Report on my travel to Baikal

This report describes our trip to lake Baikal and its aim is to assess the success of the trip and recommend it to others. Last year in summer  my sister, my two cousins and myself went on a trip to lake Baikal. The trip was organized by a travel agency.

Plan of the trip

Our trip involved visiting Irkutsk and its surroundings. We used a hotel near Lake Baikal as a starting point for different trips – circum Baikal railway experienced a trip to the mountains. Our next accommodation was on Olkhon Island where we went swimming in Lake Baikal, observed seals in the lake and later returned to Irkutsk.

Accommodation

During the whole trip we stayed in three hotels: in Irkutsk, in Listvyanka and on Olkhon Island. The first hotel was the most ordinary one: a spacious bedroom and a bathroom, breakfast was also included in the price. The second was exactly the same. When we moved to the island, it turned out that the hotel complex located on the shore of the lake in which we were supposed to stay was closed due to sanitary problems and we were forced to stay in another one. We were not at all satisfied with accommodation there as we were disturbed by noisy Chinese tourists during the night.

Food

The food is not different from European, but the Buryats have their own special dish called puses. They are also often called buuz, since in Russian the word puse means poses and many tourists who come there make fun of the waiters while ordering them. Therefore, they decided to rename them. Buzzes are large dumplings with different types of meat and vegetables inside. There is also a popular dish – smoked omul. Omul is a fish that lives in Lake Baikal. These two dishes are sold there in every eatery.

Conclusion

All in all, I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone who loves travelling. It is both, entertaining and educational, suitable for adults and children. I have no hesitation in recommending this trip to any other.

Anastasia Churkina