Transiberian to Irkutsk (July 13th 2006)

I am now in Irkutsk. I arrived yesterday after 4 days in the train from Moscow (5186km). The last day in the train passed very quickly as I met for the third time in the trip these 2 irish girls from Dublin : Marjorie and Majella. I met them for the first time in St Petersburg, and then we run into each other in the hostel of Moscow - they were checking out when we were checking in, and finally we ended up taking the same train to Irkutsk!

Irkutsk is nice and I found a cheap hostel (homestay) hidden on the top of a building right in the city center (500 rub per night). Andrea and Joa Marc wanted to stop 3 or 4 times between Moscow and Irkutsk. I didn't want to be bother by taking apart the bike every few days to put it in the train, so I decided to do the trip in one go directly to Irkutsk. They should arrive here this weekend. In the meantime I will spend some days on Olkhon Island, on the Baikal lake, 300km from Irkutsk.

I have also just been accepted to do a workcamp in Ulaanbaatar, during the last 2 weeks of august! It will be with kids of an orphanage in a farm out in the countryside, Buhug river, 40km away from UB. So we should leave Irkustk next week, and cycle all the way to UB.