Chernobyl Exposed: A Tour of the World’s Most Infamous Radioactive Disaster Zone

It was 8:26am. I wolfed down my tasteless–yet surprisingly fluffy–omelet and ran upstairs to make sure I had followed orders correctly. Closed-toe shoes…check. Passport…check. Camera, note pad, yogurt-covered raisins…check.

At 8:45am, in front of the Ukraine Hotel, at the heart of Kiev’s Independence Square, Catherine and I registered our names, paid our fees, and hopped into the back seat of a cushy, air-conditioned 15-passenger van. Sergei, one of the trip coordinators, poked his head through the main door to explain a few things before we left–that the trip would take 2 hours. That, in the van, we would watch a full-length documentary about Chernobyl. That the documentary was “90% OK” because it was made in America. We were also told to stomp our feet when reentering the vehicle as to minimize the amount of radioactive dust accumulation. And finally, Sergei playfully warned us that our guide within the exclusion zone was “working for the government, so don’t expect too much.”

The documentary was informative yet at times felt a bit too end-of-the-world. Here is what I learned: on 26 April, 1986, after a late night experiment, reactor #4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded. Less than 24 hours later, winds had already carried radioactive fallout–400 times more than Hiroshima–as far as Stockholm, over 1000km away. That first day, the only fatalities were two firefighters that tried to put out a “strange fire” with water. They, as well as everyone at the time, had no idea how to handle the situation. One of the main takeaways from the documentary was that this lack of information, coupled with a secretive Soviet government, lead to massive amounts of unnecessary exposure.

I looked out the window. Springtime dandelions, birch tree forests, and clusters of wild chickens passed by under a cloudless sky. The documentary continued. I learned about Pripyat, a town that lies 3km away from the reactor. At the time of the explosion, 50,000 people lived in Pripyat, but it took days for them to evacuate. By that time radiation levels had altered the chemical composition of their blood. One man who survived the event confessed, “even today, 20 years later, I can still feel the taste of lead in my mouth.” Luckily, the only metallic taste I experienced that day was while chewing my felt-tip pen. A bad habit, indeed.

Today, 8 million people live in contaminated areas in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The war with the invisible enemy is certainly not at the level it once was, but because no official study has ever been put together, it’s hard to say how many atomic refugees there are.

At the border of the outer exclusion zone, our van stopped, and we passed our passports outside for registration. 10 minutes later, we pulled into an administrative building in the city of Chernobyl, about 15km away from the reactor. Our guide, Yurev, introduced himself and led us upstairs where he explained the geography of the exclusion zone. A member of our group was asked to read aloud the dos and don’ts of the day. It is prohibited to “drink liquors or take drugs,” “have meal and smoke in the open air,” and “carry any kind of weapon.” I think I could manage that.

On the drive towards the reactor, we stopped for last-minute snacks, and for a few of the more adventurous group members, local brewskies for the van. We piled periodically out of the van to take pictures and learn more about the geographic layout of the facility.

Quick anecdote: one of the group members, a witty British comedian who brought brevity to a place that certainly needs it, asked our guide why we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the main administrative building on the way to the reactor. The dialog was as follows.

Guide: Do not take pictures toward the building.

Comedian: Why can’t we take pictures of the building?

Guide: Safety.

Comedian: Safety?

Guide: Safety for you.

Folks, it doesn’t get any more Soviet than that.

Eventually we reached the reactor.

Poor little bugger couldn’t take the radiation.
The same level of radiation one could expect from a trans-Atlantic flight.
Closest we could get, a few hundred meters from the reactor.

At one point, I stepped a few meters in front of the group to get a closer shot. Uniformed men hustled out of the above-pictured gate, pointed, and said something along the lines of “RussianRussianRussian…photographskie…RussianRussianRussian.” I turned around, walked back towards the group, and then our guide ushered us back into the van.

We then drove to Pripyat, the ghost town mentioned in the documentary.

Radiated apartment complex.
Inside Pripyat’s Cultural Center.
Relics of the Soviet era.

One of the most eerie places in Pripyat is the playground. See the manhole in the foreground? Radiation levels measure 1,000 times higher over the contaminated asphalt.

One of the most photographed places in the amusement park.

We then went inside Pripyat’s school.

Gymnasium inside the school.
Inside the school, the peeling paint almost looks like a world map.

As emotional and creepy that Pripyat’s buildings can be, many of the scenes felt set up. A lone shoe on the amusement park bench. A perfectly positioned book against the backdrop of a dilapidated wall. These are the kinds of things that tend to happen, I guess, with the evolution of tourism. Alas, I took advantage and snapped a few shots myself.

