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  Chornobyl, Ukraine
Friday, October 12, 2007

Isn't it funny, how we only ever seem to remember the last disaster. For Seppoes, it's generally the last hurricane down south. For the rest of the world, it's the Asian tsunami. Me, I think further back, but there was one that effected practically the whole of the Northern hemisphere, thank god I come from the Southern !!!. On the 26th of April, 1986, one of the reactors in Chornobyl let go. The USSR at the time hid the fact. If it wasn't for Sweden notifying the world, who knows ???
 
Seeing that we are in Kyiv, it would be rude not to do a tour to Chornobyl. Trust me, it's not cheap, but then again, the Uncle always goes to places out of the ordinary !!!
 
We met at 09:00, and were loaded onto a bus and driven to the 30 Klm exclusion zone. Our passports were checked and then we were let in. Along the way, there were abandoned houses and factories. Trees were growing through them. Brand new radioactive forests were everywhere !!! 20 Klm's later, we had arrived in the town of Chornobyl. We were still 10 K's away. I didn't understand this, I thought the reactor was here? Our guide gave us a quick rundown on what we were going to do, and then we were off. He gave us one warning, do not step on the moss as this is the most radioactive part. We stopped off at a field where there were some vehicles sitting, our guide stated that they were used during the clean up. I asked about the mass grave of vehicles and helicopters, and he said we don't go there anymore as they have been chopped up and sold to the Chinese !!! There was a nice WW2 memorial as well. Back on the bus, we drove inside the 10 K zone. Now we were close. Not far away was a ship graveyard. They were covered in radioactive material. They had been used to move people after the explosion, and now were just left rusting away. We passed the memorial to the firemen, and not long after, we were stopping near a reactor. The power station we looked at was incomplete. Once the explosion happened, there was no more building to be done. In the distance, we could see the damaged reactor, but we had to wait. Our next stop was Prypyat. I have been to abandoned towns before, but none this big. As we drove in, there were wild boars running around. They will never be eaten !!! We parked in the main square and had a walk around the main buildings. It was really eerie. Over 50000 people use to live here. They were told nothing for two days, then told they had two hours to leave, but they would be back in three days. As we know, they never returned. We walked around the back to the fairground that was never used. There was a ferris wheel, another ride and some dodgems. We moved through and into the pre-school. There were dolls, and old trucks plus the beds that the kids slept in. Our guide then told us that as the police weren't around, he would let us climb the highest apartment block. Fuck knows how many flights later, but then we were there. On the roof. Just like 21 years ago, as the residents did, we stared at the  reactor that was now encased in a concrete sarcophagus. On the way down, I stopped off at various rooms. There were bits of furniture but not much more. I looked in loads and kicked up much dust. I even breathed it. Maybe I was taking in radiation !!! Once down, we jumped back in the bus and headed off. Not far away, we arrived. It was  reactor time. We were around 300 metres away. There we were, snapping away, and at the same time, being hit with radioactive material. Did we care, fuck no, we weren't here for a haircut, this is what we came to see. Then sadly, it was time to go. Back in Chornobyl, we were all checked for radiation, and I buzzed red. The only one. I sat contemplating the problem whilst I ate lunch. I wasn't concerned as this is what I came here for. Once I had finished, I tested myself again, and I still hit red. The guide pushed us back onto the bus, and then it was time to go. At the 30 K mark we were taken off of the bus and tested again. This time, I watched the red go from my feet to my legs. The guards put me in another machine and I was green !!! So they let me go !!! A couple of hours later, we were back in Kyiv.
 
It had been a great tour, a real eye opener, one I will never forget, so I will now leave you with bastardised words of Peter Garrett
 
You cannot get it out
Its stuff you cannot taste or see
Its stuff you cannot smell
Its stuff thats twenty times as hot
As the hottest stuff in hell
 
Chornobyl, oh Chornobyl the plant is melting down
The people out in Chornobyl are getting out of town
And when this stuff gets in
You cannot get it out
 
The government said it would not blow
The rest of the world said it might
Chornobyl, oh Chornobyl I wonder who was right
They left it all behind,
The Iron Curtain was drawn
There's something I must say to you
You cannot get it out
 
 
 
 

