Wandering Fractal

Sunset over the Baikal. View from Listvyanka. My first stop on my trans-siberian journey was around the lake Baikal. I first went to Ulan-Ude and hiked the east shore of the lake. Then I went to Irkutsk and hiked the west side of the lake. The Baikal is impressive. It's so huge that when you look at the longest side you can't see the end. My first impression when seeing it, was that it looked like an ocean. It's a beautiful place with nice hikes. The east side is more flat and sandy whereas the west side is more steep and has a Mediterranean vibe. If you are there don't miss the Omul. It's a fish found only in the Baikal and it's delicious. You can eat it smoked, baked or fried, but my favorite dish was the Omul Sugudai. Raw fish with onions and lemon (it's similar to ceviche). The water of the Baikal is so pure you can drink it without filtering. Snowy mountains on the east side of the lake. Autumn colors were starting to pai...

Danau Kaco, a cristal clear spring in the middle of the jungle with blue color given by the minerals at the bottom. The Kerinci valley is a hidden gem of Sumatra. Hard to access, only three roads to go in or out and one small airport that has just recently started to do daily flights to Jambi (Apparently it's still expensive for an Indonesian local flight ~850'000 IDR). If you want to experience preserved jungle with loads of wild animals and traditional villages then the biggest national park of Sumatra is for you. The center of the valley is home to a multitude of villages. The biggest of them and the place you will probably arrive first is Sungai Penuh. From there you can go trek into the jungle. The best way is to contact Luke Mackin a guide that can arrange different tours with him or local guides. Check his website, its the best source of information about Kerinci:  WildSumatra.com . The first day, I did a night safari. We went with a car in the jungle duri...

Wreck of the S.S. Maheno Fraser island or K'Gari for the locals is the biggest sand island in the world. It's not a barren pile of sand as the name might suggest. It's actually covered by a rainforest with many lakes and rivers. It's an exceptional ecosystem. The main attraction is it's population of dingoes. Those native wild dogs can be spotted wandering on the island. The guides and rangers of the island made a good job of explaining the correct behavior to have in front of those animals: no feeding and stay away. In the past there was a few cases of tourists doing stupid thing and getting bitten as a result. There even was  a child who was killed by dingoes. I did a 3 days/ 2 nights tour on the island organised by the Palace Hostels & Adventures in Hervey Bay. It includes the camping, food, transport in jeeps and nights in their hostel before and after the tour. There are other tours by other companies but they are mostly similar. We spent most of...