Yakutsk, August 28, 2004

So far my experiences in Russia are mainly positive ones. Though I got quite frustrated due to the inavailability of the reliable information.
the boat from Ust-Kut to Yakutsk down the Lena River departs twice a month -- and for 10 days I was trying unsuccessfully to find out the departure date. With some difficulties I have found the telephone of the shipping company (what a luck!) -- and .. nobody answers the calls!

But the perseverance eventually produced the results -- and I am scribbling these lines on board of the steamship KRASNOYARSK plying the 1988 km in about 4-5 days.

I crossed the border from Mongolia on Aug.8 and my Russian itinerary was:
\Kyakhta - Novoselenginsk - Ulan Ude - Irkutsk - /slyudyanka - very picturesque rialroad ride - Listvyanka - by hydrofoil along the lake Baiklal - Severobaikalsk - by Baikal-Amur Mainline railroad - Ust Kut - by boat down the Lena River.
It is the end of the second day, the weather is beautifukl, the landscapes are superb, the life on board is relaxed -- and I have pklenty of time to write about it.
But I will reach the internet terminal in several days only and will transmit this to you.
Aug 21, 2004

Today or tomorrow I will depart on at leqast 24 hours terrible bus journey to the railhead at Neryungri -- still in Yakutia.
Yakutsk, Aug.28