10. LiVe Like a LocaL

outside irkutsk passengers spend an afternoon with the Shugantsev family at their traditional wooden dacha. after surviving the formidable heat of the family’s banya (sauna), they mingle in verdant gardens before sampling homemade honey and rose vodka over a home-cooked meal of hearty olivier salad with potato, pickles, and eggs; steaming solyanka soup; and pirozhki pastries.