Singaporean Visited Chernobyl 2 Years Ago, Images Show Stark Contrast To Our Sunny Island
With travel restrictions in place, avid travellers are limited to re-discovering our island nation or looking back on travel memories.
Thankfully, the virtual world has offered alternative forms of escape for us, through visuals captured by other travellers.
Chris Anderson, a Singaporean who visited the radioactive ghost town of Chernobyl in Ukraine, shared his travel memories of the town with us.
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
He went on a guided tour that explored the desolation left in the wake of the 1986 meltdown of the No.4 reactor of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Singaporean visited Chernobyl in 2018
The 24-year old first encountered Chernobyl in the form of a video game map when he was 12. To his surprise, he found that the ghost town was real after a Google search.
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
12 years later, he packed his bags to join a tour into the 2,600 km2 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. He described the place as surreal, like reliving a part of his childhood.
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
Visitors were required to wear long-sleeved clothes as protection against lingering radiation. This is a hint of the tragic nuclear disaster that caused the town’s evacuation.
The leftover radiation was present in the town’s vegetation. Even an apple registered as radioactive.
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
Desolation after a man-made disaster
Sights within the radiation zone unveiled Chernobyl’s unfortunate history.
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
The rusting ferris wheel at Pripyat Amusement Park loomed over passing tourists.
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
One can imagine that families used to enjoy a beautiful view atop it.
However, a bleak landscape was the dominant sight across Chernobyl during Chris’ visit.
The town square was overgrown with thick foliage while wild animals roamed free.
Comparison photo of town square
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
The town was certainly a shadow of its former glory.
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
With barely any human traffic, nature is free to reclaim the land slowly but surely.
Common town amenities stripped bare
Along with the evacuated residents, most of the furnishings within buildings such as shopping malls have been stripped.
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
Emptied decades ago, a swimming pool was filled with graffiti left by trespassers.
Image courtesy of Chris AndersonÂ
These pictures allow a glimpse of life before the meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which took 31 lives and spread radiation to neighbouring countries, reports Time Magazine.
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Image courtesy of Chris Anderson
National Geographic says the surrounding area remains uninhabitable for up to 20,000 years due to the radiation.
A stark contrast to bustling Singapore
Reflecting on his experience, Chris shared that he felt privileged living in Singapore. Despite its ups and downs, our garden city remains one of the safest and most peaceful countries that one can live in.
All in all, a walk around Chernobyl gave him a more wholesome appreciation of being alive.
We couldn’t agree more and hope that such a tragedy will never befall another nation.
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All images courtesy of Chris Anderson.