Record player in the music room.
Math notebooks in a classroom.

The tour ended, and we drove back to Kiev. A few of us got together for afternoon drinks in Independence Square, which turned into a pleasurably raucous evening of drinks, dinner, and travel conversation. There was Catherine and myself, then Shields, a South Carolina native who currently lives in Afghanistan, Dave, a British engineer/mountaineer from Wales, and Dom, the British journalist/TV personality/writer. Dom is currently writing a book on dark tourism–visiting places like Cambodia, Chernobyl and Rwanda. Looking forward to its completion!

 

Kiev, Ukraine: 48 Hours and 6 Pictures

Following a mere 3 hours of sleep, the transit from Minsk to Kiev was, in a word, disagreeable. The only thing keeping me awake in the airport was the cacophonous ramblings of a nervous, intoxicated flier. Somehow, she palmed a glass bottle of Carlsberg (500ml, 13.62 Ukrainian Hryvnia!) directly onto the plane. I chuckled, buckled, and snuggled against the window, proceeding to do what I do best on airplanes – sleep like the rock of all rocks.

After settling in, my colleague Catherine and I walked to the nearby Bessarabs’ka Square, where part of the Ukrainian May Day demonstration was taking place. While I couldn’t understand the speeches, I imagined that the workers were frustrated with their country’s current economic state. Ukraine is on the verge of economic collapse, and the government, as I understand it, is unable to take action. When I learn more, I’ll do my best to clarify.

And now for some pictures:

1) At a French-Moroccan fusion restaurant. Desert. Baked apple with cinnamon sticks, mint leaves, lemon juice and honey. One of the best dishes I’ve ever tasted. Catherine and I coupled it with puffs of densely packed, apple-infused hookah. Yummy.

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2) On the weekend, traffic is blocked on Khreschatyk Street. Pedestrians flock to the streets for pleasant walks, street performances, and live music.

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3) The main statue of Independence Square – where hundreds of university students went on a hunger strike in 1989, kicking off the movement for independence from Moscow.

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4) Another shot of Independence Square. More recently, it served as the epicenter of Ukraine’s 2004-2005 Orange Revolution, a series of protests and political events in response to accusations of voter intimidation, electoral fraud, and other forms of corruption during Ukraine’s Presidential Run-off Election of November 21, 2004.

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5) Independence Square, shot 3! A hubbub of pedestrian fun.

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6) Stopping to admire the architecture on a quiet walk back to the hotel.

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Tomorrow Catherine and I will be taking a much-needed day off and touring Chernobyl. More images to come!

Minsk, Belarus: Wide Streets and Stiletto Heels

Здравствуйте! Как дела? Hello all! How’s it going?

I had a wild week in Belarus. A wild week of…working. Fortunately, between hunting down the prices of transmission fluid, iodized salt, and a number of other market basket goods, I managed to squeeze in a few hours of down time.

On the flight from Frankfurt to Minsk, I sat next to a Belarusian-born business student studying in Toronto. We chatted about Minsk, about Toronto, and about a summer he spent as a furniture mover in America. My favorite anecdote of his – running out of money and using his last $13 to buy sausages and 3kg of rice at a Denver supermarket. Atta boy! We continued to chat when the plane landed, but when I got held up at customs, we made plans to see each other later in the week and said our goodbyes.

The drive into Minsk was picturesque. Wide, lick-ably clean streets and monolithic Soviet facades, the grandiose aesthetic of Stalin’s massive post-war rebuilding. During WWII, Belarus was invaded by Nazi Germany and suffered greatly during the occupation; 25% of the entire population was killed, and by the time the war was over, barely a stone was left standing.

As we approached the city center, my eyes darted from window to window – rolling parks and river bridges, a wedding celebration, and because it was nearing May9th (Victory Day), banners and flags galore. My thoughts of Minsk’s troubled past gave way to the vibrancy of a modern city.

Some interesting facts about Minsk:

  • At one point, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice called Belarus an “outpost of tyranny.” For the last 15 years, Alexander Lukashenko, a mustachioed megalomaniac known for controversial comments, has served as the Belarusian president. Yes, the KGB still taps phone calls.
  • In 1986, the Chernobyl incident left a quarter of the country contaminated. To this day, effects are still felt in the southeast.
  • All foreign visitors are required to possess medical insurance, which can be purchased at the airport if need be.

