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Old 1st November 2017, 11:55   #16
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

Amazing Travelogue, and some really fabulous pics. Thanks for the vivid explanation!

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Originally Posted by TheInterceptor View Post
We saw catfish the size of sharks in the reservoir under the bridge. These catfish have no predators and hence grow huge.
He he! Reminds of me of Godzilla (the 1998 one, not the newer one). The hero in the movie was collecting worm samples from Chernobyl, and found that the worms were 17% larger due to exposure to radiation. Are you sure there was no giant lizard around?
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Old 1st November 2017, 12:15   #17
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

This is the best travelogue I have read till date!
The rustic feel of the aftermath city that had tried its best to hide the catastrophe is definitely worth paying a visit at least once in a lifetime!
Every picture has a story to talk about. be it, the kindergarten, radio tower, motherland tower, pripyat and the tower 4 itself!
I am sure you are proud of the decision made to visit this place instead of some old Ukrainian village like few of the other members did! After all, the whole point of visiting this country was to see the remains of Chernobyl disaster!
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Old 1st November 2017, 12:58   #18
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

Thanks for sharing! I'm not sure how many gamers there are on this forum but there's a series of games called S.T.A.L.K.E.R which was based on Chernobyl and i enjoyed them. After looking at your pictures i must say the game developers had captured the scenery perfectly.

Chernobyl is on my bucket list for places to visit ever since i heard about tourism a few years back. If you don't mind, could you please share an approximate cost of the complete tour package including air fare?
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Old 1st November 2017, 13:06   #19
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

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This is one of the most unique travelogues I ever read. Thanks a lot for sharing. This place started doing rounds in my mind post the Top Gear episode. Can you share the cost details of the tour? How you booked the package, from where? What all things were included etc.
The tour was booked online. It was a company called Escape travels (www.escape-travels.com). They do this tour once annually from UAE. They are reliable and have a strong following here. My friend and I have actually booked another trip with them this December to Jordan.

The price was USD 940 per head on a twin bed accommodation sharing basis. The price was all inclusive, flights (Sharjah - Kiev - Sharjah), meals, transfers, Chernobyl tour et all.

Visa on arrival was extra at USD 103. Tips for the guides and drinks are extra as well.

Hope this helps.

For those of you who'd like to see a video-log of Chernobyl, this is a nice video I found on Youtube yesterday.


Last edited by TheInterceptor : 1st November 2017 at 13:30.
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Old 1st November 2017, 14:07   #20
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

Truly a fascinating travelogue, I would say it is intriguing! The pictures are stunning, so pass on our thanks to your friend. Frankly speaking, I like to think about myself as an adventurous person, but I would never have the courage to venture to Chernobyl, so special thanks to you for this travelogue, rated 5 stars.
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Old 1st November 2017, 14:55   #21
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

A tragedy is a tragedy. I remember seeing it on the news as a child in 1986. At that time it looked like the disaster would engulf more areas. Thankfully it was contained.

I cannot but feel for the families who lived there at that time, in that situation. What must they have been through? How was it like to evacuate, leaving behind everything? What became of them later on?

For some strange reason, our own resident industrial tragedy, the Union Carbide factory, keeps coming to my mind. Deja Vu? Maybe.
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Old 1st November 2017, 15:23   #22
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

One could actually feel the creepiness and deadly silence while reading through this thread. Hats off to you for your brashness of venturing into such destination. With all precautions and safeguards, one need a brave heart to do something like this.

I remember my visit to Auschwitz in Poland which served as a concentration and extermination camp during WWII. Similar kind of creepiness seeped through while reading your travelogue.

Also cheers to your photographer friend whose clicks made this log very lively.

Last edited by yogesh.8984 : 1st November 2017 at 15:24.
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Old 1st November 2017, 15:53   #23
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

That's one hell of a trip to one of the historically still alive place. Places like these always have a special place and I'm equally intrigued to know about them.

Just few questions
Since nuclear radiation level is so high and would considerably take infinite amount of time to degrade, is it just limited to those 30 kms range or does it lie out of that circumference too though radiation levels might be low ?
Did u saw any of the people in the nearby city out of the 30 km circumference with the masks on or wearing any of the protective masking gear permanently ?
Why did the official trip consists of just three days and are you people allowed to move any of the other cities along with the government guides ?
Or is it like North Korea, every destination and place which needs to be visited already decided by the government official and one doesn't have the free will to roam around ?
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Old 1st November 2017, 16:07   #24
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

Amazing travelogue with soul-moving pictures.

