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Ulan Ude
Ulan Ude (Улан-Удэ) is the capital of Buryatia, Russia.
Culture and History
The town was founded in 1666, and due to its location on trade routes between Russia, China and Mongolia it developed into a prosperous trading town. Currently the city has a population of around 350,000.
Climate
The months of January to March are the coldest, with temperature reaching as low as -27°C in January. April and May are also cold, but usually it is above freezing. June to August are the most pleasant months with lots of sunshine and temperatures rising to the low 20s. September and October are bracing months, but not yet very cold. November and December again sees a return to freezing temperatures of around -10°C to -20°C.
Travel to Ulan Ude, visa requirements
Flights to Ulan Ude, airtickets
- There are daily flights to/from Moscow on Sibir airlines [1]
By train
- The most famous way to get into Ulan Ude is to use the Trans-Siberian Railway — a four day journey to Moscow.
- Ulan Ude is the first major Russian city past the Mongolian border. It takes around 20 hours by train from Ulaanbaatar.
Buses to Ulan Ude
- Minibuses operate a service to the Mongolian border town of Krakryt. The buses depart once they are full and the three hour journey costs 100R.
- There is a bus service operating to Irkutsk and Chita, but the frequency depends on the season.
- Travel agents sell tickets for the daily bus service to Ulaanbaatar for 800R. This is a much cheaper and faster alternative to the train.
Get around
Ulan Ude attractions and sightseeing
- The merchant's mansions. Historical relics of the town's prosperity as a trading center. The mansions are located along the banks of the Uda River.
- Ethnographic Museum, Verhnaya Beriozovka. Old homesteads and Buryat wooden yurts have been relocated to the site, and along with reconstructed streets representing traditional Buryati homes, this outdoor exhibition consists of seven large complexies.
- The World's Largest Lenin Head, main city square.
- Odigitrievsky Cathedral. Founded in 1714.
City tours
- Buryat Opera and Ballet Theater.
Shopping, Ulan Ude souvenirs
Good restaurants and cheap meals
- Hotel Geser (see 'sleep' section)
Ulan Ude nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs.
Hotels, youth hostels, lodging
Budget
- Hotel Buryatia, Kommunisticheskaya ul., 47a. Tel:+7 3012 31-18-35. Fax: 21-15-05, E-mail: hotel@burnet.ru About a 10-minute walk from the train station, this central hotel is located in a large and some-what run down complex. Rooms from 700R.
- Hotel Odon, Gagarin str., 43 (a 5 minute walk from the railway station). Tel:+7 3012 443-480. The cheapest accommodation in town. Popular with Chinese businessman, rooms and hygiene standards reflect the low price. Single rooms from 400R, doubles from 600R. Cheaper rooms don't have a shower, and there aren't shared facilities on site. Consider getting a better room or hitting up the banya.
- Homestay, 700-900R including breakfast. Tel. +7 9025 648278, myasnikova_nat@rambler.ru
Mid range
- Hotel Geser, Ranjurova ul., 11. Tel: +7 3012 211-178, 215-383. Fax: 216-151 E-mail: Hotel_geser@mail.ru [2] A cozy hotel with English speaking staff.
Splurge
Stay Safe
Stay healthy
- Medical Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, 6 Sakhyanovoi Street. Tel:+7 3012 334-353, email: ofp@bsc.buriatia.ru — a good place to receive treatment for both acute and chronic ailments using traditional Tibetan herbal compounds.
Contact
Internet
- Burnet Inernet Cafe, Borsoeva, 16 (just opposite to the railway station, after the bridge over the railways). Tel:7 3012 212-886 - open twenty-four hours.
- Hotel Geser (see 'sleep' section}
- Central Post office internet cafe, right on the central Sviet square in front of Lenin's head
Get out
- Lake Baikal — the deepest and oldest lake in the world and, by volume of water, also the planet's largest freshwater body of water. It contains 20% of the world's liquid fresh water and is just over one mile deep.
- Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Monastery [3] — 23 km from the city. Buses leave the central bus station 10AM, 12 noon and 5:40PM for the forty minute journey (taking the later bus will mean having to spend the night in at the monastery guesthouse or returning by taxi). Alternatively take a minibus to the last stop and transfer to shared taxis that run the route all day: Just say "Datsan, datsan," when getting on the bus. Expect to pay around 30R each way.
- The next noteworthy stops on the Trans-Siberian Railway are Irkutsk to the west and Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky to the east. There is also a branch line from Ulan-Ude to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
- Sibir airlines [4], 63 Ploshad Sovetov.
- Buryat-Avia Airline Ticket Agency, 20 Erbanova St. Tel:+7 3012 221-122, 221-133 Tickets sold for all major domestic and international airlines.
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