Siberia: My trip to Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal

June 7, 2017: If Siberia were a country, it would be the world's largest country. Since the 17th century, it has been a part of Russia. Over three-fourth of Russia is only Siberia.

It is where the Russians were sent to exile since centuries. It is the cold version of hell (-67 C, -90 F), and is sparsely populated with barely 3 people per square kilometer. These two advantages made it an ideal place for prisons without walls since anyone trying to escape on foot would die of cold.

My trip to Siberia was in summer however, when the temperatures rise to almost 15 deg. C., and you can wear shorts in mid-afternoon. It started with Olkhon Island, in Lake Baikal, around five hours from Irkutsk.

On the way to Olkhon Island

Ferry crossing to Olkhon

Hotel Camping Usabda Nabaimar at Khuzhir, where I stayed

Shaman Rock: where Shamanic rites were done since a millenia.

A closer view of Shaman Rock at Olkhon Island 

Part of Shamanic Poles: They reminded me of the practice of Buddhist flags hanging on bridges in the Himalayas

Another view of Shaman Rock from the top 

I cycled around Khuzhir on a rented mountain bike the first day, an easy way to ascend and descend all the hills. I was the only tourist however, climbing those hills on a bicycle, so I think the mountain bikes would have been mostly used in the village itself

The village of  Khuzhir itself was a small one, as you can see.

I liked this lonely path leading to the village.

Sunset is always a great time to take photographs. Cameras with their current technoloare still very poor at capturing the dynamic range of the human eye - and that is the reason why you have to be there to see the sunset!

I had to balance myself precariously on the slope with my mountain bike to take this photograph, but it was well worth it! 

Can you see the seagulls sitting right on top of the rock silhouetted against the sunset? One of those rare photographs where I missed having my Lumix ZS70 30x travel zoom. But then, it wouldn't have captured the wide swathe of the sunset landscape !

The legend goes that when god was distributing mineral riches over the earth, his hands froze and he dropped the rest of the treasures on Siberia. And while attempting to exploit the mineral reserves, even Man-made machines like excavators freeze over. Large motors are kept running through the winter.

In summer, the landscapes turn from a uniform white, to green and gold. The deep blues of the sky are mirrored in Lake Baikal as it unfreezes for a few months.

A wooden fence leading down to Lake Baikal

As I walked alone down the deserted street of Khuzhir at 10 p.m. at night, I felt the need to transfix the memory

My driver claimed to be a descendant of Chenghiz Khan (the Great Khan), as other people around the area no doubt do, especially to tourists!

Chenghiz Khan was a Tengrist and Shamanist, who forbade the practice of Halal to Muslims, and Kosher to Jews. In most other respects, he was reasonably secular.  A great general from the Kiyad tribe, he united other tribes and led the Mongols against the Tatars in 1197 AD. He was responsible for bringing the  Silk Road under one political rule and for the brutality of his campaigns. He is also known for integrating rival tribes he conquered, including having his mother adopt orphans into his family.

So great was his influence, that for centuries after, to be a Khan and rule people, one had to claim some descent from the Great Khan. For instance, Babar, the Mughal, claimed 12th generation kinship through his mother, to Chagatai Khan, the second son of Chenghiz Khan.

Omul Fish Soup and Bread

A frequently occurring theme in all my travels is how little we know of the diversity of people. My mental caricature of a stereotypical "Russian" was brutally pulverized and ground to dust, and much as I went prepared for ethnic differences (Russians within Russians), the scale and vastness left me flabbergasted.

Russia has over 170 ethnic groups designated as nationalities, with populations ranging from millions (eg. Russians and Tartars) to barely 10,000 (Sami or Inuit). There are over a 100 languages spoken, while most people can speak and understand Russian. The constitution gives every republic the right to establish and promote their own state language. Siberia has Slavic Russians, Buryat, Tatar, Sakhai and numerous other nationalities.

 When you see Lake Baikal, you don't think of it as a freshwater lake but as a calm sea. The scale is beguiling!

Small waves by the shores of Lake Baikal

 Lake Baikal is the oldest lake formed 25 million years ago. It is also the world's largest freshwater lakes with 22% of the world's freshwater. It is also among the world's clearest and seventh largest surface area.

I had to take a picture of myself just as a reminder of my state of mind as I stood there, overlooking the vast expanse of blue spread over 31,000 square kilometers!

Wild flowers in white

Brights Yellow flowers, all in a hurry to reproduce in the short Siberian summer after which life freezes for an year!

A profusion of purple in the middle of a pine forest.

Wild flowers flowers in the shade 

Grazing Yaks with distinctive manes

The bus station/ ticket counter at Olkhon Island. As an Indian, I was struck by the absence of rubbish even in a remote village. Where do people dump their rubbish if not the road?

What could these bright multi-colored signs possibly be for? The wooden bins can be used for several things - why are they not stolen? These are my Indian thoughts!

This shop inside the bus counter seemed to capture the sights of Siberia - the woman with blonde hair and blue eyes waiting for a customer, the Russian bear skin, snow leopard, Baikal seal curios, baikal bottled water... 

Inside "bus ticket counter" at Olkhon

A Cafe on Olkhon Island

Internet Cafe and bicycle renting place