Saturday, June 9, 2007

More on Latvia - Riga (17-18/7/06 - Day 3-4)

You know which are the strongest currencies in the world? The British pound? The Euro? Well, I would say, the British pound is still the strongest, but have you ever thought that, Latvia, being just a small new EU country in Eastern Europe, can has a currency that is as strong as the Pound? Just checked it on xe.com, and guess what the conversion rate is: 1 British Pound = 1.03 Latvian Lats.

That may come as a surprise to travellers. After coming from Estonia where the currency is slightly lower than the Hong Kong dollar, now I have to think everything equivalent to the British pound, as I changed my euros into Latvian Lats. When you think about it, you can guess how expensive things can be here in Latvia. After changing around 50 euros into Lats, (this gives me around 35 Lats, definitely not enough for my three days stay in Latvia.) I headed to the hostel. This time, I have booked a hostel which is managed by an Australian, I am excited about it. Well, what is so special about an Australian owned hostel? Not only because I enjoy being friends with Aussies, but Aussie owned hostels mean English speaking staff, good customer service and efficient facilities. However, most importantly, having owners who understand travellers need, I will be sure to have a wonderful stay and a much better experience than the previous hostel I stayed in Tallinn.

Inside the hostel, I met a friend from Australia who is travelling around Europe. His intention is to watch the Australian team playing the world cup 2006. After his tour, he just flew around Europe and go to different places, and here he ended up in Riga. We talked about it and decided to head to Sigulda National Park the next day.

Riga is similar, but yet many differences than Tallinn. First of all, it is much more cosmopolitan, a little bit like comparing Munich to Augsburg. Yet, its old town area still have some old world charm like Tallinn, especially the big Catholic cathedral in the town square. However, unlike Tallinn, Riga does not have a medieval city wall.

I walked along the river as well as the old town area. Unfortunately, due to the late arrival of the bus, I did not get to see Riga in details. The musuem of occupation were also closed by the time I went there. However, I did take a few pictures of the city center and some interesting architectures.

The night was coming and I headed back to the hostel, after a huge plate of Russian Pelmeni (dumplings) and a huge bowl of Latvian spring soup for dinner. Here I called it the night.


(Pic Caption: Top - City Square in Riga. Bottom - Along a side road in downtown Riga.)

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