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

001 The Bus to Chornobyl	002 The Road to Chornobyl	003 Chornobyl Memorial	004 WW2 Memorial, Chornobyl
005 WW2 Memorial, Chornobyl	006 WW2 Memorial, Chornobyl	007 Memorial, Chornobyl	008 Memorial, Chornobyl
009 Memorial, Chornobyl	010 Memorial, Chornobyl	011 Vehicle Graveyard, Chornobyl	012 Vehicle Graveyard, Chornoby
013 Vehicle Graveyard, Chornoby	014 Ship Graveyard, Chornoby	015 Ship Graveyard, Chornoby	016 Ship Graveyard, Chornoby
017 Ship Graveyard, Chornoby	018 Ship Graveyard, Chornoby	019 Ship Graveyard, Chornoby	020 Man on a Bike, Chornobyl
021 Memorial to the Firemen, Chornobyl	022 Memorial to the Firemen, Chornobyl	023 Memorial to the Firemen	024 Old House, Chornobyl
025 Old Road, Chornobyl	026 Empty Road, Chornobyl	027 Cooling Tower, Chornobyl	028 Unfinished Reactor, Chornobyl
029 The Reactor, Chornobyl	030 Lucy in Chornobyl	031 David in Chornobyl	032 The Reactor, Chornobyl
033 River & Reactor, Chornobyl	034 Prypyat Sign, Chornobyl	035 Prypyat Sign, Chornobyl	036 Entering Prypyat, Chornobyl
037 Empty Building, Chornobyl	038 Telephone Boxes, Chornobyl	039 Prypyat Town Square, Chornobyl	040 Hammer & Sickle, Chornobyl
041 Old Building, Chornobyl	042 Old Building, Chornobyl	043 Flowers, Chornobyl	044 Old Hotel, Chornobyl
045 Old Pictures, Chornobyl	046 Lenin, Chornobyl	047 Ferris Wheel, Chornobyl	048 Ferris Wheel, Chornobyl
049 Ferris Wheel, Chornobyl	050 Old Ride, Chornobyl	051 Seats, Chornobyl	052 Ferris Wheel, Chornobyl
053 Mural, Chornobyl	054 Boat Ride, Chornobyl	055 Dodgems, Chornobyl	056 Dodgem, Chornobyl
057 Dodgems, Chornobyl	058 Dodgems, Chornobyl	059 Dodgem, Chornobyl	060 Ferris Wheel, Chornobyl
061 Gas Mask, Chornobyl	062 Old Building, Chornobyl	063 Balconies, Chornobyl	064 Staircase, Chornobyl
065 Playground, Chornobyl	066 Doll, Chornobyl	067 Book, Chornobyl	068 Stairwell, Chornobyl
069 Toy Car, Chornobyl	070 Gas Mask & Drum, Chornobyl	071 Tambourine, Chornobyl	072 Lenin, Chornobyl
073 Old Photo, Chornobyl	074 Shoes, Chornobyl	075 Toy Truck, Chornobyl	076 Bookshelf, Chornobyl
077 Kids Beds, Chornobyl	078 Doll & Mask, Chornobyl	079 Dolls Head, Chornobyl	080 Toy Tank, Chornobyl
081 Gas Masks, Chornobyl	082 Teddy, Chornobyl	083 Wall Plaque, Chornobyl	084 Letterboxes, Chornobyl
085 Empty Lift Shaft, Chornobyl	086 Inside a Flat, Chornobyl	087 Inside a Flat, Chornobyl	088 Mural, Chornobyl
089 Prypyat, Chornobyl	090 Prypyat, Chornobyl	091 Prypyat, Chornobyl	092 The Reactor, Chornobyl
093 Prypyat, Chornobyl	094 Ferris Wheel, Chornobyl	095 Prypyat, Chornobyl	096 Lucy & the Reactor, Chornobyl
097 David & the Ferris Wheel, Chornobyl	098 Bath, Chornobyl	099 Newspaper, Chornobyl	100 Box, Chornobyl
101 Wall Plaque, Chornobyl	102 Lucy in Prypyat	103 David in Prypyat	104 Empty Prypyat Road, Chornobyl
105 Chornobyl Memorial	106 The Reactor, Chornobyl	107 Lucy & the Reactor, Chornobyl	108 David & the Reactor, Chornobyl
109 Chornobyl Memorial	110 The Reactor, Chornobyl

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