Tag Archives: russia

Arshan, Buryatia and Siberian Shamans

Note: some posts as this one are not in chronological order.

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I had heard about Buryatia only marginally without any clear idea about its location, culture or anything else, until I actually found myself crossing into the area. Buryatia feels like a separate state with its own language, culture and buddhism as an official religion, plus Buryats look more like Mongols than Russians. There are even remote areas in Buryatia, where Russia’s power is virtually nonexistent and local laws are what counts. I went to a place called Arshan, a small resort village in Tunka valley in the base of the Sanya Mountains. It is a mixed village of Russians and Buryats. Such a mix is not exactly a healthy option, as both groups dislike each other. The head of the family at which place I stayed in is a very smart man, but some things he said about Buryats were simply mind-boggling.

Arshan is mostly known for its foul-tasting lukewarm mineral water, which flows out of the ground (free of charge too!) and as a base-camp for hiking in Sanya mountains. The valley itself is a spectacular sight, a vast field with few trees and rare scattered villages. The valley is guarded by mountains on three fronts, which isolate the villages from outside world and are responsible for a local micro-climate. As for the mountains they are majestic: massive, high enough not to be boring (with the highest peak being more than 3km), a picturesque Kyngyz canyon with a mountain river flowingand numerous waterfalls. I was lucky to get two sunny days, providing enough time for exploring nearby areas. It snowed once too showcasing the mountains in a completely different light. It was nice to get a small taster of Siberian winter without feeling it in the full force except those extremely chilly/moisty mornings and strong winds once. Apparently it winds very rarely there, but when it does, it is nothing short of a hurricane. Numerous fallen trees up in the mountains confirmed this.

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There are a couple of shamans in the village with the most powerful one aptly named Rasputin. The guy is very popular and people are coming to visit him from Irkutsk. After brain-storming the question for two days, I decided to pay a visit him, but by the time I got there (before 9 in the morning), the line was too long to wait. Plus the morning chill made queuing less than pleasant. Oh well, maybe the next time. On the other hand I met a practicing zen buddhist in the village, who invited me to his place. The fellow claimed to be almost one hundred years and made an impression of the person in the know. Definitely one of the most interesting encounters so far.

All in all, loved the mountains. Arshan is a mixed bag, but rather fine. I would love to visit it once again, in the summer time and equipped with camping gear. Pictures coming as soon as I figure out NextGen Gallery.

PS: For all practical purposes I could not spot any differences between Finnish sauna and Russian banya (баня).

Random thoughts on St. Petersburg metro

  • Each station has its own unique design and flavor. It is exciting to go to a station you have never been before, as you have no idea what to expect.
  • Metro is clearly not designed for tall people. Escalator hand-rail is placed too low and you have to stretch your arm a little bit more. Plus horizontal bars in the metro cars are placed too low, so if you are taller than 190cm, than you run into a risk of hitting your head.
  • Speaking of the escalator hand-rails, they still haven’t fixed the synchronization problem between the hand-rail and the escalator ladder. The velocity of the hand-rail is slightly faster, so you have to fix the position of your hand now and then. This problem has been there, for as long as I can remember.
  • The metro network is now equipped with signs in English and transliterations of every station name. Now THAT is an improvement. As a slight overkill the personnel only doors have the “Staff only” text in English. Why? The doors are locked anyway and an English-speaking tourist would hardly have any business going through such a door.
  • The metro is dug very deep and a trip down the escalator can take quite a bit of time. Interestingly enough, you see many people pass the time while going up or down reading books and newspapers. St. Petersburg truly lives up to its name of a cultural jewel of the North.
  • You are obliged to free up your seat for any person that looks remotely like they deserve it. This etiquette goes sometimes into Kafkaesque territory. E.g. once a guy around my age took offense of me taking up a seat and told me to free up the seat for a middle-aged women standing a couple of meters away and not even looking into my direction. He gave me evil looks for the rest of the trip, after I declined. If you want to keep your seat, the best way is to get buried in a book or a newspaper.

No. 10 “Baikal”

The journey from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk took three and half days. Very manageable, but not without short periods of despair and tiredness. I took a direct train No. 10 “Baikal” from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk, skipping Moscow altogether. This is the only train from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk that does not pass through Moscow and this route has existed only since last spring (previously it went from Moscow to Irkutsk, as all the other trains). The fare is slightly higher, as this is a “branded” (firmennyi) train providing a better service than a regular one. The journey was rather uneventful, providing a lot of free time for reading, meditating, doing geeky stuff (thankfully the power socket in my cabin worked), writing this blog and socializing with car attendants, who were very friendly and helpful. Contrary to a popular myth, I saw no signs of binge drinking on the train. In fact, it is strictly forbidden and apparently the rule is even enforced. Who would have thought such a thing was possible in Russia. Strange days, indeed. One time a jolly old sea-man asked me to join to a vodka session with him and got very disappointed then I declined. I almost felt bad for turning down the offer. Anyways, a lot can be said about the train life, but I will concentrate on two eternal subjects: time and space.

