Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal, Siberia was my unexpected favourite of our trip. We visited in April after it had recently snowed, such a treat for an Australian who has rarely seen snow. It was exceptionally cold (around 2°c) so we waddled around all wrapped up.


There was something magical about the vast expanse of frozen lake and the small town that was almost deserted.


The colourful wooden houses with beautifully carved window frames peaked out of the snow and stacks of wood were on standby to heat them.


We played in the snow and walked through the cold to visit The Baikal Museum and had a guided tour from an immaculate Russian woman who used a pointer to direct our attention to specimens in glass jars.


I explored a Russian graveyard where many seafaring folk and locals are buried. The colours were amazing against the stark white snow.


Apparently the area is very animated in Summer but we were so lucky to spend this quiet time in this special place.


This artwork gives some indication of the size of Lake Baikal. I would have love to have seen it happening.

Home.

Well we are home and didn't keep up with the blogging. So while we reflect on our trip over the coming months we'll post a few highlights....

Chooo chooo

The first train trip was an epic adventure. Not only was it our first time sleeping on a train it also involved the border crossing from China to Mongolia as well as boogie changing.

We watched the landscape change as we chugged away from Beijing through industrial to isolated towns and spectacular mountains. Before we knew it night was upon us but we couldn't sleep yet as we had to go through immigration and customs for both countries.

The process was relatively painless although they do lock the trains bathrooms while the officals are on the train for about five hours. While our passports were being processed to leave China the train with us on it was taken to a workshop where each carriage was separated and lifted up into the air for new wheels to be placed under the carriages. A very long, involved and interesting procedure which we watched with fascination.

We got our passports back with all of the correct stamps and it was into Mongolia to go through the paperwork again. Sleep was at around 2am.

Changing China

I wasn't sure what to expect of China but Beijing was not what I had pictured. The Olympics last year may have had something to do with the rapid modernisation of the city. The traditional hutong neighbourhoods are diminishing and being replaced by ultra wide streets.

Climbing the Great Wall was amazing. It is vast which I didn't appreciate until I actually saw and walked on its stones!

We ate yummy dumplings and pastries for dinner and breakfast from the small local holes in the wall from the hutong behind our hotel.

Our visit to Tienanmen Square was complete with Chairman Mao's 5m high image watching over us.

The train journey begins tomorrow!

Eight Hong Kong highlights

1. We were suprised to find a fresh food marekts in the alleys behind our hotel.

2. Double decker tram rides HKD$2 only AUD30c an absolute bargain and heaps of fun with so much to see from the top level.
3. Soho is full of cafes, bars and shops. Definitely the area to stay in next time we visit. 

4. Cat St markets is a quaint flea market with a few exciting pieces.

5. Catching 'Celestial Star' one of the Star line ferries on a rainy afternoon to Kowloon while watching the skyline light up against the grey sky. 

6. Munching on lobster pizza and admiring the view of Hong Kong Island from Aqua Bar. 

7. Our foggy Peak experience.  

8. Melt in your mouth steamed yellow fish dish at 369 Shanghai Restaurant.

We loved visiting vibrant Hong Kong and will be back again. It would be a great stopover as it is easy to get around and there is plenty to see.

Sorry about the delay

We have reached St Petersburg and have been intending to get to our blog but have been having far too much fun!! Also the internet connection has been a bit tricky to find especially on the trains.
So I will back track a bit and take you through our highlights so far as we have written a few things down as we have been traveling.

And we're off

Our first stop is Hong Kong.

Unfortunately there will be no shopping (well nothing big anyway) as our tiny packs are full to the brim. Our logic was to get small packs as we are catching internal flights throughout Europe which have small luggage allowances ummm it doesn't seem like the best idea now! Oh well at least after we have endured the below zero temperatures we can send our coats and thermals home which will empty our packs a bit.

 
Farewell Sydney - see you all in four months.