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 | Riga Warnings or Dangers | Tips 1 - 10 of 48 |  |
It works like this. The unsuspecting tourist is approached by someone asking if you could possibly change five two lat coins into a ten lat note. The only problem is the coins are Lithuanian Lits NOT Lats and only worth a fraction of the lats.......beware!!!! Leave a Comment
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When you are walking on the street or using underground take double care about your bags and wallet, when you see group of gypsies somewhere near. Especially if you are having a walk near Riga’s Central railways station or Central market.
That people are enough quick to rob you in few seconds and in that case your trip will be spoiled.
Be double careful if you see them robbing someone else. In that case call the police but don’t do anything on your own, because you might get not just robbed but get some punch as well. Leave a Comment
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 Slippery when wet... :o) by FletteMetteLeave a Comment
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I had heard that Latvian taxis try to cheat you by not deleting the previous customer's payment and it indeed happened to me, when I took a taxi to the airport. Fortunately I looked at the meter and saw 2,50 lats on it....not an enermous sum but why pay more than fare sum? Leave a Comment
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It is quiet popular to beg for the money on the streets. Think twice before you decide to give money to someone, because mostly people who are really in need do not beg for it.
People who you will see on the streets are mostly alcoholics and will use your money for the shot of vodka. Leave a Comment
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 Old Town, Riga by FletteMette
When in Riga, you just can't expect staff at restaurants, cafes, shops or hotels to be friendly and helpful. If there's some sort of problem, many (or most?) will simply tell you that it's "not their fault", or they'll resort to "not understanding English". I can't even count the number of times we've been told that "I didn't say so, I didn't do that, that wasn't me" - trying to explain that true, *you* didn't, but a representative of this hotel / shop / whatever did, usually has no effect at all.
Some examples: At a cafe yesterday, my meal arrived - and was very different from what I'd actually ordered. I politely told the waiter, who simply shrugged. At other times, I've been told that "Yeah, we sometimes make something else" (!!), or "no no, it is the same thing, sure it is", or I've been told that I didn't know what I'd ordered... :o) At the hotel this morning, the surly receptionist overcharged us by 150 euros (!) - when we told her, she repeatedly denied having made a mistake (this went on for... 10 minutes? while the taxi was waiting for us) - and no apology was offered after her supervisor finally managed to explain to her that she'd messed things up. Everyone can make mistakes, of course - but I do have a problem with it when people are just plain rude.
Not exactly dangerous (!) - but I do think that this attitude gets very tiresome after a while! Leave a Comment
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 Riga by FletteMette
I think tourists planning a trip to Riga / Latvia ought to know that there is quite a bit of racism in this country. Me, I'm a fair-skinned redhead, and haven't got any first-hand experiences regarding racism - but I do know others who have.
I know some Scandinavians of Asian descent who used to live in Riga - and according to them, they'd get dirty looks and rude remarks from locals pretty much whenever they left their apartment.. One girl was even spat on by a group of locals as she was walking home from the supermarket one afternoon. An Asian guy I know would frequently get into trouble at nightclubs and elsewhere - he'd suddenly find himself being harassed by a bunch of locals (and consequently being "rescued" by his group of friends!) - without having done anything to provoke or annoy anyone. (And this always seemed to happen to *him*, not the white guys in the group)
There have been reports in the newspapers about an increasing number of racist attacks in Riga.
Yes, I realize that these things can, unfortunately, happen anywhere - but they do seem to happen quite frequently in Riga. Leave a Comment
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 Not a public toilet...
;o) by FletteMette
Low-cost carrier Ryanair flies to Riga from several British airports (London Stansted, East Midlands, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool...) and the city has become a very popular destination for British stag parties.
Yes, this is definitely a generalization and they're "not all like that", but the impression the rest of us get is pretty much as follows: large groups of "lads" fly over for a weekend of cheap booze and strip clubs, and spend their time in Riga partying, wearing matching t-shirts or football shirts, harassing locals and other tourists, peeing on the Freedom Monument, getting scammed by taxis and strip clubs, and getting arrested. ;o) The Old Town isn't that big, and this is where tourists spend most of their time - so if you're in Riga for the weekend you will run into these groups all the bloody time. They're everywhere.
I'm in Riga at the moment (have been here a few weeks), it's March, it's not exactly peak tourist season (!) and the Old Town (where I live when I'm in Riga) is pretty quiet most of the time. Until Thursday or Friday night, when the Brits arrive. Really! (And nah, they're not much fun. They're....loud. And very drunk. And somewhat obnoxious. Most of them. ;o)
If you're planning a trip to Riga, and you're looking for a romantic getaway or a quiet little holiday, then I'd suggest going between Sunday and Thursday, instead of on a weekend trip. (No, (most of) the British lads aren't *that* bad, but the atmosphere of the city does actually change quite a bit when the stag parties arrive on Friday night. And most other tourists would say that it doesn't change for the better. ;o) Leave a Comment
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Organised crime is rife amongst a certain segment of Riga's nightlife industry. Some places are seen as fair, if expensive. Others are straigtforward gangster hell holes with payoffs to the local police. Paying 30-50 lats for one drink is the least of you worries. One recent account said a man was charged 8000 lats for four bottles of Champayne. Buying a drink for an 'entertainer' is the most likley way the price list can be inflated.
If you have to visit such a place then a) leave credit cards hidden at the hotel b) always ask the price of a drink before you buy c) never go into a 'private room'. The private room scam is the worst. It works like this - the private room will have a bottle of champayne opened before you enter - that way they can legitimaely say it is part of the deal for a private room and charge accordingly (perhaps up to 1000 or more lat).
This is current list of bars to be avoided that is given to American diplomats :
“Foxy Lounge”
“Roxy Klub”
“Lord’s Pub”
“Puzzle”
“Mary”
“DD Bars”
“Saxon”
“Doll House”
“Bar Fly”
“Zephry Bar”
“Mademoiselle Cigar Club”
“Nobu Sushi”
The problem is that new places open, names change or new owners move in ! Leave a Comment
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At least in February you must also look up to see if there's snow or ice falling from the top of the buildings! In several occasions lots of snow fell right next to me until I learnt my lesson and began to walk in the middle of the street like locals! Leave a Comment
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