Swiss President at Lake Baikal

To organize a trip to Baikal for foreign partners, to visit non-tourist places and try the local cuisine.

Our old friend Temur called us and asked us to organize a trip to Baikal for European partners. It was known that there were four people in the group and they were going to come for five days in mid-July. Temur gave us a hand-drawn map and said, “You can not change the route.”

It was planned that the group would fly to Irkutsk, visit the Listvyanka Village, cross Baikal on a yacht from west to east, and through Ulan-Ude City leave to Mongolia. For 20 days it was necessary to choose accommodation and transport, to agree with the guest’s menu, to deliver wine from France and to think about entertainment. As we hadn’t organized such route before, it was necessary to visit each place ourselves.

In order to maintain confidentiality, we do not name the names of guests and do not show their faces.

The framework on which we build our tours — accommodation, transport and cuisine. We started with transport. The route was the following:

Irkutsk City — ethnographic museum Taltsy — Listvyanka Village — Baikalsk City — Mount Mamai — Enkhaluk Village — Ulan-Ude City — Ivolginsky Datsan — Kyakhta City — Ulaanbaatar City.

We took two cars Toyota Land Cruiser for driving on the roads. If on the territory of the Irkutsk region and Buryatia there are good asphalted roads, then in Mongolia there are only pits and sand. We can not get to the Mountain Mamai by jeeps — there are steep climbs, many stones, deep track and fords. We prepared two SUVs Nissan Safari with reinforced suspension, mud tires and snorkels. To cross the Baikal quickly we used the high-speed yacht Prestige 46 and we used an airboat to climb on the river to Sable Lakes.

The rooms were booked in three hotels: Sayen in Irkutsk, Beliy Sobol, in Baikalsk and Terem Club in the Village of Enkhaluk. In case of bad weather, we rented a cottage on Mamai Mountain. On the territory of Mongolia, the group placed with relatives.

Due to the lack of good restaurants along the route and the desire of guests to try Siberian cuisine, we had developed an individual menu. We took the chefs and planned logistics delivery of products.

It rained the last three days. We decided that we can no longer postpone the trip to Sable Lakes. In the morning we moved up the river by airboat.

After 5 km the engine snorted uncharacteristically. The driver of the airboat — Alexey, muttered something. As in airboat the engine is open, it sucked up the moisture from the rain and began to lose power. We had to dock at the shore.

While Alexey tried to dry the engine, we walked along the river, looking at fresh bear tracks and thought about an alternative option for guests in case of rain. Half an hour later the engine started, and we were glad that we would not have to return on foot.

During the passage of the next threshold with boulders and fallen trees, the engine stalled. Then we thought that it would be safer to walk 5 km than to break your head against stones and drown in a cold river. Alexey turned the ignition key and pressed the gas as hard as he could, the engine started and it was enough to go down the river to the place where we started.

We returned to the city and found another airboat that can go in the rain. The same evening, the courier delivered to the office two boxes of Corton Grand Cru wine Le Corton of 2011.

The fog cleared, the guests boarded the yacht and went to the City of Baikalsk. Along the way, they inspected the tunnels of the Circum-Baikal Railway. Together with drivers of SUVs we went to Baikalsk on asphalt road.

Four hours later, we met the guests at the pier in Baikalsk, unloaded things and products. Buryat ethnic group was waiting for us in the Park-Hotel Beliy Sobol. The next day we would be on Buryat land, so Temur decided to make a ritual with the guests for good weather. Guests danced traditional Yohor dance and got wicker baskets with taiga tea, dried cranberries and cedar nuts.

While the guests were accommodating in the rooms, the chef lit a Finnish candle and cut meat for special pilaf. The waiters brought light snacks and an assortment of five kinds of homemade samogon. Despite the fact that pilaf had to be cooked in the pouring rain and sparkling lightning, the guests did not leave. They were delighted with the weather.