We met Lara and Jacqui, who had been on our train (though quite far from our car) all the way from Moscow – five days on the train. Needless to say, they were ecstatic to be on solid ground and were clamoring to take showers.
Lara – An Aussie returning home after living/working in Israel for three years, had opted to squeeze in a few months of travel before starting school again in Sydney. Toting three passports (Oz, Israel and EU – her mum is British) she was bubbly and full of stories and insight about the state of Israeli affairs and travel in the Middle East.
Jacqui – A spitfire 23 year old from just outside London, had packed up all of her belongings and simply left the UK to travel for six months or until her money ran out. Her plans would take her throughout greater and SE Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand (where she still is right now).
After a round of showers, we turned to Marsha, Baikaler’s hostess-de-jour. She was, in a word, outstanding. She helped us book tickets out to Olkhon Island (a big draw for weary Trans-Siberian travelers) and told us about her plans to visit her Aussie boyfriend in Sydney in a few weeks, provided her Visa came through.
I had no real concept of how difficult it was for Russian citizens to attain Visas to Australia and the US particularly. Marsha had been waiting for months and even though she had already purchased plane tickets, there was guarantee that she would actually be granted a Visa (we learned later, that her Visa came through just days before her flight).
It soon became clear that Lara, Jacqui and Denis has similar travel plans to Conor and I. Over a delicious, albeit expensive, Italian meal we made plans to use our time in Irkutsk and on Olkhon Island as a litmus test of sorts.
If we all got along, we could discuss traveling through Mongolia (where having a group is essential to finding affordable excursions) and China together.
