Pripyat; Ukraine

Partly inspired by Jack Whitehall but mainly driven by my perverse desire to test the limits of my luck/mortality, I visited Chernobyl. Yes - the radioactive nuclear meltdown place where it’s still inhabitable for humans. I like to keep things interesting!

There were 3 distinct and scary parts to this trip. In ascending (and co-incidentally chronological) order:

1. The drive to Stansted as I was putting a significant amount of trust in a, frankly quite dodgy, Fiat 500. 2 weeks previously its engine had cut out in the middle lane of the M1, the first attempt to fix it wasn’t successful, and I’d got it back from the garage after attempt #2 the previous day. Whatever wizardry the mechanic did had worked, and my little car got me there in one piece. 

2. The taxi ride from Kiev airport to my hotel as I was being driven by one of the scariest individuals I’d ever encountered in a car less likely to pass its MoT than mine, and this bloke wasn’t wasting valuable fuel to heat his car and de-mist the windscreen. Also, his route of choice included several U-turns into oncoming traffic - Uber screenshot available to anyone calling bullshit. I had several questions, mainly: “good sir, I must probe your disregard of the Highway Code and ponder if this is because you believe others are in pursuit of your vehicle?” which, in the heat of the moment, came out more like “you’re driving like we’re being chased, you big mad bastard!”. He turned to face me, stared me in the eye (please bear in mind he’s driving and I’m in the back seat) and menacingly whispered “you do not know that they are not”. I’ve got no idea who “they” are, or what his diagnosis is, but I know I’d love a rummage through his psych records.

3. The blasé attitude of Ukrainians to radiation, or rather health and safety in general. I did some research before coming here (I.e. watching Jack Whitehall and David Farrier doing similar) and knew that a dosimeter reading of >0.2 or wasn’t normal. My Geiger counter was bleeping frantically when the radiation level reached 0.3, so my guide re-set the alarm threshold to 5.0. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but I knew how I felt when the count went to 415.0: mildly concerned. 

Leading on from point 3, this trip I learned that the Chernobyl disaster extended far beyond the initial explosion; the subsequent management of it was equally as catastrophic. It took 36 hours for any type of local exclusion zone to be put in place, and the accident only became internationally known of because the radioactive fallout was detected in Sweden - 2 days later. Even then, the Soviet government denied responsibility.

Walking through this abandoned area on a bitterly cold snowy day was darkly mesmerising. Pripyat (a purpose built city for the employees of the power plant and their families, just 3km from the explosion) had been re-claimed by nature in just 32 years. I saw different buildings: apartments, hospitals, supermarkets, schools. Each area was destroyed enough to feel surreal and disconnected, but most also had remnants which brought the reality of the abandonment back: dolls left in a nursery, full shopping trolleys in aisles, patient’s medical notes, a gas mask. There was even a fairground which had never been used - it was due to open 3 days after the evacuation. 

It was magical in a way I can’t describe. I can’t recommend visiting enough, especially before the area becomes more touristy and looses its spooky silence. I came home with the same number of digits/appendages as I left with, and no green glow. I’m sure it’s perfectly safe!

Love Emily x

Malta, Athens & Budapest

On Wednesday I arrived in Malta. I stayed at a hotel in  Birżebbuġa which, charitably, can be described as “an up and coming area”. The hotel was lovely and marketed (indeed, named) itself on its proximity to the water, which was technically not untrue. However, in my mind, this conjured up images of being by a beach, or cliff, or harbour. Well, I was next to a harbour, but it was the ‘bloody massive shipping container’ type with not a pretty little sailing boat in sight. 

Vowing to undertake better hotel research in the future, the next day I arrived in Athens and smugly cast aside all doubts of my hotel selection abilities. The place I stayed was at the bottom of Acropolis Hill, and had stunning views of the Parthenon. I enjoyed the sight from the rooftop bar and did shots of ‘Unicum’ (a Hungarian spirit; incidentally the most vile thing I’ve ever consumed) with some Moldovan backpackers. The next day I did all the usual Athens tourist stuff, and made my way to Budapest.

In Budapest I stayed on a boat on the river Danube, which was right next to the Hungarian parliament buildings, and had really good views of Budapest castle. I had a nice little stroll down the riverbank the following day and deciphered the public transport system.

No injuries, no disease, no drama!

Love Emily x 

A souvenir from Asia

I knew my next hospital admission was lurking somewhere in the future, but I didn’t expect it to be this bloody soon.

I arrived home from Gatwick feeling pretty damn ropey, but the obvious culprit seemed to be the 11 hour flight. The next day I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a car, and unfortunately I have previous experience of that for comparison. My temperature was 38.5 so I took a bit of paracetamol, but an hour later it had climbed to 38.8 and I felt like that car had reversed back over me.

I went through the usual drill: called haematology, they admitted me, and initiated treatment for neutropenic sepsis. Given my recent travels I was moved to an isolation room on an infectious diseases ward; my temperature rose to 39.1, my BP plummeted to 62/40, and an extremely angry looking (but completely painless) rash crept over me. Loads of exciting swabs and blood samples were taken over 7 cannulation attempts and 2 femoral stabs, but I avoided another lumbar puncture (I think because I was very vocal about my headache from last time). So far the only thing grown was enterovirus in my throat which isn’t particularly interesting or significant, but the tests for all the exotic diseases take time to do. Initially the working diagnosis was dengue fever, but now chikungunya virus (no, I’d never heard of it either!) seems a lot more likely given how my rash has evolved.

I’m home now, just feeling like I’ve been beaten up, and marvelling at the souvenir I brought home.

Love Emily x

Diffushi; Maldives

The Maldives. Wow.

There was an initial kerfuffle on arrival: I’d thrice asked the hotel for boat transfers between the island the airport is on, and the one where our hotel was. Whether those emails were received and/or ignored will remain a mystery, but what I do know is Ben, Clare and I spent a decent 6 hours lugging our backpacks around Male, sweating our tits off and relying on the kindness of strangers who compensated for the lack of signs/maps/information kiosks and directed us towards the boat we needed. 

We were not happy campers on arrival, and even less so when we discovered the hotel website photos had been taken by an extremely talented photographer, our triple room contained one bed, and the highly anticipated hotel spa was actually at another hotel. We thought we got fair compensation when we negotiated free drinks (we had already paid for full board) for our whole stay plus a free snorkelling trip, but it then transpired that the hotel didn’t have a licence to serve alcohol and the snorkelling trip was included anyway.

Waking up the next morning after an early night, we were all in better moods. We went snorkelling about 3km from the coast of Dhiffushi and all the hyperbolic cliches are about to get rolled out. Going underwater was like entering a different, magical, world. The only sounds I could hear were my breathing and heart beat which gave me far greater focus on what I could see - which was stunning. The flora and fauna of the reef were vibrantly coloured, and the fish weaving around it were equally vivid and beautiful. I spotted several turtles, and got close enough to one to stroke it. It was amazing, and something which should be added to your bucket list.

I spent the next couple of days lazing on the hotels private beach, reading, writing and doing not much else. On our last evening we went to a local spot where stingrays and baby sharks are known to go to in the evening to feed, and paddled with them in the sea.

All in all, I loved the Maldives and I’ve never been anywhere which comes close to rivalling it’s natural beauty, but 3 nights was enough. I’d no longer feel jealous of anyone who told me about their upcoming two-week honeymoon in the Maldives because, unless you’re a ‘beach holiday’ fanatic, there’s nothing to do except... nothing. Maybe that’s part of the appeal for some, but I was getting a bit bored (and burnt) by the end of it. 

That’s my latest adventure brought to a close. Next stop: Malta.

Love Emily x