Time runs quite differently on such a long journey. First of all, the official time of Russian Railways is always Hammer Moscow time, no matter if you are in St. Petersburg, Irkutsk or Vladivostok. It is always GMT+3. Moscow Time is almost like the Eye of Sauron – all-seeing and all-powerful. A subtle way to remind citizens who is running the show in the entire country. Eye Of Sauron Time also leads to an interesting phenomenon, when the train clock shows something like 1AM and sun is shining in full force outside. A bit like Lapland’s polar day, only in Siberia. Secondly, I experienced a “train-lag” for the first time. It is similar to a jet-lag, only more subtle. You just do not notice anything unusual, until you realize that the sun sets at 2PM and your sleep pattern is badly screwed. As for ways to pass time, I had no problems – meditation, laptop and books were more then enough. Comparing to a vipassana retreat, such a trip is actually a luxury in terms of entertainment.

As for space, officially each cabin car has got 36 beds, spread over 9 cabins with 4 beds each. Additionally there is an extra cabin next to the personnel cabin with only two beds (number 37 and 38), but these seats are not advertised anywhere. In fact, this cabin is not even marked on some car plans. Go figure. The cabin does not cost anything extra, so if you value your privacy go for it. Another benefit of such a cabin is that it has its own power sockets. I am not sure about the rest of the train, but the majority of people charged their phones in the hall (a protip: bring a cord extension with you). The downside is that this cabin is smaller and has a more claustrophobic feeling in it. Additionally the beds are a tad shorter, although I did not experience any discomfort. You can reserve this cabin on the official site of Russian railways at tickets.rzd.ru, by stating that you prefer seats 37-38. On the other hand, if you want to get a feeling of real Russian travelling and save some money, go for a плацкартный (platskartnyi) car (open plan compartment with no doors or no privacy whatsoever). I ventured into such a car once and the general vibe was a tad too much for me. Maybe one day, but not on such a long journey.

That is quite a wall of text (with the major part written on the train of course). More could be said about Russian Railways, but it would be better to stop here, as I am not even sure anyone made it this far.

The Northern Capital

St. Petersburg is lovely. Think of an European style megapolis offering everything under the sun, but with a touch of Russian exotics. Beautiful architecture, amazing night lights (try walking around Neva during the night), restaurants ranging from ubiquitous sushi joints to Azerbaijanian cuisine, all kinds of shops and boutiques, impressive underground network with each station being a piece of art and gorgeous women. And all this is only 400km away from Helsinki, certainly much closer than Stockholm and with a lot more to offer. It has been a while since my last visit here and it is pleasure to see that things have changed for the better. All sorts of construction and restoration is going on full force and general infrastructure has improved considerably. Shops, restaurants and fast food places have sprung up everywhere. How about a sushi place in the suburbs of the city or a hypermarket opened 24 hours a day? You got both. Customer service, something Russia is not renowned for, is now much better than it used to be. Old-style Soviet confusing as hell stores are becoming a thing of the past and self-service supermarkets have now taken place. For the curious a typical Soviet shop works like this: first you inquire the price of the goods at the counter, then do the summation in your head, pay at the cashier desk and then get back to the counter with a receipt to redeem the goods. And you would most certainly get shouted at and insulted in the process. Oh well. Anyways back to the subject, on a slightly negative side, general price level is now much higher from what I remembered. Given this rate, the price level will match the rest of Europe in a few years. Food is still considerably cheaper than in Finland, plus the selection is much greater in many aspects. Thank goodness, there is no food cartel here and there is a plenty of different stores to choose from. Although Kesko is trying to penetrate the local market with introduction of Prisma and a brand new Stockmann will be opened here in a bit. Finnish cartel versus the infamous Russian corruption machine, let’s see who wins this fight.

All in all, St. Petersburg is an amazing city with a lot to offer and see. It would make a great destination for a week-end trip, especially when you do not need a visa for an one-day boat from Helsinki. Seal of approval, highly recommended and et cetera, et cetera.

PS: An older psychologist dude stroke a conversation with me in a park and without further ado started analyzing my life from a Freudian point of view. All problems are rooted in sexual frustration and all that jazz. I came back with some buddhist gems, which left him confused. Siddharta Gautama – 1, Sigmund Freud – 0. A true story.