Back in our Western "civilized" world

12th of June:

 

After almost two weeks living in the nature having almost everyday our fire and a peacefull place at the Baikal, some river, or just being invited somewhere in the village, we coming back to the "reality". Already on the way between Ust Bargusin and Irkutsk, around the south coast of the Baikal it feels like back to "Western Civilization". Now the Магазин has neon signs or fancy three dimensional letters, everywhere along the street you can find a Кафе which are painted in all colors they could get. The railway and industry you will find along the way, the 3 to more floor grey sowjet buildings between the old wooden houses. The coast is slowly changing. Before it was flat and now we have to cross from time to time the cliffs. And from the most southern part until Irkutsk you won't see the Baikal anymore and you are driving through mountains. Irkutsk was really hot and the people were dressed like summer.  

 

We went to the Mongolian consulate. They are very friendly and they also could speak English. It was good that we did not dry to apply for the Visa in Ulan Ude, as they were quite stoic. If you wait 1 week you have to pay around 1500 RUB (ca. 35 EUR); we wait 2 weeks which is 1020 Rubel (ca. 23 EUR). Well as usual we went for shopping vegetables .... and some beer sitting on a big place where they made some kind of music dancing contest. From Russian Kosak dance, Arabic belly dance, Buriat, to Techno they had everything. We did not want to stay here for the nigth so we decided to go to Больжой Речка, where some sculptor is/was living. The village is at the Ангара the only river that is flowing out of the Байкал. All the other rivers flowing into the Байкал. We found a nice but cold place at the Ангара where also a lot of other people, I guess from Irkutsk, were spending there weekend. Making fire sitting together, some with tents, some with motorships and a lot with cars having a loud sound system. In the night we could "enjoy" the Techno music or some "bumbum" from everywhere. Kotomi was really disappointed about that and asked how can hey be so impolite. I told her that this is not a campsite and people who come here they know it. Ok we did not know but we are not natives. Anyway it is the same in Germany and even so we did not like the music it is a kind of freedom to do what you want. The only thing which I did not like was that the people were less open or more arrogant. Even so they can speak English it is harder to communicate with them.