Photos

Riga is truly a city of diversity as you can quite easily see by comparing this photo to my last one (Daugava Bridge) or by just spending a couple of minutes wandering around near Riga's central train station.

In my experience the Latvian people (whether they be of Russian or Latvian descent) are quite closed and keep to themselves. Approaching people and interacting was near impossible for me -- quite the opposite to my time in South East Asia where most people were very open, willing to communicate and get involved with tourists. I can think of all sorts of reasons for this but I suspect that such a long period of what was essentially foreign rule may be very close to the heart of it. That and the fact that as Latvia is a newcomer to the EU the people are not accustomed to so many tourists and foreigners roaming their streets.

This photo was taken in an old area of Riga where houses are built primarily of wood. Many people are impoverished and some people are forced to live not in these old wooden buildings but in makeshift shacks made of tin sheets (as can be seen in the background of this shot).

Definitely this is not a pretty situation but with Latvia now a member of the EU this will hopefully bring massive benefit to people across the economic spectrum.