We headed from our overnight stop towards Krasnoyarsk. The car was pretty bad and we just had to grin and bear the noise.
Alex and I needed cash so we went into Krasnoyarsk. A really user-friendly place.
Now I realise that my colleagues and my family are probably reading this so all I can say at this point is that Russia is full of beautiful women. Krasnoyarsk is the dead centre of Russia and they are in abundance here.
When we had managed to pick our jaws up from the floor, we tried to get out. It was rush hour by this time.
We pulled up next to a Toyota and and asked "Irkutsk?' (Another 1500 km to the East). The woman in the car laughed. Then I think pity took over. They lead us to the motorway - it must have been and hour and a half. We were very grateful. They warned us about the road east of Kansk - this was the second warning about this on the same day. We were advised not to attempt the road at night.
As we headed east, we started to notice large covoys of cars heading the other way. All were taped and protected against damage. At first we thought they were being test driven - we were later to find out that they had driven from Vladivostock and were all 2nd hand Japanese imports.
We tried to find either a place to sleep or a hotel - no luck and we had got to Kansk.
We decided that there was only one thing for it - to press on.
We should have heeded the warning. The road was a nightmare. The first 27 kilometers took about 2 hours. It was scene resembling no-mans land in Ypres. Amazing.
Then the road got better, then worse etc etc.
I slept while Alex made steady progress, at dawn I took over. By this time the brakes were starting to be a real concern - we had been using a combination of hills, handbrake and gears to stop us up to now, but this was not reliable any more.
We carried on and racked up 1300 kilometers before stopping at a garage outside Irkutsk.
We looked at the brake assembly expecting carnage - it was nothing of the sort - we had lost a brake pad.
After a fruitless search for the real parts, the mechanic decided to modify a brake which closely resembled ours.
When he came back from the workshop - it popped into place like it was made for the car. Rejoice!!!!! No more grinding noises.
We were charged 300 roubles but paid 500.
We drove on through Irkutsk and stopped on a hullside to the South. The place looked like a hunting lodge but had spectacular views over Irkutsk. After eating, we pressed on for Lake Baikal.
We carried on over the hills until we finally saw Lake Baikal. It was getting dark and we had to drive to the Southern shore to look for a place to camp. We drove down a series of unlit tracks which ended in wierd places with the locals eating picnics in the pitch dark drinking Vodka. We even came across a wharehouse party in the iddle of nowhere.
After driving around looking for a place to camp (and meeting some weird and wonderful people) we slept in the open on a shingle beach next to the lake.
I went out like a light.
Alex and I needed cash so we went into Krasnoyarsk. A really user-friendly place.
Now I realise that my colleagues and my family are probably reading this so all I can say at this point is that Russia is full of beautiful women. Krasnoyarsk is the dead centre of Russia and they are in abundance here.
When we had managed to pick our jaws up from the floor, we tried to get out. It was rush hour by this time.
We pulled up next to a Toyota and and asked "Irkutsk?' (Another 1500 km to the East). The woman in the car laughed. Then I think pity took over. They lead us to the motorway - it must have been and hour and a half. We were very grateful. They warned us about the road east of Kansk - this was the second warning about this on the same day. We were advised not to attempt the road at night.
As we headed east, we started to notice large covoys of cars heading the other way. All were taped and protected against damage. At first we thought they were being test driven - we were later to find out that they had driven from Vladivostock and were all 2nd hand Japanese imports.
We tried to find either a place to sleep or a hotel - no luck and we had got to Kansk.
We decided that there was only one thing for it - to press on.
We should have heeded the warning. The road was a nightmare. The first 27 kilometers took about 2 hours. It was scene resembling no-mans land in Ypres. Amazing.
Then the road got better, then worse etc etc.
I slept while Alex made steady progress, at dawn I took over. By this time the brakes were starting to be a real concern - we had been using a combination of hills, handbrake and gears to stop us up to now, but this was not reliable any more.
We carried on and racked up 1300 kilometers before stopping at a garage outside Irkutsk.
We looked at the brake assembly expecting carnage - it was nothing of the sort - we had lost a brake pad.
After a fruitless search for the real parts, the mechanic decided to modify a brake which closely resembled ours.
When he came back from the workshop - it popped into place like it was made for the car. Rejoice!!!!! No more grinding noises.
We were charged 300 roubles but paid 500.
We drove on through Irkutsk and stopped on a hullside to the South. The place looked like a hunting lodge but had spectacular views over Irkutsk. After eating, we pressed on for Lake Baikal.
We carried on over the hills until we finally saw Lake Baikal. It was getting dark and we had to drive to the Southern shore to look for a place to camp. We drove down a series of unlit tracks which ended in wierd places with the locals eating picnics in the pitch dark drinking Vodka. We even came across a wharehouse party in the iddle of nowhere.
After driving around looking for a place to camp (and meeting some weird and wonderful people) we slept in the open on a shingle beach next to the lake.
I went out like a light.
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