We arrive in Ulan Ude

Previous page - Our last hours on the Rossiya train

 

Olga's B & B In Ulan Ude

Natasha, and her young son Sasha were there at the Ula Ude train station ready to meet us. They were taking us to Olga's B & B in Modogueva Street. We have booked two nights for a total cost of 4,200 roubles which is about $54 AUD for the two nights. We organised the booking via Hostel Bookers.

Natasha suggested a taxi ride for 150 rb as opposed to walking to Olga's. We were glad we chose the taxi option as it seemed like we went a long way for our 150 rb.

 

Added later:

It wasn't all that far at all as the crow flies. There was just not a quick or direct route by car, however, when walking it is much closer than you first realize.

 

Olga's B & B

When our taxi pulled up we saw a block of units surrounded by lovely trees. There was a code to enter into the door key-pad and a speaker in which we had to announce our arrival plus a heavy steel security door to negotiate,. Natasha made sure we understood the process. Olga and her sister, Tatiana were at the house to meet us. Natasha stayed a while to do introductions and settle us in. We were surprised how large Olga's unit was. Olga spoke French and Russian but Tatiana only spoke Russian. We climbed many sets of concrete steps whilst staying in Russian homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natasha has her own tour business and we have booked with her to take us to the Ivgolinsky Datsan and to the Old Believers tomorrow. You can contact Natasha here: zabaikalom@mail.ru and this is her phone number - 0011 7 (9025) 648-278. Her web site is www.zabaikalom.com

Olga disappeared and Tatiana took over

It seemed Olga had to travel to Baikal right away so Tatiana looked after us instead. She spoke no English whatsoever but we got along famously. She is a truly lovely and caring lady.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wandering around central Ulan Ude

It was warm in Ulan Ude. We went for a walk and ended up in the central city square where we found some edibles for lunch at one of the kiosks. We sat down in the shade near the statue of Lenin's head and munched on our lunch. The thermometer on a nearby building said it was 27 degrees.

 

 

 

Strolling in Ulan Ude

After lunch we went looking for some old wooden houses that Natasha had mentioned. They are located between the city square and the river. The buildings are centuries old and very beautiful. They are crafted from timber and a lot of it is very decorative and has the appearance of wooden lace. It was so hot we stopped for ice creams and umpteen drinks from our water bottles. We never saw Russians wandering along with water bottles or hats. I guess we come from a hot sunny country so we think of these things when others don't.

The buildings are a photographer's dream. Look at these:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The buildings truly are wonderful to look at. They must have had very talented craftsmen all those years ago to create the delicate lace-like wooden trims on virtually all the buildings.

 

Next page - Wandering further in Ulan Ude

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