Ulan-Ude City Info
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.
