Author Archives: Wilgoson

13 April: The train just keeps rolling. Russia is one big country, the largest in the world. Just in Siberia there are over one million lakes, one of which is Lake Baikal – the deepest lake in the world. Even … Continue reading →

12 April – EASTER SUNDAY: Happy Easter! We are going through thousands of miles of birch forest. Some places the ground is covered with a foot or more of snow and some places the ground is nearly bare with only … Continue reading →

11 April: Our guide, Sveta, picks us up at 11am. Our luggage will follow in another vehicle, we think. An hour later we are in Irkutsk with a couple of hours before check-in time at the Railway station. While everyone … Continue reading →

10 April: Sometime in the arly morning, my fever broke; a hot shower, a couple more hours of sleep and it’s time for breakfast. Today I feel a thousand percent better but still not up to 100% (don’t do the … Continue reading →

9 April: This morning the frozen lake glistened white under clear skies and bright sun. We visited the Wood Architecture Museum. Early wood homes, churches, schools, stables and other out buildings from all over Siberia have been moved to this … Continue reading →

At 8:10am we arrive in Irkutsk, Russia. It is a cold bleak day and, I think, a cold bleak city. Our new guide, Sveta, met us at the train station with two vehicles, one for the luggage and one for … Continue reading →

It is dark soon after we depart Ulan-Baatar. We get occasional glimpses of snow and frozen lakes. About 10pm the border drill starts: Maria, our rail-car stewardess, delivers four border crossing forms that each of us needs to complete, then … Continue reading →

As I’m writing this I’m sitting in an internet room at our hotel in St. Petersburg, Russia. It’s hard not to compare all the countries, but a few notes about our experiences in China and Vietnam. First of all, my … Continue reading →

5 April After leaving Beijing we traveled North-Northwest through a mountainous area and up onto the high Gobi Desert. This dry, dusty, windy plateau was blamed for the poor air quality in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. Jerry, Linda and … Continue reading →

3 April Thankfully, a free day. Still plagued with the “Chinese Crud”, I flake out all day while others do some last minute China shopping. We had asked our guide to arrange tickets to a show to see the famous … Continue reading →