Places I want to see: Chernobyl

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So, after I talked about places I have been, I think it would be fun to talk about places I want to see. But first I want to talk about my philosophy on travel, since it's probably different than - well - a lot of people's. :-) Most of the time I would rather spend money locally - in, say a 5 hour radius of "home". Why? Because chances are if I went further, and found something I really liked - I wouldn't be able to return often, and people I met would be online acquaintances at best, since distance would prevent us from seeing more of each other. I have a friend who is preparing to go to Scotland in autumn. So this summer she is skipping a lot of local events in order to save enough money for the trip. While I commend her for doing so- and realize that neither way is right or wrong - I am the opposite. Let's spend money on the events and things that are here and now. I know, maybe it's odd thinking. But it is my thought process none-the-less. However there are a few exceptions... but these distant places that I want to see are not (usually) the typical "tourist" places that people go to. (Places of tropical beauty, etc... though ask me again about wanting to see the tropical beauty in about 5 months when we are in the middle of winter here.) So to kick this off, let's take one of the oddest places that I really feel compelled to see: The power plant at Chernobyl and the abandoned city nearby called Pripyat. There was an accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear plant in 1986. The history surrounding this is actually quite fascinating... how it was handled at the time, why it happened, the science behind nuclear power, the containment dome - for some reason all these things interest me. And I am amazed at the abandoned city, the haunting images of the Ferris wheel and amusement park which were never used, abandoned houses, pool, gym, relics, left behind, dealerships with cars, and equipment that was too contaminated to be used... For some reason - instead of Hawaii and it's beaches or Brazil or some other tropical paradise - I want to see Chernobyl so bad that it is like I feel compelled. I don't know why. (No offense to Hawaiians and Brazillians.) Here is a link to Kidd of Speed - a woman who motorcycles into the area often to take pictures. She has written a great commentary on the accident, and many great photos. I highly recommend clicking through her site if the topic interests you.