And now, a brief glimpse of activities during the week:

  • I ate at Jomolungma, the only Tibetan restaurant in Belarus – of the 4 Tibetans in the country, all of them work there. The food was fantastic, and I enjoyed speaking with the multi-lingual owner about the history of the restaurant.
  • Side note – the women in Minsk are breathtakingly beautiful. It’s like a supermodel breeding ground over here. The click-click of stiletto heels provided a quasi-erotic soundtrack to my week, and when it came time to price women’s lingerie, I made sure to take my precious time.
  • I ate at Upteka, a pharmacy-themed restaurant bar that boasts a Cyrillic eye chart in the bathroom.
  • My colleague, Catherine, bought $6 tickets to the ballet, but due to the language barrier, she accidentally bought tickets to a stage opera. We didn’t know this of course, until the show began.

The last night, though, was my favorite.

After a last-minute, unscheduled meeting with one of our clients, we rushed to a late dinner at Graffin, a local-dish restaurant with an atmosphere “akin to being inside Willy Wonka’s brain.” My choice of Belarusian ational cuisine was the draniki, or potato pancake.  For all members of the Jewish tribe out there, if you feel like eating latkes year-round, Belarus is the place to be! After dinner, Catherine and I were recommended one of Minsk’s 15 nightclubs, Club Africa. Apparently we weren’t pretty enough, because ‘face control’ wouldn’t let us in. That’s what you get with all these damn supermodels. Back at the hotel, Catherine and I impishly explored an attached business center after seeing a ‘dance bar’ sign on the door. Buzzed and curious, we sat down at the (empty) bar but decided not to pay for the ‘erotic dance show.’ After a few drinks, some businessmen came in and ordered the show, so while Catherine and I finished our drinks, we caught the first half of the show. Best part of the evening – the DJ, seeing me eye the pretty girls, looked at me, raised his arms and said, “After two weeks, they are like furniture to me.” Classic.

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Tomorrow I will post an update about Kiev, where I’m writing this post. Hope you enjoyed!

The Future of Cuba

This is a guest post from a close friend of mine, Chris Maury. Chris’ family left Cuba in 1961, and since then he has been the only family member to return. He is currently studying Cuban politics at Washington University in St. Louis and will be enrolling in a PhD program at the Univerisity of Pittsburgh next fall. In this post, Chris talks about the future of Cuba.

cubacar

After 50 years of authoritarian control by the Castros, reform is finally coming to Cuba. The changes, though, are not coming from the Cuban government–they are coming from a government that has already changed tremendously in the three months its been in office. Ours. This may be bad news for Cuban cigar vendors hidden throughout the U.S., but many–myself included–are excited at the prospect of visiting the traditionally forbidden isle.

As a Cuban-American/American-Cuban, being able to freely travel to Cuba was a major issue in the 2008 election. It is why I voted for Obama in the Democratic primary, and it is why I have been paying such close attention to the news since they announced the reformed travel rules for Cuban-Americans back in early March.

Now, with the introduction a bill to lift the travel-ban entirely and a delegation of Senators meeting with Raúl and Fidel, the prospect of free travel–if not trade–is brighter than ever. While this means another hot vacation spot for American tourists, the majority of this legislation’s impact is going to fall squarely on the Cuban people. A significant increase in tourism–some suggest up to 3 or 4 times the amount of visitors–is likely to have a major impact. American tourism could be the best thing for the island since the poetry of José Martí…or the worst since Generál Baptista.

caballo

Tourism/Dual Currency

The tourism industry is already one of the top producers for the Cuban economy, attracting over 2 million people a year. If the travel-ban is lifted, the GDP will certainly increase. Tourism has already had a tremendous impact on Cuban society, creating a huge earnings gap between those employed by the state and those with access to foreign currencies, be that through remittance payments from the US, running a taxi, or working in tourist hotels. The effects are already apparent–dollar malls, dollar Internet cafés, and dollar lines at Copelia’s, Havana’s premier ice cream parlor. As far as dual currency goes, “separate but equal” is the rule, but hard currency gained from American tourism could potentially disrupt class economics on a more intense level.

Culture

Part of what makes Cuba such an appealing destination is its culture. More than just a chintzy souvenir shop in a dime-a-dozen port of call for Caribbean cruise-liners, Cuba has a rich history of music, dance, food and art. If this tradition is lost in order to attract more and more tourists, it would be a sad day for both Americans and Cubans. Cuba is more than just rum, cigars, and pictures of Che. Preservation of culture is definitely an issue.

