AN INTREPID explorer who defied government guidelines to experience the horrors of war-torn Ukraine has expressed his "shock" at being named one of the world's top young adventurers.
Conner McMurchy, from Helensburgh, ignored the level four warning from the UK Government to visit the contested country in April to "see it with my own eyes".
The 20-year-old, one of the youngest entrants on Open World magazine's list of the Top 30 Adventurers in the World Under 30, has set a challenge to travel to a different country almost every month this year.
Conner told the Advertiser: “Geography has always been a huge interest for me. I find it fascinating how other people live in different parts of the world and how culture influences people’s lifestyles.
“I had been lucky to go on family holidays to Spain, but I knew I wanted to see more of this world.”
The journey to get into Ukraine was not easy and at times very tedious for Conner and his friend Taylor.
Once they arrived in Krakow from Glasgow, the pair sourced an overnight bus to Poltava in eastern Ukraine which came with two passport checks – that left them sitting at the border for five hours - from Polish and armed Ukrainian guards.
“I was so nervous before going and I did question what I was doing a lot. I ended up telling my mum what I was going to do. She wasn’t happy with me and tried to talk me out of it, but she knew that once I have something in my head there was no stopping me.
“I felt my safest when I was visiting western Ukraine as the bombing was less often compared to other regions of the country.
"It sounds totally crazy as there are bombings every single day, but people try to go about life as normal as possible. Restaurants were busy, music was playing in the streets and the streets were filled with people.
“There was a large military presence, check points and buildings barricaded up but despite that it felt like a proper European city. When we checked into our hotel, the receptionist warned us that if the air raid siren went off during the night, we’d have to hide between two walls if we wanted to survive, as we wouldn’t make it to the nearest bomb shelter.”
During his time there the 20-year-old chatted with locals, soldiers, and the late journalist David Knowles to immerse himself in the culture and share stories over traditional food and drinks.
“The air raid sirens go off daily in Lviv, you can tell by people’s reactions how serious they are, most people tend to go about their business even though a bomb could drop any minute, unfortunately recently a residential street we walked along was hit and a father lost his wife and two young daughters.
“One evening we got chatting with a soldier in full military gear who joined us for beers.
“He was half Ukrainian, half Spanish, and didn’t speak a word of English, but my basic Spanish came in handy, along with Google Translate.
“We spent the entire afternoon drinking beers and exchanging stories about Scotland and Ukraine. He also showed us some videos from his time on the frontline. I won’t go into detail, but it hit hard and reminded me where I was and what was happening around me.”
“I am still in shock that the put me in their list as I haven’t done half the incredible things that the other adventurers have achieved”, he admitted.
“I don’t think many people can say they visited an active warzone at 20-years-old, it gave me a positive insight on how life can change at any time and it’s somewhere I’d recommend anyone to visit. “
But his adventures don’t stop there as he dreams of travelling to every country in the world, with a second visit to Ukraine on the cards later this year.
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