September 19, 2009 ~ Ulan-Ude, Siberia
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| In the central plaza of Ulan-Ude stands the world's largest bust of Lenin |
Ulan-Ude is the capital of Buryatia, the Russian region on the east side of Lake Baikal. (To the west is the Irkutsk region.) Roma drove very carefully on slippery roads that bordered the lake for awhile, then climbed over several mountain passes before dropping into the wide delta of the Selenga River. Along the way we passed a number of stalled vehicles and an overturned logging truck. Wet, heavy snow weighed down the trees, sometimes bending branches all the way to the road, and we were both relieved and glad to reach Ulan-Ude.
Buryatia is the historic home of the Buryat people whose ancestors moved into this area from Mongolia centuries ago. Among the most famous was Ghegis Khan, who was believed to have been born on an island in Lake Baikal. More recent was the legendary warrior Geser, who is said to have been between nine and twelve feet tall. (I suppose after the first seven or eight feet of height, the rest is irrelevant.)
Despite the spitting snow and icy rain, we made our way a few miles out of town to the Datsan Monastery. During the Communist era it was the largest in Russia and the center of belief that kept Buddhism alive through difficult decades. Today it is a complex of temples, classroom buildings, and small homes sufficient to house the 200 students who come to the monastery to study the Tibetan language and the holy Tibetan books that form the foundation of their religion.
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| Siberian snow. Rest stop along the road to Ulan-Ude. |
We had a late lunch at a nearby café, enjoying posies — meat-filled dumplings that are a traditional Buryat staple. We picked up each one and bit a small hole in it, then tipped our heads back to drink the rich broth inside. Then we put on mustard or soy sauce and ate the rest of the posie, washing it down with hot, sweet tea.
As a guide we were fortunate to have Misha Ivanov. He's been involved with the Great Baikal Trail Association since its founding. A teacher in Ulan-Ude, he is also an expert nature guide for foreigners wishing to visit remote sections of the lake. He also knows a great deal about the Datsan monastery.
Wearing our storm clothing against the bitter wind, we walked clockwise around the grounds, spinning the prayer wheels we passed and leaving coins on the shrines. Young monks hurried across the compound, hauling big cans of water and climbing on scaffolding to carry out repair work on one of the temples. Photography was not allowed inside the buildings, so I took "mind pictures" like my niece and nephew sometimes do with sunsets over Puget Sound—making a special effort to store a vision especially well in my memory.
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| The campsite of legendary warrior Geser. |
We arrived back in Ulan-Ude at dusk and settled into the hostel behind the home of Andrey Sukyev, a teacher, ecotourism specialist, and one of the original driving forces behind building a trail that would encircle Lake Baikal. The hostel is simple, the four rooms outfitted with bunks and not much else. But then we needed not much else.
Andrey and his wife Sveta hosted us for a wonderful Russian dinner of meat balls, carrot and cabbage salad, boiled potatoes, and brown bread. Afterwards Andrey brought out a bottle of vodka. Sveta opened the refrigerator and we saw many big jars of pickles she had made with cucumbers from their garden. She had also pickled mushrooms they found in the forest, and Andrey encouraged us to try those with the vodka. The tradition, after many toasts, is to exhale over your shoulder, drink down the vodka in one shot, then chase it with forkful of mushroom or a big bite of one of the pickles. That led to trips to the banya next to the house and a return to the kitchen table for slices of cake and more visiting long into the cold, wet Russian night. This is Siberian weather and from the food to the banya to the cheers that go with the drinks, the Siberians have adapted and figured out how to make bad weather almost fade even from memory pictures.