Choosing not to freeze in Lake Baikal

Of all the places we have visited in Russia, the village of Khuzir on Olkhon Island - where we stayed for 3 days - has definitely been the most different from home. Olkhon Island is near the west coast of Lake Baikal in Siberia; The lake is 50 million years old and holds enough fresh water to sustain the entire population of the planet for forty years.

Khuzir is the island's largest settlement, with a collection of wooden houses, sandy tracks for roads and other wooden buildings housing cafes, bars, shops, an art gallery and at least three internet cafes. Cows, dogs and cats wander the streets and although the island only got electricity a couple of years ago, mobile phone reception is excellent. Oddly, the island is also covered in litter. We saw beer bottles, rusty old machinery, broken glass and other rubbish everywhere, in the villages, forests and on the beaches. It's hard to understand why the residents tolerate this, but it does seem to be due to local lack of interest in the environment rather than disrespectful tourists (although no doubt they also play a part).

During our first evening on the island, we decided to join an excursion to a 'traditional' Buryat village. The Buryats were historically nomadic people living near Baikal long before the Russian colonists arrived. They are the largest ethnic minority in Siberia and have their own republic south of the lake. Visiting their village was a bizarre experience, partly as the tour was entirely in Russian, but also because it felt like we were watching people perform a fake version of their lives for tourists to take photos of. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but hopefully it is profitable for the people who live there and that's why they choose to do it.

On day two we went on another excursion, a day trip to the north of the island, where there were stunning views across the lake. The scenery on Olkhon Island is spectacular and varied, from sandy beaches to snow-capped mountains, and the lake is perfectly clear and a brilliant shade of blue. It was also very cold and windy, but despite this a favourite activity among the other backpackers staying on the island was to sit in a banya (sauna) on the beach before plunging into the freezing lake and then running back to the banya. According to the myths, swimming in the lake adds 25 years to your life (if your heart can stand the shock, presumably)... but even so I wasn't convinced!