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Adventures of a Global Wanderer
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Location Date South America 1487289600 Asia 1475362800 North America 1466636400 Europe 
1443826800 Africa 1253833200 -
Location Date Greece 1443826800 Albania 1443654000 Macedonia 1443308400 Germany 1442876400 Sweden 1430434800 Lithuania 1430175600 Latvia
1430002800 Estonia 1429916400 Finland 1429830000 Russia 1429398000 Denmark 1412377200 Iceland 1412290800 Norway 1411945200 Turkey 1382655600 Bulgaria 1381705200 Serbia 1381186800 Romania 1380409200 Hungary 1380150000 Spain 1253919600 Gibraltar 1253746800 UK 1193961600 - Riga
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Location Date Sun, 26 April 2015 1430079900 Sun, 26 April 2015 1430077440 Sun, 26 April 2015 1430059740 Sun, 26 April 2015
1430042040
My lucky stretch of clear blue skies and picture perfect weather during this trip had come to an end. All night I heard the tapping of rain which was scheduled to last all day. Lucky I had arrived and did the walking tour yesterday and had perfect weather to be outdoors all day.
Fortunately I had a four hour bus ride south to Riga Latvia today so could shelter and outrun the rain. It was about a 35 min walk from the hostel in the old town to the bus terminal a bit further out.
I'd bought my bus ticket online for 28 Euros and chose the VIP seats. On the bus it was more like an airplane as the VIP seats were curtained off at the back, had their own tvs and headseats, complimentary water bottle and chocolate bar. The seats even had bookcases to store belongings.
The bus was almost empty except for two Korean guys. We got chatting in Korean at first. They were in Tallinn for a business conference so using Sunday for a day trip to Riga.
I was using the tv screens to see the digital tracking of the bus waiting for the border.
We drove right thru, there was no passports control or customs. Many of the old midrise Soviet apartments had new windows and had been replastered and painted in bright colours.
After we crossed the border it was more brick buildings while it had been wood in rural Estonia. As we came into Riga city things changed.
Every single building in Riga was run down and plastered with graffiti. There was no exception. This was such a sharp contrast to Estonia which seemed much wealthier.
It was almost scary looking at how run down the place was wondering if I wanted to get off the bus and whether it was safe. This is supposed to be the EU after all?? How worse would Lithuania be next?
We circled thru some of the city landmarks on the way to the bus terminal I was to come back and visit later.
The bus terminal was outdoors by the central market. Mostly older people used the market which was selling fruits and vegetables. As the only foreigner I was getting lots of stares as I walked thru looking for the hostel. It did seem like this would be a creepy neighbourhood to come back to at night when all the stalls are closed up.
Despite this the hostel was an old warehouse that had been completely renovated into a modern hotel so quite comfortable to stay in. My room had a ceiling skylight.
Fortunately I had a four hour bus ride south to Riga Latvia today so could shelter and outrun the rain. It was about a 35 min walk from the hostel in the old town to the bus terminal a bit further out.
I'd bought my bus ticket online for 28 Euros and chose the VIP seats. On the bus it was more like an airplane as the VIP seats were curtained off at the back, had their own tvs and headseats, complimentary water bottle and chocolate bar. The seats even had bookcases to store belongings.
The bus was almost empty except for two Korean guys. We got chatting in Korean at first. They were in Tallinn for a business conference so using Sunday for a day trip to Riga.
I was using the tv screens to see the digital tracking of the bus waiting for the border.
We drove right thru, there was no passports control or customs. Many of the old midrise Soviet apartments had new windows and had been replastered and painted in bright colours.
After we crossed the border it was more brick buildings while it had been wood in rural Estonia. As we came into Riga city things changed.
Every single building in Riga was run down and plastered with graffiti. There was no exception. This was such a sharp contrast to Estonia which seemed much wealthier.
It was almost scary looking at how run down the place was wondering if I wanted to get off the bus and whether it was safe. This is supposed to be the EU after all?? How worse would Lithuania be next?
We circled thru some of the city landmarks on the way to the bus terminal I was to come back and visit later.
The bus terminal was outdoors by the central market. Mostly older people used the market which was selling fruits and vegetables. As the only foreigner I was getting lots of stares as I walked thru looking for the hostel. It did seem like this would be a creepy neighbourhood to come back to at night when all the stalls are closed up.
Despite this the hostel was an old warehouse that had been completely renovated into a modern hotel so quite comfortable to stay in. My room had a ceiling skylight.
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