What experiences do you have on Lake Baikal that are worth sharing?

I went to Lake Baikal on New Year’s Day this year, so I’ll post my travel notes directly. There is an easter egg at the end, don’t miss it.

When it was time to leave the border, Maya was stopped. The customs official called his colleagues and held up his passport to Maya's face: Look, is it really her in this photo? It’s too unlikeable.

Is it wrong to look more beautiful than in your passport photo? Maya, who took twenty minutes to pass, ran over to complain to you and me with a dissatisfied look on her face.

They did not expect that there would be such a stunningly beautiful woman in the world. I said.

You are right, Maya finally turned from sadness to joy.

You and I are going to Lake Baikal. This is all thanks to the woman in front of me.

The Beijing-Shanghai-Guangzhou Tourism Standing Committee composed of Maya, Xuefei and I travel together every year. This year you and I added new member Vivian, making the number of members of the Standing Committee an even number for the first time. This is not good news for democracy, with every vote ending in a tie.

Nepal?

Can you go to a cleaner place?

Harbin?

I have been.

Changbai Mountain?

The tickets are all sold out.

Lake Baikal?

I don’t want to freeze to death.

While you and I were arguing incessantly, Maya sent a message:

This resolute and resolute man let you and me board the flight to Iraq. Flight from Irkutsk. It is a city closest to Lake Baikal.

After three hours of flying, we finally landed. The four of you and I applauded happily in accordance with the Russian tradition. As a result, all the tourists in front turned around and looked at you and me curiously. Ah, I forgot that you and I were traveling on Hainan Airlines.

While it was still bright, I walked around the city.

Irkutsk is the second most populous city in Eastern Siberia, but it feels very rural. Apart from anything else, I have to give a bad review just because I can't buy candied haws. We, Harbin, are much more international. < /p>

There are several churches around the square, all within walking distance.

My favorite thing is the dreamlike Angola River, which flows out from Lake Baikal and is full of mist.

You may have seen such a WeChat article, saying that only Chinese and North Koreans wear long johns in the world, and this is all a Soviet conspiracy, in order to permanently lose the Chinese people's lives in the Far East. ability. The article also ended with an appalling statement: "If a country has been wearing long johns for 60 years, it will never be possible to take them off again."

I used to think that was nonsense, but then sometimes After taking this photo (the person in the back of the picture is Vivian), I thought what the article said might be true. Anyway, in Irkutsk, I couldn't take off my long johns - not only could I not take them off, I also wore two more pairs.

In the evening we went to the best restaurant in the city for dinner.

Maya’s words still rang in my ears when I was booking a hotel:

Not only did you and I stay in the best hotel in Irkutsk, we also ate at the best restaurants. Thank you so much for the depreciation of the ruble.

The next day, set off for Olkhon Island, the largest island on Lake Baikal. Considering that it is difficult for you and me to get along with other people, you and I specifically told the hotel to charter a separate car and not allow others to ride together.

Just after breakfast, the chartered car driver came to pick you and me up. After picking up you and me, things started to go wrong because the driver drove to another hotel to pick us up. We agreed that it would be just you and me, the four of us sharing a car.

As expected, the driver picked up the wrong person. He wanted to pick up you and four other Chinese individual travelers in my hotel. As a result, this guy didn’t even ask when he arrived. He saw you and me pretending to be... Just get on and leave.

So you and I were thrown back to the hotel and got into your own car.

Just as you and I were rejoicing that the journey was finally back on track, Xuefei, who was carrying a large bag of snacks, suddenly remembered that his backpack was left in the previous car. No one had contact information for the driver, and the hotel didn't know which rental company the car belonged to.

Everyone was at their wits' end, but my strange habit helped - I took pictures of everything in sight, including the car and its license plate. So you and I asked the hotel to help us inquire about the whereabouts of the car, and then decided to hit the road immediately, because that car was also going to Lake Baikal, and there was only one road leading there. If we drove faster, we might be able to catch up with it.

