Traveling across Olkhon Island from Khuzhir to Khoboi
Thursday August 20th - on the bus to Khoboi
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The early morning forced march from our camp site to
the bus departure point in town with all of our equipment
on our backs was a struggle, but we made it, and settled
in for another tightly packed journey in a bus that was
a couple of sizes too small.
We had complained a bit about the high bus fare for what we thought was going to be a basic commuter journey to the next village. It turned out to be a day long epic tour of the Eastern side of the island, with stops at what must have covered every tourist spot on the Eastern half of the island. So much so that I felt a little guilty at our having complained and bartered the price down so much... This picture was taken at 10:28, when we were starting to realise the the trip would last longer than expected. |
First stop - the old pier
| Our first stop was at a scenic beach which featured a very famous old pier. The only way that I know it is famous is that I have seen it featuring on so many maps and postcards of the island. I have no idea why it is famous, or what it is called. |
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| Whatever it was famous for, it provided a pleasant place to stop, and a convenient photo opportunity. |
| Gu Shung, Yung Sheng and Lena on the Pier. |
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back on the road
| Lena's penchant for interesting buildings did not stop with haunted mansions. She snapped this picture of an isolated and apparently empty log cabin en route, and we toyed briefly with the idea of making our way back to it till it became clear exactly how much further on our destination would be. |
| There was no shortage of panoramic views through the windows of our bus as we followed our meandering route along the coast. |
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| Lena seems to have snapped the same panorama with the Panasonic, which turned out to be very useful in working out where here pictures fitted in with respect to mine. |
next stop - a rocky prominentory
| Our next stop was a striking prominentory which provided some spectacular views back along the coastline we had just followed. |
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| The contents of our bus spilled out and milled around the area. |
| While the more adventurous (ie Lena) promptly disappeared over the edge. |
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| I found an alternate way down, and took this picture looking back the way I had come. |
| And of Lena over on the rock face to my left. |
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| A picture of the coastline from Lena's vantage point |
| and out over the lake. |
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| A view of the more immediate coast line, giving a better idea of the steepness of the terrain we were climbing over. |
| And a view of almost the same location taken from my perspective further out and lower than Lena. |
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