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Report - - Chernobyl May 2019 | European and International Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Chernobyl May 2019

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Scattershot

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
I actually went on this trip back in May of 2019 and it's taken me this long to get around to posting (terrible I know).

So unless you have been living under a rock, pretty much everyone knows about Chernobyl and the man-made catastrophe that occured there. Especially since the very popular dramatisation that was aired last year.

Myself, husband, Dad and brother went on one of the many single day group tours and it was an absolutely incredibly experience. Many people struggle to understand the appeal of so called "dark tourism" and are horrified by the thought of travelling to such a place. For me though I have always been fascinated by the concept of a post-apocolyptic world, in particular the idea of nature reclaiming the earth one branch at a time and gradually tearing all remnants of human habitation apart.
The historical aspect was also of great interest to us and I found it a very humbling experience to wander the overgrown streets knowing of the fear and devastation that had occured there. My own worries simply paling in comparison to the horrors experienced by the many people who were caught up in the disaster. The bravery and strength shown by those who laid down their lives to help others will always be inspiring.

The single day tour is a long one but you get to see a lot. I do however wish that we had gone on one of the 2 day tours, just so that we could have seen even more and to have had a little more time to explore the areas we visited as as times we felt quite rushed.

The tour included a trip to a nearby village, the duga radio tower, Chernobyl with visit to the power plant (still up and running and surrounded by friendly stray dogs), pripyat town including the famous fairground and ended with a visit to the memorial.

Such places as Chernobyl/pripyat call for a certain amount of respect from visitors and to the most part the other tourists in our group were well behaved with the exception of a couple of photographers who kept disappearing inside condemned buildings much to our tour guides frustration. There were also stalls at the security check points which sold food and unfortunately some rather tacky glow in the dark souvenirs including fridge magnets and condoms! Call me a stick in the mud but I personally feel that it is too soon for that kind of insensitive merchandise and will quite frankly ALWAYS be too soon. I also cringed as tourists lined up to take smiley, thumbs up selfies infront of the memorial statue. It just didnt feel right to me. This is not Disney Land after all.

Would I reccomend taking a trip to Chernobyl? The answer would be a definite yes however I am glad that we went when we did as since the TV series aired I have read that there has a been a huge increase in tourism and that probably will not be a good thing. If you do decide to go then I would also encourage you to spend some time in Kiev as it is a beautiful and very underrated city with lots to do. My final advice to you would be to respect your tour guides and surroundings and be mindful of where you are.
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Seffy

SWC
Staff member
Moderator
Yeah nice those. Never know what to expect with a Chernobyl report but this one didn’t disappoint
 
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