Day 11 - 1/8/11 - Monday

Sitting on our Chalet balcony enjoying the Siberian sun and listening to some Evanesence on iPod shuffle,I look out over scenic Lake Baikal as a medium sized cruise ship sails past. I begin thinking that it is rapidly approaching beer o'clock. Wait, update a few days of diary first, then indulge in an afternoon bevy!

Our chalet is beautifully wedged between tree covered hills, a characteristic wooden building sitting slightly elevated overlooking other houses toward the water. Our base for the next 3 nights, in a town called Lisvyanka.

Earlier in the day....after arriving in Irkursk around 8am we met our guide Ivan (pronounced Eeevan, not Ivan). We proceeded straight to a lovely restaurant breakfast were I ate fantastic pancakes and tasty jam, whilst Cinthia had an omelete, all served up by a bevy of Russian beauties. Thus far, the Russian scenery was not disappointing. :-)

Irkursk itself was impressive, with Ivan giving us a 2 hour tour through the city. Irkursk has around 600,000 inhabitants, and is an impressive mix of old style architecture, and the functionally practical yet architectually insignificant Soviet buildings. The city overall is colorful, pretty, and like some other interesting cities that spring to mind (San Fransisco/ Istanbul) split across a water divide, and overly reliant on bridges between the sides. It is also well served by transport, with the Trans Siberian entering the major station that has numerous electic train lines, and trams, electric buses and diesel buses all roaming the adjacent street.

Locals bemoan the damage the Soviet era did upon the city, with many churches and other impressive buildings destroyed during this time. The Soviet's banned religion, however nowadays the Orthodox church has made a strong comeback across Russia.

Ivan took Cinthia and I inside a Russian Orthodox church whilst service was being conducted. I was bemused that the head priest was inside a wooden dias and could not be seen, only heard. Ivan explained that many Russian orthodox churches are still very conservative. Cinthia had to wear a balaclava to cover her hair.

When the tour was finished we drove to Lisvyanka, during which time Ivan gave us good insight into Russian life... the economy and challenges, the changing history, his explanations as to the downfall of the soviet union and communism, etc. It was nice once again, like in China, to have a knowledgable guide.