Oxford St uncovered on BBC? - Bad city experience ?

VTech

I started watching as it featured this years Gumball3000 Rally and featured one of our cars but todays episode featured one of the many souvenir shops popping up which had ripped off 2 Japanese tourists charging them £120 for 2 £8 vapes.

This is one of the bad sides of London IMO, thankfully the guys went to a police officer who sorted it for them but how many tourists get stung and don't come back as a result?

Anyone here had a bad city experience before ?

I was once in Barcelona and right in front of the police (who did NOTHING) on Las Rambles one of the lads was attacked by around 15 african hookers who tried to grapple him for his huge diamond watch, the struggle took around 30 seconds which is a long time in reality but the police who were 30 meters away didn't even intervene.
The watch however was worthless, I bought it for him as a joke, it was around £10 on eBay but bling as anything and it never came off if it had been real it would have been gone and we couldn't have really done anything about it :evil:

Ben6899

The eastern (Tottenham Court Road) end of Oxford Street is a shithole. Geared towards selling overpriced tat to tourists.

The hookers on Las Ramblas are a f***ing pain - they accosted my mate and nobody batted an eyelid.

mr_goo

Rome. Great city but full of pick pockets. We went a few years back and took my father in law. We caught a bus back from Vatican to the Via del Corso. Got off bus and my father in law realised his digital camera had been lifted. We worked out that it was a brilliant double team effort. One chap stood by him and kept bumping into him, apologising as it was the bumpy roads, whilst the little 5hit accomplice who was sat down lifted the camera from his pocket. It wasn't the loss of the camera, but the pictures on it that pixxed us off.
I have since read that its ill advised to catch a bus in Rome because of this.

me-109

Ben6899 wrote:

The hookers on Las Ramblas are a f***ing pain.

That doesn't sound good. Are you sure you're doing it right? :P

mpatts

^^ chuckle

I've once been to Hull.

bernithebiker

Anywhere in Egypt.

Never again. Permanent hassle everywhere.

Was pickpocketed whilst carrying my 6 year old daughter down the high street. Bloke comes right into my face trying to sell me papyrus paintings (like they all do - worthless tat, for £10 and up), while his 8 year old kid lifted 20 euros out of my pocket.

Felt it though and gave chase whilst they denied it. Made as if to call police there and then (although not a clue what the number was) and presumably fearing the loss of limbs, they gave it back.......

capt_slog

VTech wrote:

I started watching as it featured this years Gumball3000 Rally and featured one of our cars but todays episode featured one of the many souvenir shops popping up which had ripped off 2 Japanese tourists charging them £120 for 2 £8 vapes.

Did you notice that the tourists had "payment denied" receipts for £240 and £180? Presumably, that's what the shop would have charged them if they could have got away with it, 8astards. They might have got away with the lesser amount too if the tourists hadn't been so spooked by these higher receipts.

Can't say I've ever felt really bad in any city.
However, I once went into a small town in Morrocco, walking there from the border with Ceuta, which is Spain's "Gibralta" counterpart in North Africa. I was with the family; Mrs Slog and two teenage boys, and a chap took great objection to us and followed us around for a while generally trying to make life difficult for us with the locals by telling them we were trouble. :roll:
He'd got it into his head that we weren't allowed to take photographs (only true at the border), anywhere. And when we walked around the fish market looking at their wares, the stall holders started following us around with knives!
It was interesting, but I was very glad to cross the border back into Spain and the EU.

VTech

Capt Slog wrote:

VTech wrote:

I started watching as it featured this years Gumball3000 Rally and featured one of our cars but todays episode featured one of the many souvenir shops popping up which had ripped off 2 Japanese tourists charging them £120 for 2 £8 vapes.

Did you notice that the tourists had "payment denied" receipts for £240 and £180? Presumably, that's what the shop would have charged them if they could have got away with it, 8astards. They might have got away with the lesser amount too if the tourists hadn't been so spooked by these higher receipts.

Can't say I've ever felt really bad in any city.
However, I once went into a small town in Morrocco, walking there from the border with Ceuta, which is Spain's "Gibralta" counterpart in North Africa. I was with the family; Mrs Slog and two teenage boys, and a chap took great objection to us and followed us around for a while generally trying to make life difficult for us with the locals by telling them we were trouble. :roll:
He'd got it into his head that we weren't allowed to take photographs (only true at the border), anywhere. And when we walked around the fish market looking at their wares, the stall holders started following us around with knives!
It was interesting, but I was very glad to cross the border back into Spain and the EU.

