Story: Surreal Trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Have you ever thought of packing a Geiger counter in your carry-on bag? Seriously. For the past several years, people from around the world have done just that, descending upon Kyiv, Ukraine for a chance to visit the contaminated landscape known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

A 1986 accident destroyed Reactor 4 at the V.I. Lenin Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukraine, releasing huge amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. The accident forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people from an area within a 30-km radius of the plant. Twenty-two years after the disaster, people have returned to this area. Not to live - it is still too dangerous for that. However, the area is now considered safe enough for people to participate in "ecological" tours of the site of the world's worst nuclear accident.

I did not pack a geiger counter when, in June 2006, I spent two days in the “Zone” with a friend who used to live there. We entered the Zone at its southern checkpoint in Dytyatky. Everything around us seemed just like a typical rural landscape, except for the armed military guard checking our passports at the gate.

Entering the Zone, things become strangely different. The bumpy, deteriorating roads are devoid of life - not a vehicle in sight. Except for our radiometer’s occasional beeping (my friends device), it seemed quiet, too quiet.

On our way to the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, we passed the 10-km checkpoint, signifying our entry into the “Dead Zone.” Did I make a mistake leaving my inhibitions back at Dytyatky?

Before seeing the famous cement Sarcophagus covering Reactor Four’s radioactive remains, we received a tour inside the plant. Unlike most visitors, we were given the added privilege of visiting the Reactor 4 control room. I felt strangely out of place standing in the very room that forever changed the history of Ukraine and the rest of the world.

The afternoon was spent investigating several small villages north and east of Chernobyl. I felt like an intruder walking into the abandoned homes, but could not help myself. The most fascinating buildings were a school and St. Michael’s Church in the village of Krasne. The wooden church was a wonderful find, but it was a child’s coloring book in the school that took my emotions for a spin.

The following day featured the abandoned city of Pripyat, former home to almost 50,000 people, including my friend Sasha. After 22 years, trees and bushes encroach upon the city’s roads, and many buildings are in poor condition - one school has already suffered a partial structural collapse. It was sad to see how looters have completely devastated this once “modern” city. Today, standing in the middle of this time capsule of Soviet society, the silence is deafening.

Our visit included Sasha’s former apartment and the cultural center (DK Energetik) and Hotel Polissia in the city’s central square. Other stops included the public swimming pool “Azure,” the police station, a panoramic view from the roof of a 16-story apartment building and of course the famous Ferris wheel in the city’s amusement park.

Our final destination was a quick stop at one of the rural villages just north of Pripyat. Here we met an elderly couple that moved back to their home two weeks after the 1986 evacuations. Apparently radiation is not a danger to these “samosels” - they can’t see it, therefore it does not exist. They definitely lead a hard, secluded life, but seemed happy.

In the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, time stands still. It has been 22 years since children last filled the classrooms. Church bells seldom ring - and then, only at the hands of a few intrepid visitors. All that remains here is silence, nature and the remains of almost 100 scattered communities.

Like many people, I felt somehow changed after visiting Chernobyl. Perhaps I left a little piece of myself behind.