Irkutsk gateway to Siberia

Irkutsk was a name I've only seen before on RISK. Yes, the board game. And I had to trawl the internet to find out how it's pronounced (for the record, it's err-KOOT-sk). So how did I end up in this Siberian city of just over half a million inhabitants? To cut a long story short, it was my fascination with the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway - the longest railway in the world. The Paris of Siberia Irkutsk is one of the largest cities along the route. My companions and I did not have enough time to traverse the entire length of the Trans-Siberian, so we decided to only cover the Irkutsk to Ulaanbaatar leg, which takes up a mere 35 hours. Mere only because the entire journey along the Trans-Siberian requires seven days. Irkutsk was also chosen due to its proximity to Lake Baikal, the world's oldest and deepest lake at 30 million years old and with an average depth of over 744 metres. Once lauded as the Paris of Siberia, Irkutsk's old quarter is lined with atmospheric, though decaying wooden architecture. Many of the houses in this "rustic" style were built by wealthy merchants who once populated the city, and these buildings come adorned with ornate, handcarved decorations. In many other parts of the world, such areas would either have been torn down, or spruced up for tourists. Neither was done in Irkutsk, adding to its charm. However, the commercial district was more modern than I expected, with the usual brandname stores like Adidas and Benetton. But it appeared that the city was hiding a darker secret. We had been warned by our hostel staff to stay indoors after dark. And this warning took on a more ominous tone during our brief chat with a local at a shopping mall. She had expressed surprise that we had not been harassed or experienced any other form of discrimination. Her parting shot was, "Stay safe!" With that in mind, we decided to stay in after dusk, but given that the sun sets only after 10 pm, there was enough time to look around. Besides, there were only a couple of places left in Irkutsk we wanted to explore before we headed out to Lake Baikal. One of which was the Epiphany Cathedral, which lies in the historical heart of Irkutsk. The early 18th-century church is one of Irkutsk's oldest, most stunning structures with its colourful frescoes and brightly painted facade. Lake Baikal All roads lead to Lake Baikal. Despite Irkutsk's gritty charm, Lake Baikal is still undoubtedly the main draw for visitors to this region. Little was known about this lake for a long time partly because of the remoteness of its location, and because the lake was hidden behind mountains. People outside the area knew about the lake only after the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway between the years 1896 and 1902. Besides being the deepest and oldest, Lake Baikal was also found to contain more water than all the water in North America's Great Lakes combined. That is equal to 20 per cent of the world's fresh surface water. In addition, the lake is home to more than 2,000 plant and animal species not found anywhere else on the planet, including the Baikal freshwater seal. It more than met our expectations, even though we did not have the time to head to Olkhon Island, which is said to be the most scenic part of the lake. Instead, we headed to Listvyanka, a short one-and-a-half hour drive from Irkutsk. Listvyanka Listvyanka itself, is a one-street town, with a population of less than 2,000. With the exception of a modern hotel, the rest of the buildings looked exactly one would expect Siberian architecture to look like - log houses with brightly painted shutters. We managed to rent one and despite the ramshackled appearance, it was comfortable. Lake Baikal is a crystal clear body of extremely blue water, with the backdrop of distant snow-capped mountains. According to local superstition, swimming in it adds 25 years to your life. But even though it was early summer, the water was icy cold. I decided to dip my feet in and that was enough. However, dipping my feet in added two years to my life apparently. Walking along, we came across a restaurant that was selling the omul fish; a kind of whitefish which is one of the most famous products of the lake. The fish is sold smoked and the taste is delicate and sweet. Little wonder that some travellers rate it as a of the highlight of the region. With our tummies fully satiated, we decided to explore further. Listvyanka is a tourist town, yet beyond its one and only street, the scene is decidedly rural, with old Siberian wooden cottages and workers fetching water from a nearby stream. Somehow the whole setting had a very calming effect. The romance of rail travel Later that evening, long after the sun went down, we sat chatting with a couple who were travelling with their two-year-old toddler from Beijing to Moscow on the Trans-Siberian. It was the husband's first trip across Asia on the Trans-Siberian, but the wife's second. She told us that her first trip had been unforgettable and she wanted her family to share the same experience. She added that there was something romantic about the notion of travelling across Asia on train, passing through the rural Chinese countryside, across the harsh Gobi Desert, to the endless Mongolian steppes before entering Russian territory and the vast tundra. Days later, as I was on the train bound for Mongolia, I reflected upon what she had said. Aircrafts might be able to transport you efficiently and quickly but sometimes, the journey is more important than the destination.