Back to Russia on Rails

...I am over a month behind...I will attempt to catch up quickly!

So, on to Russia again. First we must vacate Mongolia. As evening rolled around in Ulaan Baatar we packed up and hauled our crap to the station. In retrospect we should have put the panniers on the bikes but instead we had them in our duffels and the pedals were off and handlebars folded. We arrived with a few minutes to spare and quickly located our carriage. Our system of loading/unloading involves on person running twice onto the train with the duffels and then back to help load the bikes. During that time we both have our small packs on with essentials and do-not-steal stuff. With the duffels dealt with we rolled our bikes towards the provodnitsas with smiles on our faces only to be given "the hand". Literally, their hands extended with a "nyet" and then they continued with their business. This was the first time this has happened and a small amount of panic set in. We tried everything wich included quoting the person who sold us the tickets, playing charades to indicate how we'd stow them once on board, buying extra baggage allowance, and even flatly indicating we'd fork over money (bribe). Nope. These Mongolian ladies were as firm as concrete...we needed to speak Mongolian or Russian and quickly. B ran off into the crowd blurting out something like "does anyone speak English and Mongolian?"...."does anyone speak English and Mongolian?". Luckily there was a Mongolian guy who had spent a bit of time in California and could understand. He was quickly briefed and herded (something all Mongolians are used to) to the carriage attendants. With time quickly running out he did some frantic translating. We re-learned that bikes are not allowed on. We re-learned that bribes were not possible. So far, nothing new. We've learned that sometimes to overcome unhelpfulness it's useful to ask direct questions. So buddy translated as literally as he could: "Is there a way to put our bikes on the train other than putting them into this carriage?" All of a sudden the answer was "Yes". Was that so hard? The next bit was tricky...the bikes needed to go into the baggage car (at the end of the train) and then at the Mongolian border I needed to get out and get them and then bring them back to the carriage and put them in...and then once past the Russian border I would need to purchase a "baggage ticket" and then all would be OK. I had this repeated to me a couple of times and then ran back to the very end of the train with buddy and the bikes. Of course, I got the "no" from the dude in the baggage car. This can't be for real. After some more precise questioning/translating it was determined that T11,000 (about 7 bucks) would suffice and a receipt would be provided. Good thing I didn't have anymore local currency on me. Buddy came up with the idea of me giving him dollars and he giving me T in return...sounds good. I ripped my pack open and found a money belt with some US dollars in it and gave him a 20 in return for a T20,000 (there goes 6 bucks in transaction fees I thought to myself as I forked it over!). Money to the baggage guy, threw the bikes in, took a look (possibly the last) at our bikes, and then ran to the front of the train. With a few seconds to spare I thanked our good samaratan and boarded with a sigh of a relief. As 5am approached I began to wonder why I needed to get my bike out of the luggage car. I presented some drawings of cave dweller complexity to our frosty attendants and got only some Speedgolian in response. I decided to follow the instructions and I'm glad I did as the luggage car gets unloaded and sent back to Ulaan Baatar at the border. Had I not retrieved the bikes who knows where they'd be now! The Russian luggage ticket was easy to get and the bikes stayed inbetween cars(so we got to enjoy a bunk each!!) all the way to Irkutsk with no ill feelings from our attendants. Actually, they became quite friendly and relaxed once out of Mongolia. I reckon they were just following rules to the letter as if their evil bosses were looking over their shoulder. After all, I've seen how Mongolians load luggage and people into vehicles....and believe me, a couple extra bikes on a rail car is NOTHING!!

Arriving in Irkutsk was a refreshing experience. The traffic was civilized and we even found a walking path next to the river that made for a wonderful ride into the center. Only ever experiencing Irkutsk on the Risk board it was wonderful to finally de-mystify this city! We made a half-hearted attempt to cycle out of town to Lake Baikal but turned around once the traffic became somewhat less civilized and the roads narrow. The next day when taking the bus we felt good with that decision. On the way to Listvyanka, the very touristy town on Lake Baikal, we stopped at a wonderful outdoor wooden architecture museum that featured many cool structures from the Irkutsk/Baikal region. After the museum visit we went back to the road hoping to catch another minibus that had room for the remaining 25km. Within seconds of us hanging out a white Lada stopped and a guy offered a ride..."skolka" I asked (how much). He said something like 500 Rubles which was outrageous given that we'd pay a combined total of about 60 for the minibus. "Nyet" to which he then said(with aid of pen and paper) 50 for each of us. "Nyet" I said. "Skolka?" he said, figuring that anything was better than nothing. 50 total we conveyed to his acceptance. We figured we'd offer slightly less than the bus given that we were taking a risk. Settling into the front seat of the Lada he pointed out the seatbelt. "Safety first!" I thought to myself as I nodded approvingly while reaching for the belt. While trying to finish the job by clicking it in he waved me off...basically indicating that as long as it looks like my belt was on we'd be OK. A quick inspection told me that the thing into which the belt clicks was absent anyway. Lucky enough, even though it felt like we were going at breakneck speeds, the Lada would rarely do anything over 80 Km/hr. Just like Mongolia, hills were tackled at maximum rpm and the subsequent downs were taken in neutral. Lake Baikal, as expected, was a marvelous body of water and the touristy little town provided us with smoked fish, beer, cute houses, and a place to stay for the night. Back in Irkutsk we once again packed up and made for the train station. On the way we ran into a fellow who was in the cabin next to us on the way to Irkutsk. We was in a group of 4 who had participated in the Mongol Rally. Sounds like fun, any takers?