Xuefei looked helpless all the way, because his passport, wallet, SLR camera and all valuable properties were in that bag. I quickly comforted him.

Me: When you learn to fly, you have to think in the right direction in everything. Although your bag is lost, you are not dead.

Learning to fly:...

Me: It doesn’t matter if the bag is lost. The ticket we bought comes with insurance, which can compensate up to 5,000.

Xuefei: Get out of here...

You and my driver have been on the phone, as if we were communicating with different people.

You and I want to talk to the master about whether he has found the car, but we regret the language barrier. The wireless hotspot was also lost with the bag, and even Google Translate cannot be used.

As the most mature and cautious person among the four of us, I predicted before setting off in the morning that there would be no signal on the road, so I translated some commonly used Russian words and took screenshots on my phone in advance, just in case. Those screenshots are like this:

I thought I was very smart at the time, but in the end these translations were useless.

This is a trump card specially prepared for Maya. It was so repetitive that I almost showed it to the driver:

You can’t blame me for being cruel. For everyone’s safety, I can only do the best. Bad planning.

Xuefei suddenly remembered that his mother had learned Russian in the 1970s and might be able to communicate with this Russian driver, so he called his mother.

Xuefei: Mom, didn’t you learn Russian? How about you help me communicate with the driver?

Xuefei’s mother: Don’t make trouble.

Before coming here, I read the guide and it was said that the biggest problem in independent travel in Russia is the language barrier. Most Russians cannot speak English. So what's the best way to be like the Russians?

...

...

...

...

...

...

The guide says - it’s a smile.

Smile, sister! Why should I ask the driver if he has found the car with a smile? !

At this time, the driver turned his head, pointed at the back of the car, and said: car. Then put your left fist in front and your right fist in back, then swap the positions of the two fists, and finally interlace your fingers and say: bag.

Me: Maya, do you understand?

Maya: I understand. The master said that the car went back to the hotel to drop off the bags. You and I can wait until we return from Lake Baikal and then go to the hotel to pick up the bags.

Me: Are you stupid? The master is saying that the car is behind you and me. When they catch up with you and me, the two cars will meet and you can get the bag.

Maya didn’t believe it and asked again, so the driver made the gesture again.

I was horrified to see you, hey, the road is full of ice and snow, master, please don’t take both hands off the steering wheel at the same time!

My ability to read body language turned out to be more reliable. Xuefei got his bag back. Five hours later, you and I finally arrived at the ferry terminal to Olkhon Island.

There are three ways to get to Olkhon Island from the ferry terminal. From April to December every year, large ferries will go back and forth between the ferry terminal and Olkhon Island. This ferry can carry cars. Between February and April, Lake Baikal is completely frozen, and vehicles can drive directly to Olkhon Island through the ice. January, when you and I came, is the off-season of the year. People either come to the island by hovercraft, or like you and me, take the icebreaker of the fighting nation.

Now, the time for the ship to break through the ice is like this:

After driving on Lake Baikal for an hour, you and I arrived at Olkhon Island. When we stopped at the dock, there was not even a springboard set up. The sailor asked you and me to climb over the railing and get on the boat.

There is still some distance from the dock to the B&B. The boss has arranged a car to pick you and me up. This vehicle is a four-wheel-drive off-road bus manufactured by the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant in the former Soviet Union. It looks very similar to the Volkswagen MiniBus and was often converted into military transport vehicles in the past.

As soon as they arrived at the B&B, the girls eagerly went out to take pictures.

The result you and I took is like this:

I would like to advise you, if you want to take beautiful photos in a place like Siberia, you must first wear less and secondly, wear well. Gorgeous, otherwise I wouldn’t know who it is in the photo.

You and my B&B owner are twin sisters. The elder sister is called Tasha. She is very enthusiastic and talkative, and her English is also very good, but her ability to complain is a bit strong. The one on the right is Tasha.

First meeting.

Tasha: Hello, my name is Tasha.

