thanks so much for the good tips. finally made it to the UK and have been loving it, but i'll be going into eastern europe in a few weeks and will definitely keep these warnings and advice in mind.

incidentally, for anyone curious: London has been very safe. at nottinghill carnival we actually saw more police and cops ready with gear bags for anything... than costumed dancers definitely keep your id with you if you're going to be in congested areas, and don't leave anything lying around as we've seen the police efficiently and promptly seal off one underground station and take away an abandoned back pack since arriving.

Apologies ahead of time for anyone who reads LP's Thorntree too: my boyfriend posted this over there, but I'm more of a Bootsnall gal so I'm posting it for you folks too:

So after spending 6 months in South America without incident, someone attempted to rob us on our first day in Madrid. Murphy’s Law, I suppose.

A word of warning: be very wary of Hostal Orly, the first hostal listed in the Madrid section of the March 2005 LP book, located at Calle de la Montera 47, 7th floor.

We checked in to Hostal Orly at 11am yesterday. The owner told us the room still needed to be cleaned, but would be ready by 12pm and that we could leave our bags there during that time. Thinking nothing of it (after all, our bags would be in our room while it was being cleaned on other days too), we gratefully left our bags in the closet and closed its doors.

We returned at 12:15pm and the cleaning lady told us the room wasn't ready yet. When the cleaning lady left, I joked that it was probably because they had been going through our bags. Unfortunately it turned out I was right. When we were allowed to enter our room at 12:30pm, we discovered my bag had been opened and its contents were in disarray.

We spent the next few minutes in shock and discussed our options. Given we were jet-lagged and exhausted (having had only 8 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours), we actually debated just staying for one night in order to get some much needed sleep. We really didn't have the energy for the argument we figured would ensue to get back the 45 Euros we had already paid for the first night.

But that idea flew out the window when, while we were talking about what to do, someone tried to open our door. And a few minutes after that, we realized that someone was standing outside our door and listening to us talk. Needless to say, we were now feeling violated and officially creeped out.

Gathering our bags and any remaining strength we had, we left our room only to be confronted immediately by the owner who "just happened" to be standing in the hall by our door. She asked us where we were going with our bags and we explained what happened. When we asked for our money back (given we had been in the room for a whopping 10 minutes), she said that was impossible. Next, she proceeded to talk to the cleaning lady to ask her if she had gone into our backpacks (big surprise, she said she hadn't), and then we proceeded to be yelled at by the cleaning lady.

The owner led us to the front door where a 10 minute argument ensued between us and her. (This was interrupted for a few minutes when the owner ran back to the cleaning lady and started yelling at her, leading us to believe this is not the first time something like this has happened there.) Anyway, I think after she saw we weren't going to leave without our money, she finally relented and brought us 40 of the 45 Euros we had paid her. When we asked her for the other 5 Euros, she said she was charging us for the 10 minutes we were in the room. And when we pointed out we were only in the room for those 10 minutes because we were momentarily shocked at discovering our bag had been rifled through, she started yelling at us again. At that point, we decided to cut our losses and left, but not before she cursed at us repeatedly. (Frankly we would have cursed at her too, if only we could have remembered some good Spanish curse words. The best we could do was to say she was a horrible person - although not the most sophisticated insult, saying it proved to be oddly satisfying. And we would have said she had cooties or her mama dresses her funny, but we just wanted to leave at that point. Heh.)

So, to get the point: while what happened to us may not happen to everyone at Hostal Orly, with so many places to stay in Madrid, it's probably not worth the risk. (As for us, we found one of those other places and are quite pleased again...although still steaming over those damn 5 Euros. Grrr!)

- Jessica
www.HedgehogsWithoutBorders.com

WARSAW WARNING (originally posted by gonefishin)

There is an Irish Pub located in Warsaw near the Centrum Shopping Center. It's almost directly across the main boulovard....the one that leads to the train station.

I stopped in one night, was enjoying a shot of vodka at the bar and a Polish english speaking guy sat next to me and began to chat. He was freindly enough and insisted on buying me another and welcoming me to Poland. I drank it and almost immediatly completly blacked out.
I woke up in the Warsaw jails drunk tank with blood stains on my legs, which had apparently drained down from my nose. That's a sign of poisoning.
Later that morning I was released and my wallet returned less about $200.
I made it back to my hostel (Nathan's Villa) and was told that wasn't the first time that that had happened with this Pub.

