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Bulgaria Warnings or Dangers
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Bulgaria Warnings or Dangers

Who's the biggest? - Bulgaria
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by ChristinaNest
Bulgaria travel tips posted by real travelers and Bulgaria locals.
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Address Registration
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    • bijo69
  • Updated By bijo69 on July 11, 2007
  • Bulgaria Page by bijo69
    • Bulgaria Warnings or Dangers
    by bijo69
    You'll need an address registration with the local authorities if you are staying in Bulgaria for more than five days. If you are at the hotel, they will register you automatically. In case you are staying at a private house you will have to go to the local "passportna sluzhba" with your host and get it done. You might have to queue for a while, but there isn't a fee.
    I didn't get checked for the registration at the border, but you never know... According to the German Foreign Office, the fines are between 100 and 1000 BGL.
    Apparently EU citizens are no longer required to register as of 2007!

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  • Website: http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/www/de/laenderinfos/laender/laender_ausgabe_html?type_id=5&land_id=28
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    bad roads
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  • Updated By zlatiq on June 13, 2006
  • Bulgaria Page by zlatiq
    • roads of varna - Bulgaria
    roads of varna
    by zlatiq
    unfortunately roads in bulgaria are not the best, esp. the second-class roads between smaller cities or even roads in the cities( see the photo of a road in varna); sometimes in order to protect your car and kidneys u have to drive with 20km/h

    and the thing that drives me crazy the most is the lack of roadsigns (someone makes business out of stealing them and selling them for the metals they're made of); anyway...sometimes even i can't find my way around places i've visited before...so get yourself a nice map, pen and paper..so whenever u ask for directions people who don't speak english they can draw u the directions.

    also due to the business with metals, lots of road manholes are missing..so watch out for the big uncovered holes!

    and again bad roads are the reason for the weird zigzag drving and sudden changes of direction...no..not all the drivers are drunk, it's just that they're trying to avoid holes and pits and so on.

    u still up for driving?
    IT:S NOt THAT BAD, don't get scared!

    i know some day it'll be better, but for now...

    good luck!!!

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  • Website: http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm
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    Before you leave
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    • ettenaj
  • By ettenaj on October 26, 2004
  • Bulgaria Page by ettenaj
    • Make sure you receive a certain piece of paper from the hotel reception along with your passport, I dont know what it is called but if you do not have it you will have trouble at the airport, your tour rep should advise you on this. If you do not have a tour guide do your own research on it before you travel.

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    Emergencie
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    • ger4444
  • By ger4444 on November 29, 2003
  • Bulgaria Page by ger4444
    • Bulgaria Warnings or Dangers
    by ger4444
    Although you probably wont need these numbers in any case, for Bulgaria is very innocent as it comes to things like crime or injuries, of course you can break a leg or still have the bad luck of being violently robbed somewhere, somehow. Then the following numbers can be of vital importance. Medical help/Ambulance: 150; Police: 166; Fire Brigade: 160. These numbers are nationally operated. Yet, the bad thing is that, when you have f.e. been robbed in Sofia, and you call the police with 166, you likely are going to get someone on the phone who doesn’t speak English! A real horrorfilm!! Someone is trying to murder you and you call on your mobile to say that you are about to be murdered and the voice on the other side says something you don’t understand: zdrasti? You tell your story and you still hear: zdrasti? There fore, its good to know some vital words when you are really in an emergency situation. In case you are really being in the situation that this maffiatype is trying to put his knife in your body at your hotelroom, and you have the opportunity to reach for the phone, call the number and scream: pomosh, by adding the name of the hotel and roomnumber. Within half an hour there will be an policeofficer then… OK: now for some really serious matters: how to express in Bulgarian some emergency situations? Here are some expressions: help: pomosh; call the police/doter: povikayte politsiya/lekar. I am lost: zagubih se. (this can be a very helpful expression if you cant read the cyrilic streetnames. Yet, this expression is of course of no use if you cant understand Bulgarian language: helpful people might try to help you by asking where you want to go to and by giving you directions; but may be they will look for someone they know who speaks English, you never know!)

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    Health (2)
  • Tip Rating:
    • ger4444
  • Updated By ger4444 on November 29, 2003
  • Bulgaria Page by ger4444
    • dangerous dog!!!!!! - Bulgaria
    dangerous dog!!!!!!
    by ger4444
    Another urban legend is that there is a problem with dogs, a problem so big, that government cant control it anymore. These dogs are in possession of rabbis and they should be very aggressive. Well, you don’t have to take precautions against rabbis for this problem does not exist that excessively. There is no enormous overcrowded dog population in cities or villages – and they wont attack you. Maybe they can eventually escort you to your hotel when you are drunk but that’s all. If, however you might get into a situation that you are biten by such a dog, the bite should be cleaned immediately and thoroughly. Scrub it with water and then apply alohol and iodine. Medical help must be sought as soon as possible to get an injection to prevent death

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  • Website: Dog-attack_inbg.bg
  • Other Contact: howtocoockgos.com
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    Taxi
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    • ger4444
  • By ger4444 on November 22, 2003
  • Bulgaria Page by ger4444
    • the yellow moneymonster - Bulgaria
    the yellow moneymonster
    by ger4444
    Be aware of the fact that many taxi drivers are trying to rip you off. The normal price for in average about 0,30 lv per kilometre. But of course smart taxi drivers can have manipulated their meters. So if you have to have a ride of 5 km; you must – before you get into the taxi – arrange a deal on the price: that would then be 1 lv 50. If you are so stupid not to arrange a price before stepping in the cab, you may get a big surprise at the the place of arrival. What I did, when a taxi asked a ridiculous price, was shopping around between other taxies. Then they will be eager to lower their prices. However, not all taxi drivers are of course rip offs. I have had some wonderful taxirides in Bulgaria: f.e. from Karlovo to Koprivshitsa e.g 100 km (I did not want to wait for 3 hours for the train) for 25 lv!!

