Colourful Marches, Caned Food from Thailand, Monks and Eggs, AND Big Suglasses in Ulan Ude, Baikal

20-22th of Mai: One Day ago you just got some beautiful pictures from Селенга river. Well, before we were driving through a more open landscape than before. There is no more dense forest to the left and right and it feels wide and open with a blue sky and sometimes some clouds looking like "sugar foam". We were crossing rivers and colourful marsh and small areas of mixed forest. It almost looks like autumn although it is spring. Sometimes there are small grey village with some factory. If you want to buy something there you have to go in the Магазин. Here you can get mostly canned food. Corn from Thailand, Apples from Chile but nothing from Russia and that in the middle of Siberia, and of course it is expensive. On the other hand, we stopped at one village buying all kinds of food directly from the people were old grandmothers sitting on benches in front of their colourful wooden houses with lots of wooden ornaments. Each house uses different patterns but the favourite colour is blue and white, which maybe strange in our areas but looks really nice here. Although we mostly see elderly people these villages look more alive than the ones between Kharbarovsk and Chita. Maybe the living conditions here are better, and of course you can also feel the influence of the Buriat culture which is quite colourful. Beside I need to mention that at least the wooden houses are an invention of the Russians where the Buriat were mainly living  in the Yurt like the Mongolians. At the end we came to Улан Уде (Ulan Ude), which is the capital city of the Buriat "prefecture" as part of Russia. I felt like in Tokyo at least from the stylish people big sun glasses and hip. Interesting to see but finally it is like every big city around the world. From time to time it is nice to see but it is not really necessary. At least they had a nice beverage cold Kвас (Kvas), we were already drinking in Chita. It is made from black bread and sugar; it is cold and really refreshing if you have a 30 degree Celsius outside. And of course we visited the biggest Lenin head in the world, where in front the young boys were skating, with wide trousers and metal chains (:). We were just drinking a beer and I got quite drunk since the beer here has up to 7 %. Although I also get at home drunken after one beer here it was even faster (:). Actually we wanted to ask something in the Mongolian consulate, but they told us very friendly that today is the wrong day and we should come back Monday. So we decide to go to the consulate in Irkutsk later.

After I was not so drunken anymore we went to Селенга river driving some dirt roads through the hills between Улан Уде and the river just navigating by GPS. Finally we were driving from the hills into the overwhelming Селенга river valley. Sleeping at N 51.693  °, E 107.41726°

 

23th  of Mai: In the morning starting from Селенга (Selenga River) and going to the only Buddhist temple which was allowed in Russia, it is close to Иволгинск (Iwolginsk) (N 51.75865°, E 107.20154°). It was Saturday, so many people came to visit and bring their gifts, where the monks holding a ceremony and receiving the gifts (basically food). It was interesting and also for Kotomi it was new. She knows about Zen Buddhism but here are followers of the Tibetan Buddhism. The goal is the same but the way to reach the enlightenment is different. The Zen Buddhism focuses more on the mediation. Five monks were dressed like Tschingis Kan all wearing wicks of black long hair, also Kotomi could not understand why. All of them were praying a Mantra, one of them was behind something that looks like a wall, always throwing a part of the gifts in the fire, where the other four monks were sitting at the side, which was looking like some monks sitting behind school benches. It was windy and the wicks were sometimes horizontal in the air and it was cold. Nevertheless the believers were sitting in the opposite also praying or just listening; all ages were present from the grandmother to Babies.

My mother told me that the monks in this temple are expert in Tibetan medicine which is here actually a mix of Buriat knowledge that is older than the Buddhism and the Tibetan medicine. She said we should check our health their (:). Well why not but how to ask in Russian. Finally we found out in which house does the "medicine man" lives. He was at lunch, but another monk showed up and invited us in his house asking why we actually want to check or health or if we have some kind of problem. Well I could not just say it is because of my mother (:). Anyway basically we were talking which was quite interesting. We can find the same problems everywhere in the world. He was complaining that all young people leave the villages and want to go in the cities were a natural good live is impossible, actually he want to bring the people back in his village or even inviting foreigners especially Japanese (because they make good cars (:) he say) to build up the village again. He also feels sad about this development. But he was surprised when hearing that is the same in Europe or Japan too. Basically it is more comfortable to live in a city, you can find easily a job and you do not need to care about anything else right. But I think we loose our roots (maybe we lost them already) and living quality even so some people will never understand this point. Finally he checked our pulse said Kotomi should be careful with her stomach (I told him before) and she should drink a glass of warm water in the morning 30 min before eating. Well I am harmonic he said and everything is fine. I think it is better to ask there if you really feel you have a problem and they will help you.