Chatlet Metro Station, Paris
Its a very busy metro station in Paris, and very notorious for its robbing. I got robbed there of my wallet - unfortunately my wallet even had my passport. I am still ruining part of my europe trip dealing with the issue and for now am stuck in France!
A couple of weeks later, another person I know got robbed at the same station and lost her passport! I believe it is a racket they have!
Hang your bags in the front in stead of at the back and keep the money safely tucked in front pockets. I have heard there is some mugging in the night - so I would say - Stay Clear!

Praha Warning

Be careful in crawded subway in Praha. I just got my wallet stolen by a pick pocketer, on my way to hostel after I got off of the airport. She distracted me by asking where to get off and she pulled my wallet right out of my bag I was carrying. When me and my friend were trying to make a police report, all the policemen we ran into kept on giving us running arounds, finally I said, "fuck it." As if that wasn't enough, as we continued our way to our hostel, I caught a guy digging into my bag again in subway. I thought this time he was after my camera, and after I confirmed the camera was still there, and turned around, he smacked me at the back of my head and preteded nothing happened. Although I'm eternally greatful for not loosing my passport, once I'm home I'll have to deal with all the headaches from replacing my debit card, credit card, driver's license, ID card, etc, etc...

Nic

Amsterdam pickpocketing....

Seriously, these people are amazing.
I've been pickpocketed in Chicago twice before, and both times, I knew (in retrospect) exactly when it happened.
In Amsterdam, some master thief removed my wallet from the inside breast pocket of my coat somewhere between the easyInternet cafe on Damrak and the Leidseplein train stop. I have no idea where exactly it happened, I have no idea how. I am convinced that someone saw me snap the wallet into my coat in the cafe and followed me. I was carrying my computer bag, and I was more worried about that... so I wasn't paying attention...

Yes, watch yourself very carefully in Amsterdam, especially in and around the central train station, and on the train route between Amsterdam and the airport, and secondarily in the touristy areas, which is a large part of the city. I lived there three years and never had a problem, but have heard plenty of stories like yours. Sorry to hear they got you -- those pickpocketers give the city a bad rap.

holy crap i got pickpocketed by easyinternetcafe in damrak...that must be a bullseye on our back... I got my debit card taken out of my breast pocket and my video camera...Be very careful in Amsterdam it ruined the last leg of my trip...

Be very careful in amsterdam, don't take anything you don't need with you...

Watch out for the nightclub Tiger Tiger in London's Piccadilly. I was out with a friends who lives there and some other people when I had my drink drugged.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2006/s1604540.htm

A documentary produced by a Canadian team, already aired in UK and now here in Oz last night indicates that not only petty theft occurs in Europe.
Though as a traveller/backpacker you may not be a prime target for this brutal traffiking, the extent of it and experience of travellers clearly warns you to keep aware of situations.

Barcelona warning

Thought this might be the right place to put this.

I am a coach driver and done a day trip to Barcelona, on the Spanish Med last year. ALL my passengers were warned that when we stop outside the Sagrida Familia ( a VERY famous church), the area is well known for pickpockets. All jewelery should be hidden, and all pockets should be zipped up. Any pockets with no zips should have everything taken out of them. We were only parked there for about ten minutes, enough time to get some photos and guess what.... one of our passengers ignored this warning, the wallet had about fifty pounds in it.

Be warned

Devonian

Living in Edinburgh at the moment and have heard many warnings about the Caledonian Backpackers Hostel on Queensferry Road. It is a very lively hostel with a bar and there's always a party happening, which can be good. But there are no locks on any of the doors between the street and the beds. I've heard many stories of people waking up in the middle of the night to find strangers standing over them watching them sleep. Also, no luggage lockers or storage room, so I've also heard many stories of theft (possibly by random people from off the street). People do have a good time here if they're looking for a party, but be aware of your surroundings and think about it before you leave something in your room.

I've just had a really bad experience at the Freestyle Hostel in Rome. The trip was planned by a friend, using websites, and it became apparent as soon as we arrived that the hostel had seriously misrepresented itself online. It lists, among other things, a lounge area, DVD player, PS2, kitchen and breakfast with a large assortment of foods specified. It also touts 24-hour hot showers and free maps.

Well, the lounge area, dining area and reception are all one room, packed with furniture and barely enough room to turn around (the only seating also doubles as the night clerk's bed, and he leaves the bedding on it all day long). There is no DVD player or PS2 (not that that's why we chose it, but it's the fact that they blatantly lie about it in their listings). The only flat surface is a narrow shelf that acts as a 'breakfast bar'...essentially, it holds the kettle, mugs and plate of limp supermarket pastries that are the 'amazing' breakfast. Showers are forbidden after 10 pm, and the ensuite shower in one room is treated as a public shower...essentially turning that room into a public area as well. Which isn't surprising, as the doors to ALL the rooms are left unlocked, with the doors often propped open. And the night clerk (who likes to stare creepily at female guests) also sees nothing wrong with wandering into rooms during the night. The beds themselves are the standard rickety bunk-beds, but the linen is pretty dirty, and you don't get anything to separate the unwashed old quilts from your body which is pretty unsanitary.

Oh, and when I tried to get a receipt from them I was told flat out that they didn't give them, so as to avoid paying taxes. Nice.

Romania warning

Bucharest, February 2004.

I was on an trip with a friend of mine. We were in Bucharest and wanted to get a Mini Bus to Targoviste. It was snowing, and really cold, with streets covered in ice, making walking a really difficult task (guess the first warning about Romania, is better avoid it in the winter - especially if you come from a warmer climate...)

We were kind of lost around the Bucharest Mini Bus stations (which in themselves are very confusing - there are different little stations for different sets of destinations, and it is quite tricky to find out the one that serves yours).

So, after strolling un and down a big, but not very busy street for around and hour, with our backpacks on and our noses frozen, there are two guys approaching us. They claim to be tourist police and ask for our passports.

The thing is, i have read about this kind of scum in a Lonely Planet guide. Of course i did not expect this to happen to me. And tired as i was, the last thing that i needed was two crooks after me. But anyway, i knew it was a trick. So i paid no attention to them.

My friend though, was already reaching for his wallet. I shouted at him not to do anything, because they are crooks. I asked them for an ID, and, yes, they presented me with a pathetic plastic sheriff budge!!! I couldn't stop laughing. But they were very persistent, and slowly irritated that their trick was not paying off. And although the Lonely Planet guide stated that these people will probably stroll off if you just don't pay attention to them, these two didn't. Instead, they asked us to go in a car with them. One of them actually kind of grabbed me from my sleeve to try and get me in the car. This was the point that i totally lost my temper and started shouting at him to take his hands off me. And i made a fake phone call from my cellphone to a police station, asking them to send somebody over.

The two guys, stayed with us a few more minutes, and then walked away.

So, the lesson: first of all, the obvious - you don't hand your passport to some person on the street, even if they claim to be the Pope himself.

The second: stay calm initially but make a scene if things get rough. People who harrasse you on the street, count on you to be afraid. Prove them that you are not. Generally, they are not very dangerous anyway.

And third, try to over-trick them.

Afterwards, go on with your journey, and have a great time!

quote:

Originally posted by Leif, God of Thunder:
Avoid RyanAir all together. There are a dozen hidden charges and surprise fees (this is how they recoup for selling seats for 99P). The staff are poorly trained and sour from being yelled at every day by irate travelers who got stung by the hidden fees. Their network is weak. In some cities they fly out of airports that are so out of the way and cost one so much to reach that one could have paid for a First Class regular plane ticket in the end for the same price, particularly after the hidden fees get factored in.

EasyJet is infinitely better. More destinations, less hassle, less sneaky charges, more chipper staff.

Sorry that I won't agree. I'm gonna say thank God for Ryanair...I mean what do you expect when you pay 20£ for your flight? And what hidden charges? You surely know how much they will charge you when you book it online. Sure, problems happen- but they do with other airlines as well- and Ryanair is much cheaper then easyjet. I fly with them all the time.