The Economy

The immediate economic impact is obvious. Americans are the definition of consumers, and a sudden and massive influx of strong currency can only help the economy. Fortunately for Cuba, the economic benefits will not end with tourism. In the first wave of Americans to the island, there will be people much more important than tourists–investors. Cuba has a vast (if underfunded) infrastructure of medical and hard science research. There is a large (if under-employed) workforce of highly educated and technologically savvy individuals. Investment opportunity is ripe in Cuba for the company willing to take the risk of working under the Cuban government. If you do not see immediate, tangible investments, you will undoubtedly see relationships forming like worker exchange programs or other research co-ventures.

Politics

Cuban politics are as complicated now as they have been since the signing of the Platt Amendment. Power has successfully transitioned from Fidel to Raúl without a single uprising or coup attempt. Any change in policy in the short term is going to come from the top. It is not likely that we will see elections anytime soon, or even the spontaneous release of political prisoners. What we can count on, though, is the government’s cooperation with any interested investors willing to prop up their foundering economy.

Prostitution

Sex tourism has been a huge problem in Cuba since even before the revolution. I don’t mean only prostitution, but young girls willing to marry foreigners just for an exit visa. Take poverty, throw in a population of women whose exoticism borders on eroticism, add tourists–not the best combination. With a spike in American tourism, human trafficking will only increase. The Cuban government, perhaps even the U.S. government, need to take steps to prevent the growth of this industry in a post-embargo era.

Generación Y

If there is one group that is positioned to benefit from increased interactions with the U.S., it’s Cuba’s young and tech savvy Generation Y. They are as politically active as one can be in an autocratic regime. If we see any changes in Cuba, it will be with the strong support of Generation Y’s like Yaoni Sánchez. If you are interested in upcoming events from a Cuban perspective, I highly recommend her blog. For all you hyper-polygots out there, it is available in 16 languages! Check it out here: http://desdecuba.com/generationy.

Change was the platform that President Obama ran on in 2008, and if he supports the legislation proposed in the Senate, change is exactly what we are going to see. What do you think?

Additional reading:
US eases Cuban travel, money restraints
Obama Makes Good on Campaign Promises, Allows Travel & Money to Cuba

The World’s Biggest Everything

I received an Email last week from a coworker that I thought you all might enjoy. Visited any of these?

World’s Biggest Indoor Swimming Pool
World Water Park – 5 acres
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

pool

World’s Biggest Office Complex
Chicago Merchandise Mart
Chicago, Illinois , USA

office

World’s Biggest Shopping Mall
South China Mall – 6 floors, 892,000 square meters
Dongguan, China

mall

World’s Widest Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge – 2 decks, totaling 16 lanes of car traffic
Sydney, Australia

bridge

World’s Longest Bridge
Donghai Bridge – 32.5 kilometers
Outside of Shanghai, China

bridge2

World’s Biggest Passenger Ship
MS Freedom of the Seas – 4300 passenger capacity

ship

World’s Biggest Plane
Airbus A380 – 555 passenger capacity

plane

World’s Biggest Bus
Neoplan Jumbocruiser – 2-in-1 bus, double decks, 170 passenger capacity

bus

World’s Highest Statue
Christ the Redeemer Statue
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

statue

World’s Tallest Building
Burj Dubai – 900 meters high
Dubai, U.A.E.

building

World’s Largest Palace
Palace of the Parliament – more than 500 bedrooms, 55 kitchens, 120 sitting rooms
Bucharest, Romania

palace

World’s Biggest Stadium
Maracana Stadium – 199,000 capacity
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

stadium

World’s Costliest Stadium
Wembley Stadium – cost $1.6 billion, 90,000 capacity
London, England

stadium2

World’s Most Complex Interchange
Interstate 10 Highway Interchange
Houston, Texas, USA

interchange

World’s Biggest Excavator
Built by KRUPP of Germany – 45,500 tons, 95 meters high, 215 meters long

excavator

World’s Largest Mosque
Shah Feisal Mosque – inside hall capacity of 35,000, outside overflow capacity of 150,000
Islamabad, Pakistan

mosque

World’s Biggest Hotel
MGM Grand Hotel – 6,276 rooms
Las Vegas, Nevada

hotel

World’s Most Expensive Hotel
Burj Al Arab Hotel – only 7-star hotel in the world, cheapest room is $1,000/night, royal suite is $28,000/night
Dubai, U.A.E.

hotel2

World’s Biggest Church Building
Winners’ Chapel – inside seating capacity of 50,000, outside overflow capacity of 250,000
Canaanland, Nigeria (outside of Lagos)

church

World’s Biggest Roman-Catholic Cathedral
Basilica of Our Lady of Peace – area of 30,000 square meters
Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire

cathedral