Ulan Ude, part 2 / Trans-Siberian, part 5

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A nice sunny day of contemplation from one of the novices.
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The temples are quite colorful compared to the dreariness of color in the interior of Russia.
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The monks are Gelugpa Buddhists, a sect that found its way to Buryata in the 18th century from Mongolia. They follow the Dalai Lama.
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Prayer wheels abound, and like everything in Buddhist superstition, must be turned clockwise. This Chinese tourist is happy to oblige.
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The Etigel Khambin Tempel is being built to honor the 12th Khambo Lama whose 70 year old body miraculously hasn't decomposed! They are going to display his cadaver in this building (like Lenin's Tomb)!
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Inside the grounds area, you can find more of the Chinese tchotkes...
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...replete with the fat Buddhas.
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Can you believe this woman is Russian!
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On the way back, we pass this small administation building. Guess who greets the visitors?
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Beside the building lies a small memorial to the Great Patriotic War. The Constructivist style is so powerful in appearance.
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Back in Ulan Ude, it's hard to miss the enormous Lenin head in front of the former Communist Party headquarters.
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According to the Guiness Book of World Records, it is the largest Lenin head in the world. (The world's largest Marx head is in Chemitz, Germany... formerly called Karl-Marx Stadt.)
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Monuments to the Socialist triumph abound, including this baffling mural with Stalin!
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A random WWII memorial with militarist overtones...
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...looks over a pleasant city square.
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The inevitable Lenin street...
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...now contains a "peaceful" dove monument.
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The locals like the non-Communist statues more, it would seem.
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Everyday life, replete with a meandering drunk...
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...and the subsequently broken down bus.
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The next day, I make a trek to the amazing outdoor Ethnographic Museum. It houses a variety of authentic and reconstructed Siberian housing. This is an Old Believers church (a spinoff religion of Russian Orthodox Church).
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This is an example of a Shaman's yurt. It is made of animal skins to protect the inhabitant from the Siberian winters.
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This is a more common yurt that houses an entire family.
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Inside the museum is a primitive fermentation device for brewing alcohol.
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This old building was donated by a wealthy business man. The donor seems like an Asian David Lynch.
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This is an old Cossacks quarters from the time of Russian militarism in Siberia.
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This ornate entrance from 1906 opens the doors to a reconstructed Old Believers community.
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It also opens the door to these somewhat aggressive sheep.
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Inside the homes, you can see how they lived in the 19th century. Notice the baby carraige hanging on the beam, and the icon display case at the corner of the ceiling.
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The more formal dining room.
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After the museum, I head to a posh (and touristy) restaurant in a yurt.
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The whole place feels quite Mongolian.
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Inside the restaurant I find garish colors and opulent surroundings. The local Buryata food is delicious!
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Before I leave, I meet this Russian travel agent Naran. She emigrated to San Francisco (after living in NYC!) but helps her mom's business during the high tourist season of summer. Astonishingly, she was (briefly) on a reality TV show.
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The story is: a group of three dim-witted Americans are dumped in Ulan Bataar, Mongolia without money or knowledge of their whereabouts. The first to make it to the Statue of Liberty in NYC would win some prize. One of the characters somehow made her way to Ulan Ude, Russia and by chance met Naran. Naran scheduled her through the Trans-Siberian to Vladivostok and got her to the States because she "felt sorry for her." With Naran's help, the participant ended up winning the contest.
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On my way to the train station, I hunt around trying to figure out where my man might be. (Everything is always hidden from view in Russia.)
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But finally, I find the man... standing before the music building.
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In the dreary weather, I make my way back to the train station.
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I'm about to board the famous #1/2 Rossiya train, the only train to go all the way from Moscow to Vladivostok (on the Sea of Japan). It is the world's longest train line and takes 7 days direct.
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Airplane trips are still prohibitively expensive for normal Russians, which means trains are the main long-distance transport. People scramble to get on board.