better impression than Ulaanbaatar, so we decided to stay overnight. Especially that we met Gerrit again and found a very nice guesthouse at Fairfield Cafe with flush toilet (it's not a common thing here), hot shower and an awesome breakfast. So we stayed. And shortly after we made this fantastic decision we run into Heidi and Wolfgang (http://heidwolfonbiketour.de/), a German couple we met in Oasis Hostel in Ulaanbaatar, who are on their big motorbike journey for a few years now. We all spend a lovely evening testing Asian beer at the only pub we managed to find.

I have to say this country really is a camping paradise! Lakes with crystal clear water, green spaces wherever you look and often no people around as far as you can see. The only minus point is the weather. Normally it's changing the whole time, so if you are going for a longer walk you should take a sun cream, an umbrella and a really warm jacket, cause the temperatures can change by 20 degrees in no time. I could get used to that, however the changing machine seems to get a bit old and at least this month it very often gets stuck in one position “totally wet and freezing”. The locals say it wasn't raining so heavily for years here, but now they really get a lot of water. And while Mongolian farmers are pretty happy about it, we are hoping for a bit more sun. It doesn't matter that much when you're in a city, but when you're staying at a beautiful lake it is a bit nasty. We have reached Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur (the White Lake) an amazing camping location, but unfortunately it was ice cold and raining the whole time. That is why we gave up our swimming plans and decided to stay in a camp. It feels really great to seat in a ger with a proper fire place and listen to the raindrops outside, spending a nice lazy day, reading, cooking and enjoying the warmth. I can tell you we loved every minute of it. But we were still happy to get a bit of sunshine at last which allowed us to enjoy the surroundings. It was amazing!

The magical Baikal

We were still a bit dizzy from the birthday party when we were leaving Irkutsk the next day, but the goal was set, we're going to swim in lake Baikal today. We decided to do it in the first possible place to reduce the amount of driving to the absolute minimum. And we decided to continue our journey with Gerrit, as after few weeks of driving alone we could really do with some nice company. The roads were so bumpy and curvy that it was hard not to get seasick, but already the first glimpse at Baikal made us forget all the inconveniences. Impressive is definitely the best word to describe it. Followed by amazing and magnificent. The first beach we found turned out to be a perfect location, so we didn't need to spend more time searching for a good camping spot. We could just grab the towels and go for a swim. And we did. And no, it wasn't cold, it was simply freezing. But it felt great anyway.

The weather in this area is changing quite quickly, jumping from burning sun to rain before you can even notice. But we didn't mind. After 4 weeks of driving a few hundreds kilometer a day we simply enjoyed the fact that we can stay at one spot and finally get some rest. And there's no better place for it than Baikal. So the plan for the next few days was set. Little driving and lot of camping, always along the water. And I can tell you it was a brilliant plan!

We spent the next day in Tunka Valley, which really offered us many wonderful views. I made 150 photos that day and loved every minute of our ride. I was just a bit disappointed with the village that awaited us at the end. Arshan seems to be more touristic than anything I saw in my entire life. And it's this awful type of tourism, meaning plastic souvenirs and popcorn on every corner, all the way to the famous waterfalls. But we did our best to concentrate on the nature, ignoring the people and the plastic surroundings. And it worked quite well, but still we decided to spend a night outside of the place, along the river. And we found a perfect location. Clean, warm water, enough wood for fire and some fantastic views. And when I thought it can't get any better than that Gerrit came up with an idea to bake a bread. It really was a perfect day.

And we got a message from Emma that they found a perfect camping spot on Baikal and are staying there for a day or two, so we decided to join then the next day. And the place was lovely indeed. Private green space with view on the lake and again some nice fire place. Before I came here I was wondering why there aren't any real camping places in Russia. But who needs a professional camping place if you can simply stop your car anywhere on Baikal? No one will bother you, you can make fire when you wish to and instead of an old rusty shower you can take a swim in the world's deepest lake. I wouldn't change it for anything.

And once again we could experience the famous Russian hospitality. There are not that many shopping opportunities in the small Baikal villages, so we didn't have that much food to share. We were even a bit worried if we all will have enough for a nice supper. But then Anton turned up with his family. They were camping next to us and heard us speaking in some funny languages, so they decided to come and visit, bringing along some Russian cookies and home made lecho. Suddenly our supper turned into a real feast! And it got even better when we admitted we haven't tried a local fish yet. Anton's wife, Evgenia came back with 3 of them. We were full before our grilled meat and potatoes were ready at all :) And it really was the best food I got in Russia so far! And once again my limited Russian skilled proved to be enough to spend a lovely evening talking about all important issues. I guess it only needs a good will and some creativity on both sides and then no words are needed. We definitely had fun! And full belly! 

Reunion in Irkutsk

We were happy to find out that the roads were not as bad as we expected, which allowed us to reach Irkutsk in 2 days. Unfortunately due to another time change we arrived late in the evening just to find out that the whole city goes to sleep at 22:00. We were walking through the center hoping to find an open restaurant, but we knew it was a lost case. Finding food between 10 pm and 10 am the next day often is in Russia. And suddenly we saw a fully packed Toyota parked along the street. We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw it's actually a German car. It had to be the guy Emma and Andy told us about. I mean, how many Germans with a Toyota can drive this way at the same time. We looked around but the driver was nowhere to be found, so we decided to leave him a letter with out contact details. We only managed to walk a few meters when we heard someone running down the street screaming out names. It was Gerrit, the guy we heard about and he just got there too. We didn't manage to find a place to grab some food or a beer, so we ended up picnicking in front of the only supermarket that was still open. Back then we didn't know we will actually end up joining forces and discovering Baikal region together.

Reaching Irkutsk so early left us with enough time to apply for the visas before the weekend. We went to the consulate early in the morning, prepared for a long queue and endless paperwork, but we were nicely surprised. We didn't have to wait long and there was only one short form to fill in and a very friendly English-speaking workers who helped us answer all the tricky questions. No invitations, no confirmations from the hotel, no further issues. When we were done they only showed us the price list, with different amounts depending on how long we want to wait for the visa (1, 2 or 3 working days). After our Omsk experience we took the express visa and were extremely happy when we picked it up the next day. And we found a VW garage who checked our Karossi just to make sure he's still in best shape. He is! And they definitely had fun checking it.

Irkutsk itself it's not a bad city, but not an amazing one neither. For some reason the drivers there seem to be even more aggressive than in Omsk, making crossing the street a real challenge. But the place has a few nice buildings to offer. Fortunately we met a very nice Swiss couple who were much better prepared then we were and helped us explore the most important bits. We took a long walk together enjoying the company and for David the possibility to speak his mother tongue again.

We could finally relax. With visa in the pocket, some new friends made and Emma’s birthday party waiting for us in the evening. And we even got a place in the most popular hostel in town where we could finally take a warm shower. It was more luck then we needed and we spend a lovely evening talking, exchanging experiences and having fun. Or at least it was so until I fell asleep in the middle of the party, but I guess that's nothing new to those of you who ever tried to party with me... Soon I'll become an internationally known party-sleeper :)