One of the main reasons we came to Ukraine was to take a tour of the infamous Chernobyl accident in 1986 of a nuclear reactor. It was a lot different then we all expected and it really felt like we were part of a large tour group been shuffled around to take pictures of all the famous sites. If you are interested in seeing it, my suggestion is not to book until you get to Kiev and then try to find a smaller company through your hotel or hostel. This may allow you to get more information about the sites and let you spend more time in areas you find interesting. The tour was interesting though, the abandon town (Pripyat) and sites were completely overgrown and the cloudy sky made it look like it could have been a scene from a zombie movie. My friend Owen said that he knew the layout of the town from a video game he used to play. Recently they have opened a museum to represent the children who were affected by the disaster, it must be the most tasteless exhibit I have ever seen. It is mainly one large room that is filled with child toys, lasers, hanging baby carriages and walls with murals of angels, fire and sci-fi images. The soundtrack playing at a volume way to loud sounds like the beginning of the Apocalypse or a battle from Lord of the Rings. In any case I don't think that it gave the victims of this event any justice or represented the disaster in anyway.
Currently, there are still people employed throughout the area, all to assist in cleaning up the accident. The reactor covering is told to have thousands of cracks and because of how radiation moves there are numerous "hot spots", mostly in soil and water sources, that also need attention.
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| Caution sign |
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| Old school house |
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| Reactor 4 |
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| Abandon Ferris wheel |
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| Bumper Cars |
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