I have always been open to having interesting travel adventures. I've been to several countries around the globe and have done everything from ride a camel near the pyramids in Egypt to playing a game Tortuga in Spain. If it seems fun, interesting, historical or different, I'm open to the experience. I've never had a desire to visit the site of a nuclear reactor explosion. I may be one of the few. It appears tourists are flocking to Chernobyl in Ukraine to see the place where the worst nuclear disaster in the history of the world occurred.
Here are some excerpts from the story. My valuable insights are in italics.
The ghost town of Pripyat, the once-hailed Soviet “futuristic city” where Chernobyl nuclear plant workers and their families lived. Thirty-three years after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion, Pripyat’s broad boulevards are crowded with tangles of overgrown trees. Its once gleaming buildings are dark and brooding — windows are gone, interiors looted, hallways littered with crumbling books.
Why would you want to see someplace like the leaning tower of Pisa or the Great Wall of China when you can see a city devastated by a nuclear disaster?
“I think we should talk about our vacation plans.”
“Where would you like to go? Does visiting the stunning Inca Ruins in Machu Picchu sound interesting to you? How about seeing the Matterhorn in Switzerland? Is visiting Hong Kong and their financial district something that interests you?”
“All of those sound so great but I want something a bit different. I want to see a city devastated by a nuclear disaster. The chance to see buildings without windows and looted interiors, as well as hallways filled with crumbling books, is something I want to experience.”
“I'm sure none of our friends can say they saw the place where the world's worst nuclear accident occurred.”
“I think you're right. Let's see what flights there are to Chernobyl in Ukraine.”
Ever since the Ukrainian government opened Chernobyl to tourists in 2011, the number of annual visitors continues to climb. Last year, the government reported nearly 72,000 visitors, up from 50,000 the year before.
“Travel to Ukraine has become cheap,” said Sergii Ivanchuk, owner of SoloEast, a company that last year shuttled nearly 12,000 tourists to the site of the infamous nuclear disaster.
I wonder if they have a gift shop available to commemorate a person's trip to the place where the world's worst nuclear accident occurred?
“I can't choose what to buy from this gift shop. It's a toss up between the T-shirt that says “I went to see where the worst nuclear accident in the world occurred and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” or this little model of a blown up nuclear reactor that glows in the dark.”
“I know your struggle. There is the commemorative Geiger counter with Chernobyl on it and these special green candies called nuclear waste. Oh, it is tough to make a decision.”
Two-day guided tours cost $200 to $300 a person for a group of 12 and include an overnight stay in a spartan, dormlike hotel in the town of Chernobyl, about 12 miles from the reactor. Day excursions are available too. Dozens of companies run trips to the area. Tour buses, often painted with gas masks and radiation symbols, pick up customers from Kiev’s Independence Square.
I guess when going to a place where a nuclear disaster occurred, it's important to ride in a bus with radiation symbols and gas masks painted on the side of it. I imagine having a bus that has people with four eyeballs, their skin falling off or burning up from being exposed to nuclear radiation painted on the side would be bad for business. Nice to know there are group tours and day excursions. They are able to accommodate any tourist situation. Being able to stay in a dormlike hotel is probably combined with the paintings on the side of the buses to make the experience almost irresistible.
A highlight of the trip was meeting Ivan Ivanovich, 82, at the primitive-yet-cozy home he built in Parishev village. Ivanovich is one of 119 “self-settlers” who are still alive, according to Exclusion Zone officials. The settlers were allowed to return after 600,000 so-called liquidators cleaned up the roads, bulldozed toxic buildings, scraped the radiated topsoil, and buried cars and furniture.
If being able to see the devastation caused by a nuclear disaster is not enough, tourists can see a man in his eighties who lives in the area. I don't know what it says about the tour when meeting with an octogenarian who survived a nuclear disaster is the highlight of the trip. If he speaks with all the tourists every day, this guy has a tough job.
“What is it like living near where a nuclear disaster occurred?”
“Well, I don't need a flashlight at night since my flesh now glows.”
“Are you serious?”
“Come back for a night tour and I'll show you.”
It is good to know they bulldozed toxic buildings, buried furniture, cars and scraped topsoil that was radiated. I wonder if there is part of the tour where you can watch a short film showing toxic building bulldozing and more. Maybe they don't think its necessary since tourists can talk to a nuclear surviving octogenarian.
Then our bus began its journey back to the Exclusion Zone exit checkpoints where we were tested for radioactive dust on metal devices that looked like subway turnstiles. We all passed.
I can honestly say I'm not anxious to spend hundreds of dollars to take a tour where I'm tested for the presence of radioactive dust. I wonder what happens if you don't pass the radioactive dust test?
“Beep”
“I'm sorry you have too much radioactive dust. You failed.”
“What happens now?”
“Instead of staying at a dormlike hotel room, you now get to stay with a well-known nuclear surviving octogenarian.”
“Oh.”
It's certain you won't have such an experience visiting the Eiffel Tower.
Here is a link to the story.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/travel/sc-trav-weekend-in-chernobyl-0416-story.html
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