slothis · English

Listvyanka: Lake Baikal and Smoked Omul

2016-05-15 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

After an hour and a half of self-inflicted suffering, we finally arrived at the hotel. To get a proper look at Lake Baikal, which had been splashing alongside us the whole way, we threw down our bags and immediately took a taxi to Listvyanka. This means our hotel is geographically located outside of Listvyanka. We asked the hotel to call a cab, but the car that showed up didn't have a "TAXI" sign or a meter anywhere. I thought it was an Uber. Driving 100 km/h on a two-lane road, the driver silenced our chatter, slammed on the brakes for pedestrians, and navigated through a windshield cracked like a spiderweb. We arrived in Listvyanka in just three minutes. After suffering so much to get there earlier, realizing it was only a three-minute drive made me wonder what on earth I was doing.

A blue truck passing by, seen through a cracked car windshield.

Listvyanka is a very small lake town. You can see from one end to the other, and there's only one large market. There are food stalls selling things to eat like shashlik and plov and small travel shops offering various activities called excursions here. Since it's the Russian Victory Day holiday weekend, there are quite a few vacationers, especially young children. The whole narrow town feels like a playground, and the sight and sound of kids playing and laughing everywhere makes me just as happy as seeing Lake Baikal. Not that it made me any less hungry, though.

Because I walked so hard to reach the hotel, my stamina was completely depleted, and my stomach walls were practically kissing. Lake Baikal or not, I needed to stuff my face with dinner first, so I headed straight to the market. I don't know who coined the phrase "even a beautiful sight is best enjoyed on a full stomach," but it perfectly described my current situation. The fact that the smell of grilling shashlik (meat skewers) appealed to me more than the stunning Lake Baikal right in front of me probably means I'm more of a well-fed pig than a hungry human.

People browsing an outdoor market with wooden stalls lined up against a mountain backdrop.

Dinner consisted of pork shashlik, chicken shashlik, plov which they just call rice, and a quick bottle of beer each. I snapped one photo, and whether I chewed the food or just swallowed it whole, by the time my soul returned to my body, the food was already gone. I swear I didn't even eat it... But magically, I could finally see Lake Baikal.

Meat skewers and chicken wing skewers grilling side by side on a grill.
A man in black clothes grilling meat skewers over a charcoal grill.
Scooping fried rice with meat and carrots from a large cauldron using a spatula.
Grilled chicken wings, fried rice, a meat dish garnished with onions, and a beer bottle on a table.
Grilled meat topped with onions, red sauce, and fried rice served on a disposable plate.
Chicken shashlik is the second most delicious, right after the odorless lamb shashlik.
Fried rice mixed with meat and carrots served on a plastic plate.
Plov. It's a fried rice dish made with loose, flying grains, often called Southeast Asian rice.

I was about to head back after seeing Baikal, but I kept feeling like something was missing. They say a person needs three meals a day, and I guess it's because I only had two today. I usually only eat two meals, but on trips like this, I suddenly demand all three. My travel budget was running low, so I really should have stopped at dinner, but my clueless stomach kept throwing a tantrum for more food. So, I bought two omul (local Baikal fish), lamb shashlik, a pear that tasted like an apple it might have just been an apple, and more beer from the market. I had a "second dinner" back at the hotel and promptly passed out.

It was my first day at Lake Baikal, yet I didn't really look at the lake at all and just spent the day exploring the local food.

A boat passing over a lake with sunlight shining through the clouds.
Two people standing on a wooden deck extending toward the sea, with sunlight shining through the clouds.
The background is excessively beautiful for just going over to startle a kid.
People strolling along a pebbled lake beach with mountains and buildings in the background.
Listvyanka
People sitting on a dock by a lake where a small boat is cutting through the water.
Various types of fruits, nuts, and desserts displayed on a stall.
I bought a fruit that looks like a pear but tastes like an apple.
Meat skewers grilling in a fire pit decorated with a brick pattern.
I recommend avoiding the lamb in Listvyanka if possible. The gamey smell is seriously no joke.
Golden brown grilled fish wrapped in clear plastic and white paper.
Smoked omul
The cross-section of the meat of a grilled fish placed on paper.
It has a strong salty taste, but I found it delicious. Since it's a whole fish, I recommend that people with weak stomachs have someone else debone it first. True to being a whole fish, it has a fishy smell, so it's definitely a love-it-or-hate-it food. The most delicious way to eat it is the barbaric method of tearing the flesh off with your bare hands. Omul is only tasty if you get a medium size or larger. Small ones are 70 RUB, medium 80 RUB, and large 100 RUB.

Expenses (Per person; multiply taxi and meals by 2 for the total cost)

Total 1,525 RUB + $26.16

Total Trip Expenses 525,936 KRW + 2,505 RUB + $26.16


#omul #fish omul