This question I hear very often from international website visitors. The last time it was a Turkish 4WD adventure traveler Ali Eric, who is making his world-around trip Istanbul2Istanbul. A few days ago, while seeping the Russian beer at a local grill house, he said to me:
“You know, before my start, I told friends that I plan to drive alone the Road of Bones through Yakutia to Magadan. And those, whom I shared my plans with, were astonished. Said like, My goodness, it is so cold over there in winter. Why do people live there? In my turn, I also wonder, Why do people live in Yakutia?”
Well. This question always sounds embarrassing. No, it’s not awkward. Read more…
Thanks to my writing about Yakutia for international readers, I have a unique opportunity to communicate with very interesting people. One of them is Rob Lilwall, a travel cyclist of London. Five years ago, he decided to embark on the journey of his life.
Bored of his work as a geography teacher in England, Rob eventually packed his panniers and took his bike for an adventure. He flew as far from England as possible. To Magadan. That was where he and his old school friend, Al Humphreys, hit the Road of Bones. It was the end of September and the beginning of a Siberian winter. At that point everything seemed perfect.
A month after he wrote Read more…
Received a message from the U.S.:
I think your website is a great service to travellers who are interested in visiting Yakutia! I have been to Yakutsk before and love the nature. After looking though the internet and your site I still have two questions that I couldn’t find answered. Both of them have to do with what kind of roads or passenger services exist.
What can I say? Thanks a lot for giving me a positive feedback. Appreciate it. So good to hear it from time to time. Think, maybe, it will be good to quote such feedbacks in the seperate page category :)
Read more…
Received a request from a traveller of Croatia: “I am interesting about the road condition in the winter. I mean main road from Yakutsk to Moscow and Vladivostok. Are there any traffic? How about supply, trucks…? Is it possible to go from Moscow to Yakutsk by regular car or 4×4?” Read more…
It happened for the forth time. Since 2006 on the Day of Epiphany the Orthodox Church in cooperation with the Russian Emergency Service arranges the swimming in a ice-hole on the Lena River. This year was not exclusion and what is more this time it was the most ever visited event. People, who wished to clear from sins by dipping three times in blessed waters, should stand in long line. Outside temperature was -26C – 32C, but river water was warm, about +6C.
See the photographs taken at 9.00 pm on Jan. 19, 2009. Read more…
“Yakutsk, Cherrapunji, Hammerfest, La Paz… these are the cities that top the charts. They struggle doggedly against the toughest environmental conditions on our planet to provide their populations with an acceptable level of existence. These cities persist and continue flourishing in places where normally only traditional villages would be expected to survive…”
That’s how the description of France-based Zadig Production’s documentary film “Extreme Cities” starts. It was the ZP crew I did assist a little in terms of information and contacts prior to its visit in Yakutsk a year ago. In my turn, I am proud to share the promo video of “Extreme Cities: Episode One YAKUTSK” with a film’s annotation. Read more…
Another portion of questions regarding Oymyakon, the Pole of Cold, I received from a Hungarian journalist, who was also wondering how people could live in such extreme weather conditions. Read more…
Accepted a lot of questions from Marie, of windy Chicago. Three dozens, maybe. All of them about Yakutsk and its dwellers’ way of life in the winter. I had two attempts to answer and, sorry, made Marie waiting for the reply a few days, because I was sick and busy later. Read more…
It’s now, actually. If to be more accurate, the best period for such visits is from the midth of December till the end of January. It is the very time to feel -50°C and less even in Yakutsk. Check out the table and my recent photographs. Read more…
We, I and other Yakutians, are often asked about Oymyakon. The last time we forwarded received questions to a local resident. His name is Nikolay N. Krivoshapkin, 50-year-old driver, who was born, grew up and live the whole life in Oymyakon. Nikolay tried to describe what life in the coldest place on Earth looks like. He says: Read more…
