FA R AWAY G AY H O L I DAY
TRAVEL Wonderfully Weird World traveler Mike Fallon shares his top 2 most memorable travel destinations.
ANNUAL
2020
STORY BY MIKE FALLON
EMBRACEMAGAZINE.US
92
I
started traveling in my early 20s, but not because of childhood experiences. My parents were vacationers — not passionate travelers. We lived in Florida, so we explored theme parks, beaches, natural springs, and occasionally an outlet mall. Thanks to these adventures, I have fond memories of beach-front motels and resorts near Disney World. If we traveled outside Florida, it was to see family in Atlanta or Charleston in a bulky station wagon with that cool flip-up seat in the rear — obviously before the existence of iPads. I really cherished these experiences, but it wasn’t until my first trip to Europe that I really expanded my horizons. I loved feeling outside my comfort zone in a sea of art, architecture, and culinary delight. Translating signs in different languages, communicating with locals, and getting lost on purpose felt so exhilarating. Travel took a new meaning after this trip, and as I checked more destinations off my bucket list over the next five or so years, I started craving something different... something more obscure, where I could feel like a character in a fantasy film, lost in places with eerie customs, mysteries ruins, or lost civilizations with a post-apocalyptic mystery.
Post-Apocalyptic Pleasure NOW, WITH 15 YEARS and 80 countries be➺hind me, I’d like to share a few of my favorite
mysterious places on the planet. The first on my list is The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine. To start, Ukraine is a treat in its own right, with Kiev an easy flight from most European airline hubs, beautiful architecture, delicious food, and cheap vintage clothing and décor. While in Kiev, be sure to grab a drink at Lift, a friendly club tucked away on the fourth floor of an office building. The karaoke is often in English and the locals are welcoming. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a couple hours outside Kiev, but the time passes quickly as our guide told tales of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the Soviet’s design of Pripyat,
a city developed to court the nation’s top scientists and their families. When you first enter the exclusion zone, you’re outfitted with dosimeters to monitor your radiation exposure and you’re briefed on the rules of the zone. My first stop inside the zone included dilapidated, abandoned homes, crumbling schools, and ransacked shops. You’re free to wander around a bit, and this is when you’ll find shattered cabinets filled with family photos, haphazardly located piles of used gas masks and seemingly once important documents. You’ll even discover children’s play areas with toys still on the floor from playtime the day the city was evacuated for good. It’s best to take a moment to yourself here, as you’ll truly experience what a post-apoc-
A classroom in the city of Pripyat left this way after the evacuation and abandonment of the city.