Yes, 3x £240 and a £180, shocking.
They should have been fined as to me thats attempted fraud. The problem is, I see this like some of the tourist places in the UK like blackpool and brighton where the charges for average things are ridiculous which only means people don't return and ongoing revenue is lost.
£20/year of £10/year for the next 20 years ?

More of these people should think on that.

florerider

The "champagne" in Jeddah was pretty poor, and the Apple juice in Kazakstan consisted of a slice of apple in heavily chlorinated tap water.

gethinceri

I went to Merthyr Tydfil and spent nothing. Biggest rip-off I''ve ever experienced.

pinno

The price of anything anywhere you go in London is a daylight robbery.

redvee

Ben6899 wrote:

The hookers on Las Ramblas are a f***ing pain - they accosted my mate and nobody batted an eyelid.

I was there last week and done Las Ramblas as it was the most direct route to our hotel and only got accosted by them once

Ben6899

Me-109 wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

The hookers on Las Ramblas are a f***ing pain.

That doesn't sound good. Are you sure you're doing it right? :P

Defo.

MountainMonster

Luckily I don't do touristy stuff much, except for buying magnets. I prefer to find the back areas, where the fun is at, as opposed to wasting a bunch of money.

Its kept me going well for a while!

CHRISNOIR

Once went to Genoa with Mrs Noir and I suspect we were about 500 years too late. Any available surface was covered in graffiti, the historic buildings were crumbling, the medieval alleyways were full of prostitutes and the one nice park we found was littered with used hypodermic needles. Within three hours the missus was in tears. We did one night and then hopped on a train to Nice - which was beautiful.

VTech

CHRISNOIR wrote:

Once went to Genoa with Mrs Noir and I suspect we were about 500 years too late. Any available surface was covered in graffiti, the historic buildings were crumbling, the medieval alleyways were full of prostitutes and the one nice park we found was littered with used hypodermic needles. Within three hours the missus was in tears. We did one night and then hopped on a train to Nice - which was beautiful.

Its horrible when you go to a dream place and the reality is poor.

If ever any of you get the chance, pop over to Cuba before its americanised again, the place is amazing and although you won't have the lavish things of western society you will meet wonderful people and be a part of some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.

pinno

CHRISNOIR wrote:

Once went to Genoa with Mrs Noir and I suspect we were about 500 years too late. Any available surface was covered in graffiti, the historic buildings were crumbling, the medieval alleyways were full of prostitutes and the one nice park we found was littered with used hypodermic needles. Within three hours the missus was in tears. We did one night and then hopped on a train to Nice - which was beautiful.

Genoa is a big sprawling port and everyone knows it's a sh1t hole. My mother went there in '68 and she said it was a sh1t hole then. I went in '88 on my way though (inter-railing) and it was a pigeon sh1t covered sh1t hole.

CHRISNOIR

pinarello001 wrote:

CHRISNOIR wrote:

Once went to Genoa with Mrs Noir and I suspect we were about 500 years too late. Any available surface was covered in graffiti, the historic buildings were crumbling, the medieval alleyways were full of prostitutes and the one nice park we found was littered with used hypodermic needles. Within three hours the missus was in tears. We did one night and then hopped on a train to Nice - which was beautiful.

Genoa is a big sprawling port and everyone knows it's a sh1t hole. My mother went there in '68 and she said it was a sh1t hole then. I went in '88 on my way though (inter-railing) and it was a pigeon sh1t covered sh1t hole.

Now you tell me, Paul f*cking Theroux...

Anonymous

A good trick to stop pick pockets is to get a charged up capacitor. Disposable camera circuit boards used to be a good source. Place it charged up in a pocket a thief is likely to try and lift from. Anyone placing a hand inside will get a nasty surprise.

JackPozzi

Maglia Rosa wrote:

A good trick to stop pick pockets is to get a charged up capacitor. Disposable camera circuit boards used to be a good source. Place it charged up in a pocket a thief is likely to try and lift from. Anyone placing a hand inside will get a nasty surprise.

What happens when you want to get something out of your pocket though? :shock:

Anonymous

JackPozzi wrote:

Maglia Rosa wrote:

A good trick to stop pick pockets is to get a charged up capacitor. Disposable camera circuit boards used to be a good source. Place it charged up in a pocket a thief is likely to try and lift from. Anyone placing a hand inside will get a nasty surprise.

What happens when you want to get something out of your pocket though? :shock:

you use a pocket you are not likely to go in. But a pickpocket might try. Unless you get off on that sort of thing

merkin

Make sure that pocket hasn't got any holes in it.