Chernobyl
Anyone done this, any advice? I'm thinking I'll try and get my own permit to enter the exclusion zone and check things out with the guys I'm going with, rather than doing tours...
Advice?
I would strongly advice getting someone local to go with you. You dont need a full village to go with you but someone who knows the area. There is heaps of local tour guide guys who can be found via google or http://pripyat.com/en .
Wear long sleeve top and long pants. Also a face mask is highly advisable as the hot cells are still active from the explosion. The heavy radiation areas move around the city, local guides will know of the "safer" routes/areas.
Good luck.
Keep us posted.
Good luck.
I'm fine with the safety gear, I've experience with the nuclear nasties.
My biggest hurdle I think will be to just get the permits to enter the exclusion zone,
Alas, I don't speak a word of Ukranian and "Sorry, I was looking for the toilet" probably won't stick miles into the exclusion zone...
I went through a company called Advance Tour / Kiev Travel who are still in business: http://www.kievtravel.com.ua/
Their privces were very affordable (okay, $500 back then) which covers accomodation, airport transfers, transport to Pripyat and the tour. The second time I did a 3 day tour and we drove from Kiev to Pripyat in my own van.
I would love to go again one day.
Keep in mind that there is still very large areas of the Zone which you simply can not go. Not only are they radioactive, but the roads are so overgrown that you can't use them.
I strongly suggest doing an official tour and then visiting on your own.
So here's my current thinking, do a tour, and do my darnedest to get a permit without a tour as well.
I'll be driving from Europe to there with a buddy, and we're looking at getting a cheap Honda bike, wheeling it into the back of the van and using that to check out the exclusion zone on our own after as I know many of the roads are undrivable in cars etc.
I'll keep you all posted as to my progress.
Was pretty interesting.
Chernobyl Girl.PanicUE wrote:OH! A bike would be a bad idea. The dust and dirt you kick up would get all over you. Trust me, you don't want that crap on you. With a car that will all bounce off the bottom, and you can just wash the underside of the car. You're doing that in a van? Sweet!.
Some say it was a hoax, but this b***h recons she's ridden through the exclusive zone...
http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chernobyl-revisited/
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
Elona Filotova was the name of the girl with the bike, although as Blakjak mentioned there's talk it was a hoax and she was taken in by tour operators.
Not sure how long it will stay up but here is the episode of The Truth Is? that I saw a bit of...dougo wrote:Saw the last 15 minutes of a show on 10 last night - called something like - The Truth About...
Was pretty interesting.
http://ten.com.au/watch-tv-episodes-onl ... o_m=357828
Either way I think if you were to take a motorbike along, it might be a bad idea due to the noise and what dougo previously mentioned.Nick wrote:I've seen that, it's been done since, I think it's one of those things I'll be forced to asses the level of risk when I get there...
Elona Filotova was the name of the girl with the bike, although as Blakjak mentioned there's talk it was a hoax and she was taken in by tour operators.
That is definetly a hoax. I was one of the first people to point that out. Her IP details were not the same as her name. Also, when I broke it to the media they discovered she had gone on a tour.blakjak wrote:Chernobyl Girl.PanicUE wrote:OH! A bike would be a bad idea. The dust and dirt you kick up would get all over you. Trust me, you don't want that crap on you. With a car that will all bounce off the bottom, and you can just wash the underside of the car. You're doing that in a van? Sweet!.
Some say it was a hoax, but this b***h recons she's ridden through the exclusive zone...
http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chernobyl-revisited/
However, the thing that tickles my paranoia bone was the fact that there are no pictures of her actually riding that bike! All the shots are posed, there no action shots at all of her riding. And her clothes (& the bike) are way too clean for somebody who has been riding through the Ukraine for days on end. I take my bike out for a few hours & it gets filthy, & I don't ride in a contaminated wasteland.
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
Easy peasy Japanesy..you set up a tripod with camera, & go back a few hundred meters & then use a remote to take the pic as you're riding past the camera's field of view.Titan wrote:But. . . if she is alone then who would take these shots of her riding ?
But the thing is, there ARE pix of her pretending to ride, but it's easy to tell that it's posed & the bike isn't movong.
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
- She is poor and has no tripod.
- Her camera has no remote feature/timer.
? That's impossible unless somebody else took the pix, & if that is true then he/she could have taken action shots, if there were any.Titan wrote:But what if:
- She is poor and has no tripod.
- Her camera has no remote feature/timer.
And if she could afford that bike she isn't poor & can therefore afford a tripod & a camera with those features. And every camera has a timer.
I've been through this debate before lol.
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
I need more convincing. lack of action shots doesnt cut it for me :p
You need convincing that something is fake? lol In this day & age it should be the other way around.Titan wrote:ok but what if she doesnt like taking action shots ? what if shes in the moment taking pics type girl ?
I need more convincing. lack of action shots doesnt cut it for me :p
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
its only ilegal if you get caught