Ulan Ude, the capital of Buryatia, is located in the middle of vast
Siberian steppes, on the 5640th kilometer of the Trans-Siberian railway.
It is a very unusual and charming city.
The first striking impression is an unusually calm and mellow way of life,
distinct features of people (more than 50% of people in Ulan-Ude are native
Buryats with canny almond eyes), and a slightly chaotic look of the city.
This peculiar mix made me feel that after I made 3000 kilometers through
the Asian part of Russia, finally I’m in Asia.
However, in some parts of Ulan Ude the “Russian part” comes
into play: a huge head of Lenin on the central square, Soviet style hotel
buildings, some remains of the typical 19th century architecture, traditional
wooden houses along the streets.
Ulan Ude is a very interesting place to stop for a few days on your way along
the Trans-Siberian: apart from its peculiar feel, there are a lot of other things
to experience.
Besides, the Buryatian side of Baikal lake is easily accessed by transport. If
you endure a 3 hour trip through the mountains on the way to the lake, you’ll
be rewarded: after the first 250 kilometers, the road goes along the shore of Baikal,
so you can hop on a bus or a car, hop off whenever you want, and camp on the sandy
beach with Baikal just 10 meters away! Otherwise, if you don’t feel like camping,
you can stay at a local’s place, especially that local people are very friendly
and open to visitors. There are also a couple of sanatoriums along the way, so you can
get a hotel-like room for yourself.
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