Things to do in Ulan Ude
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Historical Museum
The Historical Museum charges per single-room floor. The best is Buddiyskoe Iskustvo (3rd floor), displaying thangka, Buddhas and icons salvaged from Buryatiya's monasteries before their Soviet destruction. Note-sheets in English fail to explain the fascinating, gaudy papier-mâché models of Khvashan's eight unruly sons urinating at one another.
Note the Gungarba shrine table (every Buryat home once had one), the Atsagat medical charts (Tibetan medicine was apparently standard here until the 1940s) and the walnut necklace on grey, clown-faced Sagan Obugen (walnuts were exotic in Buryatiya). The less-interesting 2nd floor traces Buryat history in maps, documents and artef…
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Ethnographic Museum
In a forest clearing 6km from central Ulan-Ude is the worthwhile Ethnographic Museum, an outdoor collection of local architecture plus some reconstructed burial mounds and the odd stone totem. Although lacking the pretty lakeside setting of equivalents in Bratsk and Irkutsk, it features occasional craft demonstrations, has a splendid wooden church and sports a whole strip of Old Believers’ homesteads. Marshrutka 8 from pl Sovetov passes within 1km and upon request will detour to drop you at the door for no extra charge.
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Datsans
En route to the Ethnographic Museum, you'll notice Ulan-Ude's attractive new pair of datsans backed by stupas and trees that flutter with prayer flags; there are services from 09:00 to 11:00 most mornings. The nearby hippodrome is the venue for major Buryat festivals, including the Buryatiya Folk Festival, which features horse riding, wrestling and other folky delights.
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Lenin Head
At one end of ul Lenina the main square, pl Sovetov, is awesomely dominated by the world's largest Lenin head, which looks less domineering than comically cross-eyed.
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Baatarai Urgöö
Two carved Mongol warriors guard this unusual collection of restaurant yurts near the Ethnographic Museum. The central dining hall is how you’d imagine Chinggis Khaan’s spaceship, powered by a central dragon-stove. The menu includes many Buryat specialities: liver and onions, battered omul, shangi (scone-bread) and khuushuur (meat turnovers) washed down with astringent arsa (a warm, sour milk concoction). Take marshrutka 8 from pl Sovetov to the Yurt stop.
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Chingiskhan
A huge carved portrait of Chinggis himself offers a stern welcome to this upmarket restaurant crafted in the shape of a traditional circular yurt. The steppe bon vivant and conqueror of half the world would no doubt approve of the eclectic Eurasian menu of expertly fused Russian, Buryat and Chinese dishes and the finely tuned feng shui. The restaurant is situated in the Sun Tower, south of the river Uda. Take any tram heading south from the market and alight at the Sayany stop.
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Marusya
A coy 19th-century makeover with polished samovars, matryoshka dolls and waitresses trussed up in pseudo folk costume has brought the Ulger Theatre restaurant back from the dead. Enjoy inexpensive Russian meals at tightly packed tables to the sound of dreamy 1970s Russian chansons on CD, or flee the chintz for the pleasantly sunny terrace.
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Mir Igry
This casino complex has three great bar-restaurants (meals R100 to R400), each with its own theme and atmosphere. It’s popular with young professionals and a great place to strike up conversations over a shot of vodka or 10. The large beer and shashlyk terrace is the place to eat on sultry summer evenings.
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Buryatiya Literary Museum
In an attractive 1847 wooden house, the Buryatiya Literary Museum contains old photos and manuscripts. A rare 108-volume Atsagat Ganzhur (Buddhist chant book) is inscribed in multicoloured Tibetan script on special black lacquer made from blood, sugar and pounded sheep’s vertebrae.
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Kofeynya Shokolad
Remarkably suave for the surroundings, this minicafé makes the best macchiato in town and serves 11 types of latte. It’s built into the front terrace of the Buryat National Theatre building and uniquely enjoys simultaneous views of Ulan-Ude’s two finest churches.
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Stolitsa
This elegant upstairs restaurant has red, black and gold décor, modernist Buddhist-influenced art and old photos of Ulan-Ude. There's a menu in English and a vastly cheaper zakusochnaya (café) around the side. Handy for the train station.
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Opera House
A certain 19th-century opulence is still visible in the attractive commercial buildings on and around ul Lenina. Viewed from near the splendid Opera House, this street is given a photogenic focus by the gold-tipped spires of the 1785 Odigitria Cathedral.
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Samovar
Friendly, costumed staff add to the old-Russia atmosphere of this cute basement restaurant with wooden ceiling beams, spinning wheels and garlands of medicinal herbs. The menu is firmly traditional Russian, heavy with pelmeni and bliny.
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Petr Ishkin
Witty, widely travelled schoolteacher Petr Ishkin speaks great English and enjoys voluntarily helping foreign visitors find their feet during his free time. Two more email addresses for him are petr_great@hotmail.com and petroishkin@yahoo.com.
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Odigitria Cathedral
The gold-tipped spires of the 1785 Odigitria Cathedral were rescued from near collapse in the late 1990s. It commands an appealing area of the old town, with carved wooden cottages extending as far as ul Kirova.
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King’s Food
So-so food, striking pillar-box red and jet-black decor and crass Russian MTV; on hot days use the cutlery to slice a hole in the air to breathe through. On the plus side it’s cheap, clean and conveniently central.
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Hippodrome
The hippodromeis the venue for major festivals including the Surkharban in early June, the biggest Buryat sporting event of the year featuring archery, wrestling and exhilarating feats of horsemanship.
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Trading Arcades
Located beside a recently rebuilt 1830 chapel, the renovated 1838 trading arcades are now filled with modern shops. Ul Lenina's pedestrianised section, extending two blocks north, is a popular early-evening hang-out.
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Zolotoy Drakon
Redecorated in contemporary scarlet-and-white chinoiserie, Ulan-Ude's best predominantly Chinese restaurant usefully offers choices of portion sizes plus several European options. One room has an open fire in winter.
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Serp i Molod
A tongue-in-cheek Soviet theme, a menu in English and live music most nights make this a fun place to eat. The atmosphere improves the later it gets. Hidden just off pl Sovetov; follow the hammer and sickle signs.
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Gobi
For Buryat and Baikal souvenirs such as oriental costumed dolls, shaman drums, colourful felt hats and lovable nerpa-seal soft toys, head for theGobi, the yurt in front of the Hotel Buryatiya.
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Baikal Naran Tour Souvenir Kiosk
For Buryat and Baikal souvenirs such as oriental costumed dolls, shaman drums, colourful felt hats and lovable nerpa-seal soft toys, head for the Baikal Naran Tour souvenir kiosk
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MorinTur
Focuses on east Baikal, offering various ice and fishing adventures, a horse-sledge trip, seal watching, rafting in the Barguzin Valley and climbing on Svyatoy Nos (Holy Nose) Peninsula.
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Happyland
This everything-with-chips canteen in the cinema foyer is the cheapest source of empty calories in the city centre. Popular bar with Baltika and Carlsberg on tap.
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Baikal Naran Tour
Director Sesegma (aka Svetlana) is infectiously passionate about Buryatiya, offers horse-riding adventures and has dozens of fascinating one-off ideas.
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