Right straight to it....
Nothing really happened till i was boarding the plane, during check-in i scanned for fellow Brits or British passports, didn't see any till walking down the gate, so started a conversation.....
His name is Ian, hes a senior examiner, lives in Kiev and has done for ten years. He answered a few questions i had and it turned out he was sitting in the seat opposite me. We had quite a good chat and he offered to sort me out a lift to my hotel, cheap.
The flight went well and i had my first taste of airline food (Ive always flown budget airlines before, so never experienced it) and to be honest I've had worse from take aways. We were late arriving, so customs was slow as a plane of Turks had arrived before us. took around an hour to finally get outside....
This was the first pic i took over there. Welcome to Kiev
Ian's driver drove this beat up estate car, complete with wonky wheel and an oil leak seeping into the air con haha. Anyway, it saved me 220 hryvnia, so Thank you Ian, if you ever see this, i appreciate the help and advice you gave me!
It was around 8.30pm when i got to my hotel (Hotel Rus). I went straight up to my room and unpacked. The hotel was very smart, my room was basic but functional (the soviet way).
I had a wash, got changed and went out for a stroll. Even though it was overcast, it was still 28 degrees out. I went to a nearby bar and had a few drinks. Kiev isn't really tourist friendly, i felt abit out of my depths (Ive travelled a fair bit, but this was the first time solo, in a place with a Cyrillic alphabet).
I ended up ordering room service and getting an early night, ready for my trip to Chernobyl.
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I decided to set my phone alarm and set up an automatic room call, which turned out to be a horrific noise! So i was woken suddenly wondering what the hell was going on.
Got changed and headed towards Hotel Kozatsky, on Independence Square, ready for the 9am pick up. It was pissing it down.
I joined the group, paid and was checked off the list. Onto the bus and a 2 hour drive to the exclusion zone. They played a DVD about the accident, which was very interesting. There were around 12 people in the group, 3 English, 6 Scandinavians and a few Russians.
When we got the to first check point, we had our passports checked. The armed guards made it feel more real. Into the 30km Zone we went....
We went to this small town, for our briefing and a short history lesson of the area.
Here's our guide talking about the radiation spread:
On the way out we saw this memorial to the brave firemen who were first on the sceen, not realizing what the dangers were at the time:
Then onto Chernobyl and Pripyat...
This is the sign for the town of Chernobyl, which is a few miles south of the Reactor. Around 4000 people live in the zone, mainly scientists and military personnel. There are some natives, who didnt move when the reactor blew, many are still as healthy as those out of the zone.
We stopped off shortly at a shop in the town. Apart from the occaisional car, there was no-one but us there.
First radiation signs:
Ground reading of 7.83 roentgens an hour, about a half mile away from reactor number 4. The typical exposure a human gets a year is about 23 microroentgens per hour.
In the red forest, near-by, it reached 500 roentgens an hour! We decided to stay on the bus there.
Mugshot of myself outside of Pripyat:
First glimpse of the town trapped in 1986:
People wearnt evacuated straight away, infact it was a long time till the government said there was a danger, so when they did get the people out, they had to leave most of their belongings behind. They were allowed back to get some things, as long as it wasnt contaminated.
We first visited the secondary school, it was eerie walking around this place, the silence and atmosphere was just unreal. We had to watch out for broken glass, hanging wires and trip hazards. There was very little radiation inside as it had all its windows closed during the exposure. There was still the days work on the chalkboard, kids schoolwork around the desks and various projects 25 years on.
Gas masks, thousands of them, as it was still the cold war era.
Walking around on my own, i kept coming across other people in the group, not a word said, just aknowledgement.
Someones film has survived....i wonder if the people in the pictures survived?
25 year old pickled peppers:
Then onto the gymnasium:
This pool was still in use by the staff of the zone up until 2000.
Now the ''amusement'' park....
It was built for the May celebrations, but never used, as the accident happened in April.
The reading around here was 7.16 roentgens an hour.
A quick visit to the theatre and the town parade, then onto lunch at the military canteen, 1/2 a mile from the reactor.
Getting scanned on the way in:
Borscht soup, chicken in some kind of batter, rice, veg and a salad. Pancakes for dessert.
I was joined on my table by a fellow brit and a guy from Japan (didnt get either of their names), both travelling solo.
Finished lunch and headed to the Number 4 Reactor, the epi-center of the disaster.
Quick stop at the rail bridge to see the giant catfish:
Another mug-shot:
It was so unreal to be there.
That was the end of the tour, i slept most of the way back.
Back in Kiev, had a wander round.
The Olympic stadium:
Then went back to my hotel, for some more room service, a bath and sleep.
View from my hotel:
Up early the next day, pack, wash and get a taxi to the airport. On my way out of the hotel i find out my bank had blocked my card, so no gifts or vodka :( I had just enough for the taxi and a pint at the airport.
What i left:
What i came home to:
The end.
It was an interesting trip to say the least, i learnt alot out there.
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