By Belinda LeBrocq, a little bit about our visit to Arshan in August 1999:

Jack collected us from the apartment he had arranged for us to stay in around 10 o'clock in the morning. We took off for an interesting drive down to Arshan! It was a beautiful sunny day with blue skies and crisp cold air, and we headed south west on our drive to Lake Baikal, the largest fresh water lake in the world. The drive took us out of Irkutsk and into the wooded areas of the surrounding countryside, lots of deep green fir, pine and silver birch trees and rolling hills.

We caught our first glimpse of the Lake as we came round the top of a hill, an enormous shimmering blue expanse, which looked more like an ocean than a lake. At 400 miles in length and 20 - 40 miles across, it is impossible to see from one side to the other. On the road down to the lakeside, we pulled into a lay-by where locals were selling specialities of the area - salted fish, smoked fish, (still warm from the smokers), plus raw fish, .... dumplings and cold drinks. We had a make-shift picnic by the side of the lake and enjoyed the sunshine and the peace and quiet, with the delicious foodIt was a long drive on to Arshan, a very beautiful drive through open farm land, log cabin villages, surrounded by high mountain ridges and snow-capped ranges.

We arrived in the village around 4pm and managed to find a homestay for the night in a very spacious house. Arshan is a health centre with mineral water streams flowing through it and is a popular place for people to come at weekends to unwind and relax. We went for a walk up the river valley, with steep rocky sides and the odd tricky crossing of the river via a couple of logs! The water tasted of eggs and sulphur but, Jack assured us, was very good for us. When we got back to the house we decided to head off to some nearby hot springs for a soak, so drove up the road with a beautiful sunset developing behind us.

The water was indeed piping hot and we had a quick dip in a mud pool, but the mosquitoes were viscous and they seemed to be everywhere, so we quickly jumped under a communal hot shower, supplied directly from the hot springs, and then dived back into the car to head home for a good night's sleep. We went for a walk in the nearby woods and found a Buddhist Temple and prayer wheels, which we all turned in the hope that Yuri's driving would get us back to Irkutsk! We did all arrive safely in time for a beer and a quick snack before catching the evening train to Ulan Bator in Mongolia.

It was a brilliant trip with truly breath taking scenery and Arshan is a very peaceful and relaxing place.