You and me: Hello, my name is Charlie. My name is Maya. My name is Vivian. My name is Steve.

Tasha: Ahahaha, great, you all have names that Russians can pronounce accurately. The names of Chinese tourists in the past were too difficult to pronounce, so I could only call them "Hi".

You and me:...

Tasha said that she and her sister came to Lake Baikal for the first time more than ten years ago and thought it was exceptionally quiet and beautiful, so they decided to definitely come there in the future. Survival on Lake Baikal. Then there was an opportunity and she came to Olkhon Island.

I asked: What opportunity?

Tasha: Ah, there happens to be an opportunity to marry on the island.

Me:...

Tasha: My husband is a former Russian table tennis champion.

Sister Tasha interrupted at this time: I had no other choice but to come together.

I asked: Tasha, have you ever listened to "On the Lake Baikal" sung by Li Jian.

Tasha: Of course I have heard it, and every Chinese tourist who lives here must play it to you and me.

Me: Ah, hehehe...

I lowered my head and calmly turned off the music player I just opened on my phone.

Tasha: More than ten years ago, many French people came to the island because of a French documentary about Lake Baikal; and in the past two or three years, because of this song, many Chinese people came again. to this remote island.

Maya: You and I really like this island. Can Chinese people buy houses here?

Tasha: Hahaha, Chinese people ask this question every time.

Maya: Ah, hehehe...

Tasha said that you can choose a piece of land on the island. As long as you build a house on it, the land will belong to you. . But if you don't usually live on the island, you have to hire someone to look after the house for you, otherwise there are some drunkards on the island who will break in when they see the house is unoccupied.

Maya: Ah, that’s not very poor.

Tasha: Yes, so you won’t buy it even after asking.

Maya:...

This is the B&B where you and I live

Tasha’s cooking skills are not bad, but it’s a pity that Russian food is really bad eat. In the spirit of good neighborliness, you and I want to finish our meal as a courtesy to our great country, but we have no choice... I don't like beetroot soup, Vivian doesn't like grilled fish, and Steve thinks the cake is too sweet. , Maya thought the oatmeal tasted strange. Only pancake and meatballs are what you and I love.

So when Tasha comes to collect the dishes, she will add:

Huh, Charlie doesn’t like soup.

Huh, I found out that Vivian didn’t finish her fish.

For the sake of the friendship between the two peoples, you and I are under great pressure.

The next day’s trip is to go to the south of the island to see blue ice. Because you and I wanted to rent a car by ourselves, Tasha helped you and me find a small Jeep. Even though it looks like an Alto, it has quite a lot of power. (Look carefully at the emotions of these two people

Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, reaching 1,637 meters. It is also the freshwater lake with the largest water storage in the world, accounting for 20% of the world’s freshwater reserves. Next enter Time to post pictures.

The weather is not good, but you and I still saw the most awaited blue ice.

This is. I'm taking pictures of small fish under the ice.

The trip includes lunch. The driver made a fire in the field and made hot tea and grilled fish for you and me.

We were full. Then you and I blew out the tire.

We accidentally discovered the cracked ice while wandering around the lake. Xue Fei, who was afraid of water, heard the sound of gurgling water under the ice and immediately took the photo. Escaped.

One thing is strange, the eyes of the dogs and cows on the island are very similar to doge.

At the end of the day, you and I saw the sunset.

On the third day on the island, the sky finally cleared up, but you and I were leaving.

All the dogs who had formed a deep friendship with Vivian in the past few days hugged her and kept silent. , reluctant to let her go.

When we were leaving, Tasha asked: Will you come again?

You and me: Yes, yes.

Tasha: Haha, you all say that, but it will never come again, right?

You and me: Ah, hahaha...

Maybe the summer will happen ten years later. , you and I will return to this island again to see the blue Lake Baikal.

Easter egg video: My favorite Baikal seal

Total budget: round-trip air tickets to Beijing + chartered car + accommodation + meals, 6K

B&B: Guesthouse Voskresenie

My other popular answers: