Blogs from Chernobyl, Kiev, Ukraine, Europe
April 30th 2011
Kiev had a different atmosphere to Lviv altogether. It was our final destination, and as the capital of Ukraine it was bigger, more modern, and more happening. We also arrived feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep in a first class sleeper carriage, which made a huge difference! Unfortunately we found our hostel here was without a doubt the worst of the trip. We got a 12 bed room instead of the 2 bed twin, with suspiciously lumpy thin mattresses, and there was also the slight worry that the hostel owner would come and rape us in our sleep - He was one creepy-assed dude! We quickly donned our explorer hats and joined a free walking tour, which is always my favourite way to see a city. As one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, ... read more
January 10th 2011
When I tell somebody, especially a girl, that I’ve been to Chernobyl and Pripyat, there is immediately a reaction that, don’t I want to have children, and it’s always the same thing, as if I cannot think for myself and choose for myself and what do babies have to do with someone’s trip to Pripyat? I don’t even have a girlfriend, and doubt so much it’ll change in the nearest future, so should I care that much about unborn babies? If I am father to a mutant-baby, that’s another story, though… I’d rather not dwell on the scientific approach to the radiation dose one receives during the 4-5 hour stay in the Zone, because I do not know how to calculate all the stuff and neither I am able to use a dosimeter. But I do ... read more
July 26th 2009
Devastation can be devastatingly beautiful When we were making plans for our summer holiday this year one of the things that made us choose Ukraine was Chernobyl - the sight of the worst civil nuclear disaster in history. As a tourist destination this is a totally unique experience. In the entire World Chernobyl in Ukraine is the only place where you can enjoy a tour of an area that has been devastated and rendered uninhabitable by nuclear fallout. The word "enjoy" in the previous sentence was not meant as an irony. Chernobyl really is devastated, but it is also devastatingly beautiful. Look through our pictures and we think you will agree to that. To visit Chernobyl you must have a permit. The easiest way to get one is to join a tour. The tour company will ... read more
September 18th 2008
So on a cloudy, cold day in Kiev we make our way to the street the travel agent told us to meet up with her and she will make sure we get on the van for the trip for Chernobyl, this trip was not very easy for us to organize, we were supposed to go a week earlier but last minute screw up by another travel agent, sent us waiting it out in Kiev, they need passport details etc, and apparently paperwork takes a couple of days for permit to be issued to enter the Chernoobyl site, and it does not run everyday, only on specific dates so time it perfectly.quite costly for us both but we want to do it. We stood for 25 minutes in the cold then the agent came and we were ... read more
September 27th 2007
Bright eyed and bushy tailed we weren't this morning. We went to bed slightly later than we intended so getting Rob out of bed was a bit of a chore. We were picked up outside St Petersburg hotel at nine. An American man called Irwin came along which wasn't terrible because it did make the price cheaper. The drive to Chernobyl was pretty bad. It took almost an hour to get out of Kiev and our guide drove like a true Ukranian. Forget being ill from radiation, I was surprised we made it there in one piece and without a single scratch on the car. First impression of Chernobyl was that we could have been entering a national park because it was so green and tranquil. The checkpoint for entering the 30km zone was rather easy, ... read more
April 27th 2007
Stalker mission Europe » Ukraine » chernobyl By Burik April 27th 2007 Sergio BuravovToday I've been in the most incridible place of Ukraine, it is Chernobyl radiation zone. Idea to travel here appeared a year ago after reading some article in Internet. It seem dangerous but at the same time exteme and adventerous. So with two my friends Bolik and Oleg we booked excursion at www.pripyat.com and left Moscow for Kiev. Now I don't have time to describe all trip only list some photoes. But it was really cool and extreme. More photoes can be found here Chernobyl photo album ... read more