After that we decided to go to the Baikal and got in the first contact with Mongolian and Buriat food culture. That means meat meat meat. We stopped in a "Кафе" and ordered something which looked like vegetable soup, something which looked like noodles and some dumpling. Well in total the base is 90% meat and 9% water. Although it tasted well, they also used spices, and I actually like meat, it was too much for our stomach and for Kotomi almost like hell for her sensitive stomach. It is also getting harder to get vegetables and also eggs. Since the nomadic custom is to have big animals like cow, sheep, horse ... but no chickens.   

However, finally we went to the Baikal at the south east coast where some kilometres after Oимур should be a hot spring from where you could look directly in the Sunset over the Baikal, but unfortunately the basin was in repair and they will open in the beginning of June. Coordinates to turn left from the street are: N 52.52101°, E 107.05685° . So we had to find another place and we found some kilometres away directly at the beach and enjoying the sunset at the magic "ocean" Baikal. Beach sounds warm but it is still cold since the Baikal was still frozen one month ago. N 52.51679°, E 107.03717°

 

24th of Mai: It is already one month ago when we started from Japan. And even so our friends miss us, we have to say they are always with us. Sometimes we hear music which we got from RokuSan or just see an Irish pub and remind him since he is also working in one, Listening to Andies Music during driving through the Siberian colourful spring, and wondering about plants and thinking maybe Anja would knoiw the names. Didi when hearing the song I got from him "Liebe zu Dritt" or Anna when hearing about bears, HU when making a camp at the river which almost looks like Golben.  Although I do not mention all friends everybody pops up in our mind from time to time and different location, sound or picture which connects us, all of you are in our mind and that is the important.

 

Today we went north along Baikal which is actually a dead road, but the last village Заречье is sooooooooooooooooo beautiful. We got to know Иван who was sitting in front of his wooden house. He told us he was Soldier in Sakhalin loooooooooooong time ago and he remembered some Japanese song from that time. Actually we were looking for some Banja which was again necessary after one week. He said we should check in the other village they have Sauna, because his Banja is not hot now.  But first we got some eggs, fresh milk in the village which made Kotomi very happy. We went to the other village called Suchoje which is actually described in a book I read from the Baikal. 10 years ago one guy started to make some business with tourism having helicopter landing place and all this stuff to get the "rich people" or better very rich people in his village. Well, now there is not only one, also others try their luck and building some kind of resort. At least it is not directly at the lake and most of the houses are made from wood but still it does not fit in the picture of this nice Baikal village. And for me it seems, although I do not know !!!, that the local people have no advantage of these resorts. Anyway most of them are still closed, but one was open and it had a Sauna. Of course for the high class tourist it can not be a Banja, that means it has to be a finish electric Sauna. It sounds "better" and it is 10 times the price of a Banja, 1000 Rubel which is almost 30 EUR. We decided: it is to much for us, so let’s collect some wood in the forest and ask Иван. When we came with the wood he was waving with his arms, shaking his head, and telling us that he do not need, he has enough wood. We bought some beer in the Magasin and were drinking together, Kotomi and him singing the Japanese song until the Banja got hot. Every Banja has its own system. This one heats up the stones which save the heat long time, and after the wood is already burned you go in, the Banja is not hot yet, and then you throw water at the stones again and again. Now it is hot!!! (:). (N 52.55298°, E 107.15076°). After this we just drive to the beach which is very close. Here we had now an incredible sunset over the "Ocean" in the foreground birch trees with the young fresh green leafs and fishing boats on the beach. Beside us a small rive approaches the lake, sorry the ocean. Now it is dark with thousands of stars and the sound of the waves from the ocean. Looking forward to tomorrow, we will get some smoked fish from Baikal (:).