A trip through Heaven and Hell

by Oleksandr Harasymchuk (Ukraine)

I didn't expect to find Ukraine

Kherson. Not "her son", not even "her daughter". Just Kherson - the city in the south of Ukraine. The city what is so routine and depressive for local people and so orphean and fresh for tourists. And the city where I and my 2 mates were lucky to visit in one day. The special day. The day when we literally went through Heaven and Hell. I heard a lot about Oleshkivsky Pisky (the biggest desert in Europe and it's in my country!) and I was confident that one day I would visit it. October 12, 7:47 a.m. - Kherson rail station. Time to move on. But... The question was where should we move on to? There is a little info on the internet how to get to the desert without an excursion (they make me feel restricted). The choice was between 2 little villages. We flipped a coin and moved on. 9:42 a.m. - Radensk. At least it seemed we were here. I don't know why but at that time it was a brilliant idea for us not to just walk the road but through the forest. And "how unexpectedly" we got lost and accidentally came up to military base named "Rai" in Ukrainian, what means "Heaven". What an irony though. 11:23 a.m. - Oleshkivsky Pisky. Finally, we got there through all that forest. To be fair, we wanted to see more than just sand. We expected to feel some dignity of that sight, some limerence, maybe some miracle but absolutely not people. In fact, humans made that desert by their negligence. And what I really didn't expect - to find a garbage. And of course, that was made by humankind too. 3:53 p.m. - Kherson's bus station. Frustrated by what we have seen, we decided to take a ride to the Kherson Grand Canyon. It was the best decision for that day I suppose. Can you imagine the edge of the world? Place, where ground rapidly goes down and further you can see only silent water. Some people say, if you look for a long time at these landscapes, you can see the turtle and 4 elephants, carrying the world. In such a moment you don't want to think of anything, just to keep silence and feel yourself part of something big. 8:23 p.m. - Kherson's central square. Of course, everything was so sweet and adorable. But during all of these hours we absolutely have forgotten about our accommodation for the night. Dark clouds made us think faster. There was no free hostel, and it was not affordable for us as poor students to take a hotel room. So what do you think we did? Yes, CouchSurfing rules! We were looking just for a little poor place to sleep but we were really surprised. That night we spent in a ... bathhouse. The man that hosted us has a bathhouse business and he agreed to host us just for a good review for him. And we were lucky to experience his sauna. If you haven't ever been in a sauna - just imagine that feeling when you keep your hand on 15 centimeters above the almost boiling water. The temperature there was about 80-90°C, hellish feeling. In fact, an hour before that time I wasn't even sure if we would sleep not on the street. A day after that man treated us and showed us the sights of Kherson before our departure. Just to remember: it's all just for feedback on his business. I had a long ride on a train (16 hours) and I had time to realize some things. Although I have gone from heaven to hell just in one day that was completely unplanned, I didn't expect to find another 2 things. And both of them are connected with people. First, bad one is a result of people's activities. It's a garbage. It is everywhere, even at the places, where you don't expect to discover. And it is gloomy. But there is also the second thing, good one. People's generosity and hope in them. That man showed us by his example that humans can be Humane. My friends, the realness is that it's only up to you who you want to be.