My Travel Blog for past, present and future countries and cities visited.
Ukraine 2018 - Day 2: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Today I would be joining a 2-Day tour of Chernobyl. I left my suitcase at the hostel as I would checking back in again in 36 hours. I had to use Google's translate app to communicate with the Ukrainian lady but it wasn't a problem. You can download language packs for offline use for any language before you travel this can be really handy. With just a backpack and 1 change of clothes i walked around the corner to the pickup point for the tour near the station.
Remains of a house with a rusted car
We would be using a minibus and there was around 15 of us in total including the guide. We started the drive north of Kiev to Chernobyl which would take the better part of 2 hours with a toilet break. Upon arriving we had a quick passport check at the checkpoint before we were allowed through. The Chernobyl exclusion zone approximately covers a 30km radius. We were first taken to see a theatre and the houses that surrounded it, to see the houses of the people that used to live here. Many of their possessions are still here with various books and clothes on the floor. We then moved on to a photo stop at the Chernobyl sign and saw the only church(St. Elijah) that remains open inside the exclusion zone. We then took a break for lunch.
Memorial to the firefighters
In the afternoon we passed a Lenin statue before checking out an old port. Next was a memorial to the firefighters who lost their lives preventing the situation from worsening and we were shown other vehicles that were used to prevent further spreading of radiation.
In the late afternoon we visited Duga radar, which was an old Soviet era antiballistic missile warning system. It is so big that many of us struggled to get the whole thing in 1 photo. Just next to this was a control room where many old servers and computers lay in piles of rubble.
Duga radar
Early evening saw us visit a kindergarten, this is where the Geiger counter we had been provided started to beep for the first time at the base of a tree. Entering the building there were children's dolls and other toys scattered all over the floor. Upon leaving the exclusion zone at the end of the day we got a long distance view of the new sarcophagus that has now been put over reactor 4 to prevent further leaking of radiation. A 40 minute train journey took us to our overnight hotel in Chernihiv and we even temporarily crossed the border into Belarus.
Kindergarten
Video of this day can be found here:
In the next post I would further exploring the Chernobyl exclusion zone by visiting Pripyat so please check it out.
Hello, I am just a few weeks away now from my next trip to Ukraine. This will be my 31st country to visit in the last 4 years. As i previously mentioned my passport has been renewed for another 10 years of travel and can't wait to start collecting immigration stamps. I received my train tickets in the post recently so I just need to purchase a London Underground ticket on the day to get me across the capital. This is where I will stay overnight in a hotel near Heathrow Airport ready for the early morning flight. I still need to pay for both hotel/hostels in London and Kiev but apart from that I just need to buy food while im away, everything else should be taken care of as I have already paid to my knowledge. I cannot withdraw Ukrainian hryvnia while I am in the UK so I will need to withdraw some local currency from an ATM in the airport. The flight time from London to Kiev is around 3.5 hours and I have a car transfer to the hostel waiting for me, then I have some free time i...
I was picked up at the hotel for my transfer to the airport. Today I was leaving China and making my way to South Korea. It was a couple of hours on the flight from Shanghai to Seoul. Gyeongbokgung Palace After transferring to my hotel in Seoul it was around 4pm and I knew the sunlight was fading. I dropped off the suitcase in the room and walked around the corner to the metro and went to the palace straight away. I needed to make sure I made the last admission time of 5pm or I couldn't get in at all because it would be closed tomorrow and I was only in South Korea for 2 days. This palace was build in 1395 and was part of the Joseon dynasty. It is the biggest of 5 palaces that were built around that period of time. I then made my way back to the hotel after closing time as I needed to do some laundry at the hotel. I packed for around 11-12 days worth of clothes and I was in Asia for 16-17 so this was the best time to do it as I had seen the hotel had a coin operated laundry...
Amsterdam is a city that I visited several times now, with my first visit been in August 2014. The most recent time was Summer 2016 on the Expat Explore Northern Explorer tour as this was the start and end point. Amsterdam is also a very common connecting hub for international flights into Europe at Schiphol Airport just 10km away from central Amsterdam. Amsterdam is most famous for its bicycles and canals. So on the first evening of our tour we took a cruise around the canals of Amsterdam. As we got to know our group we had the chance to have a pizza and some ice cream on board. Another top sight is the I Amsterdam sign. This is a great spot for tourists to get their group shots. The building just behind that is the Rijksmuseum(Shown below). This has arts and history of the city of Amsterdam and costs €17.50 at the time of writing. I have never been in and have only walked under the archway to get to the canals. Other places of interest in Amsterdam are: Van Gogh Museum...
Comments
Post a Comment