Within an hour of going through your fantastic post, and researching a bit about Ukraine as well, I booked my tickets to Kiev for next year
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Old 1st November 2017, 16:07   #25
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

great travelogues. Thanks a lot for sharing this. Heart tickles more when I read this.
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Old 1st November 2017, 16:13   #26
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare - All Ghillied Up. You literally took me to that game level! What a narration. Beautiful pictures these

I have always been fascinated by the history of this part of the world and your travelogue just blew me away. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I'm going to read the entire post again. Promise
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Old 1st November 2017, 16:24   #27
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

Quote:
Originally Posted by Highh5 View Post
That's one hell of a trip to one of the historically still alive place. Places like these always have a special place and I'm equally intrigued to know about them.

Just few questions
Since nuclear radiation level is so high and would considerably take infinite amount of time to degrade, is it just limited to those 30 kms range or does it lie out of that circumference too though radiation levels might be low ?
Did u saw any of the people in the nearby city out of the 30 km circumference with the masks on or wearing any of the protective masking gear permanently ?
Why did the official trip consists of just three days and are you people allowed to move any of the other cities along with the government guides ?
Or is it like North Korea, every destination and place which needs to be visited already decided by the government official and one doesn't have the free will to roam around ?
Hi Highh5, the 30 km Exclusion Zone is just a precautionary border. This area is technically safe to live now (since it has been 31 years). The actual active radiation exposed area is in the 10 km zone inside the 30 km Exclusion Zone.

There are a lot of highly radioactive areas in this 10 km radius.

For example, there is a massive graveyard of vehicles and cranes used during the disaster for fire and rescue that are buried somewhere in this 10 km zone. These areas are still too dangerous to visit and tourists are not allowed anywhere near.

Radiation in the atmosphere is very low at present. You are exposed to the same amount of radiation that you would be exposed to in a long flight, that's all.

The area around Reactor 4 used to make the Geiger counters beep due to higher levels of radiation, but that has now stopped since the dome covered the reactor.

We saw workers near the reactor who were wearing masks and protective clothing. Nobody else was wearing any protective gear, not even the military personnel.

Only Chernobyl was strictly controlled by authorized tour guides. In Kiev, you are free to do what you wish. There are no restrictions.
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Old 1st November 2017, 16:47   #28
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

This is one of the best narrations of the area around the disaster site and the locations clubbed with excellent pictures. Kudos to you for visiting one of the most protected site on EARTH!!. Fantastic selection to write a travelogue to start your Journey with Team- BHP.
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Old 1st November 2017, 19:30   #29
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

What a travelogue! Spellbound! First i rated 5*, then i read it and now i want to rate it 10*! Team Bhp and Team Bhpian's never fail to amaze us.

I love to watch horror movies since my childhood and in Hollywood movies i have seen these kind of plots. I always thought how it will actually feel if i visit such a place but i never imagined one can actually visit such a city.
In India i have visited places like Hampi in Karnakata or Kuldhara in Rajasthan but this place takes the whole scenario to the next level. Though comparing Hampi/Kuldhar with Chernobyl is like comparing apples with Oranges. Each place has a story of their own. Since yesterday night i have done quite a bit of research on this place & now i want to visit this place if i get a chance!

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Originally Posted by TheInterceptor View Post
For example, there is a massive graveyard of vehicles and cranes used during the disaster for fire and rescue that are buried somewhere in this 10 km zone. These areas are still too dangerous to visit and tourists are not allowed anywhere near.
Didn't want to miss a chance on how this place looked! So googled few pics of the car graveyard of Chernobyl.

Pic courtesy - Google

Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time-15x053_chernobyl_vehicle_graveyard_23.jpg

Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time-e618898c4dbd16e482ec50acdb981dd8.jpg

Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time-maxresdefault-1.jpg

Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time-maxresdefault.jpg

May be these pics deserve a mention is this thread ~
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintag...tage-cars.html

This can be an interesting read for the viewers too. Land Rover’s Journey of Discovery wrapped up its time in the Ukraine.
http://www.roverguide.com/15272/jour...-heads-russia/

Once again thanks a lot for sharing.

Last edited by Samba : 1st November 2017 at 19:49.
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Old 1st November 2017, 21:12   #30
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Re: Chernobyl - A city forgotten by time

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Originally Posted by TheInterceptor View Post
The area around Reactor 4 used to make the Geiger counters beep due to higher levels of radiation, but that has now stopped since the dome covered the reactor.

We saw workers near the reactor who were wearing masks and protective clothing. Nobody else was wearing any protective gear, not even the military personnel.
I saw an earlier video that you had posted on the Dome being built and slid over the reactor.
I was surprised that all the people involved in doing the project were wearing basic gear, mostly everyone had mask, but no gloves or any protective uniform.

It intrigues me why was it so ? What is the condition of those workers ? The literally stood next to the reactor 4 while building that dome !
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