Sunday 14th October 2012 - Day 11 - Listvyanka to Irkutsk to Ulaan Baatar

We had breakfast at 9am in front of the log fire - lovely. We were not being picked up until 11am so I went back to bed for a bit then showered and put layers of clothes on ready for our walking tour today. It has snowed all night so it is so much thicker today they have shut the road for public transport, luckily our guide was able to get through and arrived on time. We drove back towards the city and after about 20km we stopped at the Taltsy museum of wooden architecture. We jumped out the car and wandered in the woods seeing reconstructions of how the old houses were built. We got to go inside and see how they lived. They also gave us a three course lunch but unfortunately all our stomachs are a bit dodgy so we ate reluctantly.

Back in the car we drove into the city of Irkutsk where we ended up driving most of the tour and getting out briefly then getting back in the car as the wind was picking up the snow and you couldn’t see much and it was cold and our feet are wet. We got out to see the eternal flame of the city and went in one of the churches. We stopped at a chemist and the guy behind the counter said I had a nice hat, I asked our guide if he was taking the Mick but she said he was genuine. Our guide was lovely and very passionate and intelligent. She had live in Guiney for two years being a translator and has travelled all over.

We got dropped off after the tour at a posh hotel that was very modern and warm It was nice to feel a bit of civilisation after the last few days of trains and villages even though we are only here for a few hours. We are being picked up at 9.15pm for our transfer to the train station. We are on a train for the next two nights. Last night I kept waking in the night and it felt like the room was moving, most bizarre. This is our last day in Russia, I cant believe we are going to Mongolia tomorrow!!!