Dangers in the capital: taxis

This is a story that I had to tell when it happened - last November. Because then I could convey all the nuances with accuracy, all the lines, everything that had impressed and amazed me so much. Now I can only tell things in general, without all the details, because so many months have passed and although I haven't forgotten everything, I have certainly forgotten the details. But whatever.

The main topic is taxi drivers in the capital of Bulgaria and a warning from the very beginning that using taxis in Sofia can be very dangerous. Not only for foreigners. But especially for foreigners, because of the language barrier and the lack of knowledge of local customs and the desire for fraud.

Fraud as a way of life, as the essence of life.

I remember when I lived in the second largest city in Bulgaria and I took a taxi to get from the bus station to the apartment where I lived and suddenly I noticed what a big bill was piling up on the taxi meter. Then I made the driver stop the car and asked him why he was doing this, i.e. why he was resorting to this fraud. He told me: I have to feed children.

So, feeding your children means cheating and robbing other people.

So, getting into a taxi in Bulgaria can be a very dangerous undertaking. It can also be very interesting, one has to be prepared for everything. From drivers who act aggressively and threaten to do something to you, to those who ask for your phone number because they want to sleep with you, to those who always claim they don't have change so they won't give you change, no matter how much it is, to those who don't even ask for it when asked, and simply don't give you anything back, to those who block the way of cars when they see that there are young and inexperienced female drivers inside, try to break the windows of the car and beat up the woman because she did something on the road while driving... - I've been in all of these situations. That's why I'm prepared for anything.

The last time I had to go to the capital, it was to go to the hospital. But in order to be admitted to the hospital early in the morning, I had to arrive in the city the day before. That's why finding the right hotel was quite difficult. Not only because of the high prices in the capital. I had to calculate the kilometers between the hotel and the hospital so that they weren't too short and a taxi would still come to pick me up. They also had to be not too long so that I wouldn't pay a huge amount just to get to the hospital.
From what I had seen on the map, the location of the hospital is such that it is best accessible by car, not by public transport, so I had started making these calculations, which determined where to look for a hotel.

When I arrived in the city and took the metro from the station to a certain place on the route, I planned to take a taxi from there to the hotel, due to the calculated kilometers. I was standing in front of a mall and happened to see a few taxis. I went there, the drivers had gathered to talk to each other and didn't pay me any attention. So I was able to immediately look at the fare and something in the numbers struck me. I turned my back and immediately looked up the information on the Internet. I turned out to be right, the prices of these taxis, although they had the gall to announce them publicly and not to turn up the odometer on the machine as they did in the past, were actually twice as high as usual. This surprised me quite a bit, because these taxis looked exactly like the taxis of a very well-known company, a reputable taxi company, but there was probably only one sign, only one letter in the inscription, that distinguished them from the cars of this company, which had to be searched with a magnifying glass in the way that you look for differences in two pictures, you know: find the ten differences. But here the second picture, the second car for comparison, was not available, so this comparison could not be made.

I must say that taxi services in Bulgaria, compared to taxi services in Western countries, are quite cheap, unlike other services and products, basic products, as I have mentioned more than once, that prices in Bulgaria are higher, compared to prices in Western countries. But still, also, the quality of these services is not high either. So I don't know if the low price could compensate for the low quality that you might encounter.

I was even surprised then that these men, who had gathered in a group and were talking, did not pay any attention to me while I approached, looked at the prices stuck on the glass of the rear door of one of the cars, then turned my back and walked away. Usually taxi drivers are quite pushy and insistent, they greet you from afar like a fraudulent seller at the vegetable market who wants to sell his spoiled goods at a super high price. Besides, I was carrying a suitcase, a backpack, I looked a little disoriented, and from afar it was obvious that I wasn't from the capital - in short, easy prey for fraudulent taxi drivers.

But this time I was lucky. Having the opportunity to see the price of the taxis before getting into one of them, possibly talked into it by the driver, who managed to distract me, took the suitcase from my hands and already put it in the trunk, forcing me to get in, without even understanding how he did it... And I was also lucky that these men, who looked like criminals, simply didn't pay any attention to me, maybe because they just didn't want to bother putting a suitcase in and then taking it out of the trunk. Or maybe they were just looking for a different type of victim - those who come out of the mall, loaded with bags full of branded clothes and products (I'll write about this topic soon too) Or maybe they just had regular customers.

In any case, the experience was strange, considering the situation and the state of affairs.

Then, while I was still searching the internet, looking for a real company to call for a taxi, I looked up and happened to see a bus stop a little further on. That's how I managed to get to the hotel by bus.

Traveling by bus in the capital, wow, is also very dangerous, even more dangerous, even deadly experience. I don't know if you've heard anything about the recent brutal deaths of people, foreigners, riding a city bus in Sofia - I'll probably write about that too.

But despite the driver's aggressiveness, his swearing, his incredible skills at selling tickets, moving out of the stop and being careful not to be hit by other road users, chasing the schedule, and giving in to the gas, then slamming on the brakes at the same time, I was grateful that I saw this stop and managed to get on this bus instead of dealing with criminal taxi drivers.

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But the story doesn't end here. In fact, this is just the beginning, the introductory part of what I actually wanted to tell, and since the story has become quite long again, I will continue in the next post.

Thank you for your time! Copyright:	@soulsdetour
	Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you.

Personally, I am a sensitive soul with a strong sense of justice.
Traveling and photography are my greatest passions.
Sounds trivial to you?
No, it's not trivial. Because I still love to travel to not so famous destinations.🗺️
Of course, the current situation does not allow me to do this, but I still find a way to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, new places, beauty and art.
Sometimes you can find the most amazing things even in the backyard of your house.😊🧐🧭|