A Cold Ride to Barsugan Café & Hotel

Today’s weather in the morning told me there was no hope in visiting the winding road up the mountains to the ski resort in Belokurikha with a scenic view. It was overcast with fog barely letting the sunrays through and partially tingly on rain.

I could have still done the circuit since it was only 20km the whole way and the scenic winding road was at most 10km from the hostel, but the weather was so gloomy that I would probably see nothing going up that circuit and have to brave poor visibility through treacherous bends. I decided it was not worth the trip and packed up for the day’s journey instead.

Overcast Weather in Belokurikha 

Fog rolled in on the way to Altai

I tried to start late but it was evident that the whole days weather was not going to change. Temperature was also freezing at 4 degrees and was not going to change much throughout the day base on google weather forecast. I was not taking any chances and fully gear up for the cold ride. Three layers of pants and six layers of cloths fully decked out.

The ride was still freezing especially the hands even with rubber gloves + jean gloves + hand warmers + rain shield cover. Visibility also drops at one point where the road decided to be crappy muddy trucker roadworks, but I had time on my side so a very slow going bike ride through nearly 10km of rough and cold road was no issue.

Altai is truly a beauty in nature I must say and I could tell that in summer this place would be perfect for camping everywhere just enjoying the nature. Log cabins were also almost everywhere hidden tucked away in scenic spots but also looked very expensive. I reached my destination for the day at Barsugan Cafe & Hotel sometime late afternoon.

Altai Region - Russia

Altai Region - Russia

Barsugan Cafe & Hotel was really just by the side of the road not anywhere near settlements and also not perched on any scenic path, but it was a clean hotel and a good cafe that even Andrey recommended.

I waited to check-in to the hotel not knowing how much it would cost me. Base on the online review this would be one of my more expensive stopovers costing me at least 3500 rubbles. Then again, all the nights in Russia I had somehow manage to get a cheaper price, so I had to try at least.

The administrator was away and I had to wait from 5pm all the way to 7pm where the junior administrator came in and quoted me a whooping 4800 rubble. I think she tried to give me the most expensive room. Unfriendly with a scowl on her face constantly. I asked if there was a cheaper room and was told to wait.

That wait was a long wait till 9pm. I was practically sitting on the floor and had waited for four hours at the hotel, and it had already become dark. If this was her scheme to force me to stay here, I would say it was working for it looked like I had no choice but to fork out whatever sum they name since finding another place at night in the cold was close to suicide.

I was rewarded for the wait at least. The senior administrator finally turned up and brought me to the underground room which only cost 1000 rubbles for a bed with shared bathroom. There was two beds but I knew that I would be alone since this was in the middle of nowhere and solo travellers are a rare breed.

Travelled on: Sep 2024