Baikal Club International

A Swim

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:42:00 +0000

Good sunny day, -15.

Russia, Siberia, Lake Baikal, 14 January

Walking on thin ice

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:37:00 +0000

It has begun!

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:12:00 +0000

Irkutsk you always see

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:59:00 +0000

Irqutsk mixed from cinema23 on Vimeo.

Invisible Irkutsk

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:58:00 +0000

Lunu from cinema23 on Vimeo.

Good mood boost from Olkhon Island, lake Baikal

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 01:33:00 +0000

Olkhon Island from Dim on Vimeo.

From Mongolia to Baikal

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:40:00 +0000

A very nice trip blog from JDmesh:

Great photography and nice humor too!

Part 1 Train from UB to Irkutsk
Part 2 Olkhon Island
Part 3 Swim in the lake (My favourite part)
Part 4 Circum-Baikal Railroad

iPad and cold weather

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:57:00 +0000

If you arrive to Irkutsk, Siberia in winter, be careful using your iPad outside. Yes there are some free public WiFi hotspots, but batteries are afraid of cold, so they run out faster than usual. Its better to have maps printed.

Naked people swimming in Baikal in Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:16:00 +0000

Hppy Omul Cafe on Olkhon Island

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:57:00 +0000

Tuva trance

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:40:00 +0000

Winter on lake Baikal

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:52:00 +0000

Dear readers. We are glad to announce winter 2011-2012 season. Lake Baikal opens great opportunities from the middle of January, when the lake freezes all over.

Also, its nice to travel in Russia, when its winter. Trains are not that loaded during this time, and you can easily organize an individual trip across Russia, stopping in the places of your interest. We hope lake Baikal is one of them.

Saving while traveling

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:06:00 +0000

If you travel across Russia to Mongolia you might find the idea of saving $100 and 5 hours in one smart move from Irkutsk to Ulaanbaatar. If you take a direct train from Irkutsk to Ulaanbaatar it will cost you around 5000 rubles. They don't sell 3d class for this direction, so you will have to get a 'koope'.

So what you can do is to take a train to Ulan-Ude, and then take a bus to Ulaanbaatar. The train will cost you 700 rubles, and the bus will be 1200 rubles. So totaly you save about 3000 rubles on this transfer. But you have to book your bus tickets in advance. This you can do here on our website, take a look at menu on the right.

Also, if you want to learn how to buy train tickets in Russia online with no commission at the same price as at the station, then please take a look at Train tickets explained page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us directly by phone, text or email.

Buy train tickets online in Russia

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:44:00 +0000

We've created a page specially for you, so you can learn about getting your russian rail road tickets done online. It is in our site's menu.

So, could you please help us to make it better. It is hard work without your support, so please, lets do this, it will be a great input into helping the organization to create better service. Thank you.

Good old Irkutsk 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:27:00 +0000

I found some interesting shots while going through some files on my computer.

This is a very old tram.

Interior art work.

Russian Banya (steam sauna)

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:25:00 +0000

This is private banya at Nikita's on Olkhon Island.
There are also hot showers available for everybody,
but if you want to experience something really Russian,
go for this one. Cleans body and soul.

Camping in the ice desert of Baikal

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:10:00 +0000

Khuzhir village on Olkhon Island in March

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:08:00 +0000

Martial art video made on Olkhon Island, Baikal

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:32:00 +0000

Matanya diesel

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 07:57:00 +0000

Art map of Baikal

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 03:37:00 +0000

Who loves Baikal?

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:09:00 +0000

A summer behind the Iron Curtain: documenting the fall of the Soviet Union

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:25:00 +0000

The best word to describe Tree Gore is “adventurer.”

Stories from his latest adventure sound like scenes from a Russian version of James Bond, and he ultimately hopes that his new project will inspire other young people to travel and explore the world beyond the classroom.

Gore, a UVU aviation student, and Christine Armbruster, a BYU student and photographer, set out to explore and document the tiny forgotten or unnoticed towns of Russia left destitute after the collapse of the Soviet Union. These towns, called monogorods, are settlements that were built around a single industry, much like mining towns once popular in America. After the collapse of the USSR, the nearly 2 thousand monogorods shifted from being government controlled to private ownership. Because of tough competition with the free market, many towns prospered while others were left impoverished or even barren.

While much has changed in Russia since the Cold War, its effects are still felt by the millions of people living there, yet no one is really paying them any attention. Fueled by curiosity and the desire to share the immensely important but untold stories of Russian life post-Soviet Union, Gore and Armbruster spent their summer roaming through Russia with just the clothes on their backs and two backpacks full of equipment to make their upcoming documentary “Half Day Around.”

The filmmakers prove that you don’t have to be a Columbus or a Werner Herzog to explore completely foreign territory. “My hope is that the film will help inspire other students to travel and learn about a different culture than their own. With traveling comes a type of learning that you can’t get anywhere else,” Gore said.

As he works on sorting out the footage, photos, and memories of all the experiences he had on the other side of the globe, Gore noted that the most important lesson he
learned is that “despite the fact there are bad people and horrific things in this world, the majority of people are great and eager to lend a hand.”

His entire journey was made possible through the kindness and generosity of friends, family and even people he had never met before. While in Russia, it was the strangers he met on the street that offered the young filmmakers a place to stay or volunteered to act as tour guides and translators. “Some people might say we were lucky,” Gore stated, “but the more optimistic view is that there are people out there willing to help others.”

Although the filming for “Half Day Around” is mostly completed, the project still has a long road ahead of it. Gore and Armbruster are hoping to raise the last of their needed funds by September 13, 2011. The filmmakers plan on presenting a teaser for the movie by December and are arranging gallery showings to display photos and profiles of people from the trip. The film will make its debut sometime next year.

For more information about the project visit the blog or help donate to the cause through www.kickstarter.com.

This article is from UVU Review website.

Kree-Sha

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:50:00 +0000

Navigate in Russia

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitriy Yakovlev) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 11:48:00 +0000

Use http://maps.yandex.ru/ as they have even street views.
They don't have english version, but its easy to learn to use
because they are similar to other services.Website usually
loads with a view on the city you are in.

http://www.openstreetmap.org/ is very nice as it has
english interface, but I didn't find the link to switch to
the language. Not very detailed map, but it gives a better
idea that maps from other websites.

I hope it helps, if you find any better website, please
let us know. :)