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  • Phone: 918 internat. nr. to report rips
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    Health
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    • ger4444
  • Updated By ger4444 on June 9, 2004
  • Bulgaria Page by ger4444
    • combination shot of hypatitus A,B,C,D,E,Fand G.... - Bulgaria
    combination shot of hypatitus
    A,B,C,D,E,Fand G....
    by ger4444
    Is Bulgaria a dangerous country for your health? I asked this question on the VT-forum before I went to Bulgaria and I got answers varying from denial, cynicism and serious warnings. I had heard that it was advised to take vaccinations agains DTP and hepatitis A and B. I didn?t do that however because here in the Netherlands you have to pay ridiculous prices for them. And besides, Bulgaria is Europe, not some exotic country in the jungle! I am still alive and didn?t have problems in Bulgaria. I only once met a traveller in sofia, who had an upset stomach: supposing she had eaten something wrong the day before. Officially the health office says that there are no vaccinations required for Bulgaria; but they recommend you to take a DTP vaccination. Its up to you. There are also tales about food in southern-European countries like spain, italy, and the south-east Balkan countries: never drink water ? except bottled water -, don?t eat vegetables that aren?t cooked. Well, you can drink water in all the bigger towns from fountains if you want; but the water in villages is less safe to drink, for its filthy. Vegetables are also no problem; so you can have a shopska salad without risking your life. Of course I am only speaking out of my own experiences. It is of course always better to take all the precautions one can. Well, finally, are there any dangerous insects or animals in Bulgaria? Ok: if you are hiking there is always the risk that you can get a bite by a tick. In Bulgaria, during the summer, the bite of a tick can actually cause a disease (a virus in the brains!!!) But you can easily prevent the tick getting on your skin by covering up the vulnerable body skin by clothes: that is, when you are walking through tracks with high grass, wear long trousers instead of shorts and if you are hking through forests, wear a cap and a T-shirt. That will do it.

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    Crime (2)
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    • ger4444
  • By ger4444 on November 22, 2003
  • Bulgaria Page by ger4444
    • candies in my bag... - Bulgaria
    candies in my bag...
    by ger4444
    Three things to remind. First,I was told at the youth hostal in Sofia that travellers should be aware at the airport or trainstations. The reason is that they can be targets of robbery. The thing goes the following way. A person may act very friendly and helpful to you, trying to win your confidence. Then he may invite you for a drink at the airport or trainstation restaurant. This person then mixes your drink with a drug so that you fall asleep; and then when you wake up all your stuff is gone. According to this story, these people really are diehards; they take a lot of time to win your confidence. I don’t know if this tale is an actual reality or just an urban legend; I myself did not had this experience. I did not think it to be fine to have doubs on every Bulgarian simply because they are friendly! Eventually, just don’t accept an offered drink then. Second: if you are coming by car or if you are renting one; you must take care of your car. There are problems with car-theft. Third; if you are planning to go to Turkey (Istanbul is often combined with a visit to Bulgaria; because its not that far away from the border) be sure that you keep an eye on your luggage during your trip to the border and while passing the border. If someone manages to put some drugs in your luggage you are really in trouble. The penalty for drugs smuggle is enormous in turkey.

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    Crime
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    • ger4444
  • By ger4444 on November 21, 2003
  • Bulgaria Page by ger4444
    • real or not? - Bulgaria
    real or not?
    by ger4444
    What about crime in Bulgaria: is it worse than in any other European country? No. Yet there are some things to notice. There is actually fake police in Bulgaria. I was luckily that I knew about this phenomena so that I didn’t got trapped. How to separate a fake-agent from a real one? First: the real ones have real police cars; the fake ones have civilian cars but they put a blue-light on the roof of the car to simulate a police car. Second: the real police operates during daylight in crowded places; whereas the fake-police operates at night, preffering places where real police-agents cant see them: that is in remoted areas. So, the best way to deal with the problem is this: whenever a police-officers stops you ask yourself: did I possibly do anything ‘criminal’that gives the right to that man to stop you? The answer will be no! the real officer does not want to make his own country ridiculous by asking every tourist for an ID. The fake police does of course: he will ask your ID and than he will summon you to go with him to his fake-police car. You can imagine the possible outcomes. So, in this case you may ask the official for his ID and if he shows it you must persist on going to the police office by feed. But; its not like Bulgaria is systematically operating with a network of pake-officers. Its most – lets say – private entrepreneurs who want to get some extra money by scaring tourists that are unaware. If you show any form of resistance; they will be more scared from you than in the revise because they don’t want to be trapped themselves!

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    BULGARIAN ROADS & TRAFFIC
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    • jani79
  • Updated By jani79 on September 1, 2003
  • Bulgaria Page by jani79
    • Bulgaria Warnings or Dangers
    by jani79
    If you're driving in Bulgaria with your own car and if you want to go backhome with the same car, then be extremly careful. The roads are in pretty bad condition (see the picture), the majority of signs is in cyrillic (so you have to be able to read it pretty fast) and Bulgarians are very agressive drivers.

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