The train from Beijing to Irkutsk left late at night so I was already almost at the Russian border (Siberia) before I could take pictures. There really isn’t to much to take pictures of in Siberia anyway until you get closer to the rivers that feed into Lake Baikal. It’s easy to see why this place became a place to send dissidents. The train runs along the shoreline of Lake Baikal before getting to Irkutsk and I realised pretty soon that it was an amazing bit of foresight to have brought warm clothes, as you will see.

As the train moved west, the landscape appears more eye friendly as the rivers that feed into Lake Baikal appear, Birch trees are the most common tree species in Russia. It was about here when I first noticed bits of white stuff on the ground and my toes curled up.

A typical Russian village with the Siberian Mountains in the background. Brrrrrrrrr.

The first view of the biggest lake (or ice cube) by volume in the world.

The spring melt beginning.

The snow capped Siberian Mountains approaching Irkutsk.