Criminal incidents of latvian girls with foreign tourists, or The safety of relationship

Nothing more to add to what wombat mentionned. I am coming to Riga since 2004 and still coming one week per month and I never had any problem in Riga.

I just confirm that Respect is essential and also use your commun sense, and you will discover a great city (I should say a great country) with really nice people!

Yes there is a criminal bar called Student Hostel just down the a lane from Hotel Riga. Two girls followed me in the street and said they were students. Did I want to have a drink with them. I said "NO". Later they said: "Look, we are students no need to worry, just come and have a drink with us, then you can go." 2 Orange juice, 2 cognacs, 1 grape juice 80 lats!

The bar is situated underneath the hostel and you go down some steps. They give you the bill, when you complain they say see the tariff. They then give you the book with the prices in. The bar just looks like a small UK pub. If you don't pay, you are assisted to pay by a very ugly looking bouncer.

So when will the City Police and your government do anything about this place?

The main problem here is that you need to address it to the Police and Government. If you do this, you need to sign your words with your signature and give a proof you are really the person you are standing for. If you post such complaint via Internet anonymously, it means it could help somebody to avoid this club. But in general, it doesn't mean it is true.

The true is only the thing you could check with your eyes and hands

ı have been lıvıng ın Rıga for about 3 months.I am just sayıng that DONT TRUST LATVIAN GIRLS .If they understand u have money . u fucked up...bye

Hi Guest,

What a great statement and so general......As stated in another post, just be clever and you will not have any problem.......

Lance, I don't suggest you go anywhere near the Police. Latest news is that two students were stopped in Old Town and asked if they wanted a ride to their hotel or the Police Station. If they approach you, and they are becoming menacing tell them you are going to call the US or your own Embassy. There have been isloated incidents where drunken tourists have been beaten up and their wallets taken from them by a male, dressed in a Police uniform in the Old Town (decide for yourslef if he was a police officer). What you need to do is to register a complaint with your Embassy, then have them take it up with the Police and insist on a formal complaint being made to the Latvian Government. Also a medical student (mature student) was hassled by a Policeman in Old Riga area - the scam here is that they offer you a price to walk or a free taxi ride to visit the Police Station. One officer told a reliable source that the Salaries were so bad that they had to do this to survive, so you can to a degree understand their behaviour. I was in a taxi a number of years ago, and the taxi driver was pulled over, told to step into a white transit type Police van where he paid 20 Lats, and he was then let go. He was stopped because he was told his "taxi sign" was not straight. I could not see that it was lopsided in any way. It is not in the interests of certain individuals to clean up the Old Town , since it would lose substantial fraudulently earned revenue from tourists. A recent minor incident I changed $500 in a small bureau de change which had slot machines inside it (Old Town). The rate indicated on the board outside was not the price given. When I suggested it was a mistake it ended up in a rather burly gentleman escorting me out into the street. Of course I was not given a receipt and so there was nothing I could do. Always use the banks (the best ones are Swedbank, Nordic). Do not use the Latvian banks, they are a law unto themselves. But having said all this I don't suppose it's different in anywhere else in Eastern Europe.

There's no more problem than in your country..............you must be carfull thats all...............but latvian women are so beautiful and sociable.....................

is it great danger if i walk alone at night ?there are dangerous thieves on the road?

As anywhere else, you can't be sure to be safe while walking on the night. Thieves are not reporting where they hide and when. They just rob.

i am trying to find a friend to come with me i am worry about safety, is better to be with friends company then by myself, beside i might get bored walking the streets all alone...