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Being gay in Bucharest
Up until 1996, being gay in Romania was literally illegal, that should in itself paint a picture of what it's like to be gay in a city like Bucharest. As a gay man myself I have found that, though it's not as awful as some people paint it out to be, truth is that being gay in this city is no easy chore.
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Taking a Taxi in Bucharest [6 things you should know]
However, even though taking a taxi in Bucharest is truly cheap, it does have it's fair share of "curiosities", if you will, that I will share with you as following:
1) The drivers often smoke, make calls or even browse the internet while driving: Once I got into a cab where the driver was smoking and talking on the phone while he was driving. On the other hand, that day I understood religion ;).
2) The older drivers mostly don't know english: This will happen very often in Bucharest as it happens in most of the world, the older the person, the slimmer the chances of that person knowing english if it's not their main language.
3) The cars aren't exactly what you would call "modern": This tendency has started to revert over the past few years. However, many of the taxi's in Bucharest are Dacia Logans, which is a pretty old car. I'm not saying it isn't a safe car, but let's just say you don't really feel like your in the best hands in the world in regards to your safety.
4) Check the pricing on the door of the taxi: In Bucharest there are several taxi companies which offer different rates. The most common rate is 1.39 Lei's per KM (about 30 cents a euro). However, there are some other companies which will charge you 1.77 Lei and even 1.99. The companies that charge the most, on the other hand, are the ones that charge 3.50 lei per Km. I have it on good authority that you shouldn't try to get in one of those taxi's not because of the price but because they will actively try to ripp you off, more so if you are clearly foreign.
5) Don't take a taxi from the airport. The "normal" priced taxi's aren't allowed in the arrivals gate of the airport, for some strange reason you will only find the 3,50 lei taxi's over there. That means that a taxi from the airport towards downtown will cost you at the very least 40 euros (160-200 leis). But what's worse is that often times you hear stories of people who get the "touristic" ride on those taxi's or even get conned when the driver forces them to accept a "pre-agreed" price.
6) Don't be surprised if they reject you: In Bucharest, it's not strange for a taxi driver to reject you if your trip isn't long enough. In fact, if you are going anywhere below the 1 mile radius you are most likely going to be rejected by the taxi driver.
That said, the price is quite cheap compared to most european countries and they are quite safe, regardless of the driver's habits while driving. Honestly, i've taken quite a bunch of taxi's since I got here and fortunately none of them has given me the "touristic" trip.
