Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure

by Monisha Rajesh

Circum-Baikal Railway, a fabulous old steam locomotive. After the first shower in five days, we had a breakfast of dumplings at the cafe over the road, then set off on foot past rows of shuttered wooden houses to take the local train to Slyudyanka from where the Circum-Baikal train departed. Passing through thirty-nine tunnels and crossing around 200 bridges, the train travelled around the oldest section of the Trans-Siberian railroad. However, we had passed no more than four tunnels and nine bridges before it broke down, conveniently overlooking a bay where we could skid down to the pebble beach and paddle in the icy water. Formed in the middle of a giant crack in the earth’s crust – the Baikal rift – Lake Baikal is dubbed the ‘Galápagos of Russia’ by UNESCO, owing to the unique species of flora and fauna, most of which are endemic to the area. Scientists had predicted that one day the entire continent of Eurasia would split into two along the lake, and I hoped it wasn’t today.