Ok, a funny side story from my recent trip to Bucharest. In all my travels around the world, I’ve never seen more aggressive touts for strip clubs and brothels than in the Old Town of Bucharest. What an annoying midnight snack…
Unwanted Touts In Old Town Bucharest
I arrived in Bucharest from London at about 8:00 pm and proceeded directly to my hotel, The Marmorosch Bucharest, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. As an aside, I’ll have a full review of the hotel coming up and I had a very nice stay there.
After arriving, I got some work done and tried to go to sleep early…I was tired and figured I could make it till breakfast in the morning. But around midnight–3:00 pm in Los Angeles–I woke up starving.
The Marmorosch is located in the very heart of the city and so I decided to go out and look for a döner kebab (i.e. Turkish food) and saw that there was a place just about 200 meters from the hotel that was open until 4:00 am.
But my goodness…I did not expect the touts, nor did I remember them from my first visit to Bucharest more than a decade ago. Moments after walking out of my hotel, a pair of guys came up to me and tried to coax me into a strip club near the hotel.
No, thanks.
I turned the corner and there was another trio of guys who tried to direct me into their bar. “Hot girls. Sex!” they explained.
I kept walking and a young woman grabbed onto my arm and asked me to accompany her upstairs, pointing to another bar.
No.
Then some guy asked me if I wanted to buy drugs.
Yuck.
I finally reached the Turkish restaurant. But before I could go inside, another guy with a thick Arab accent (I mention that because all the others seemed to be Romanian) came up to me and relentlessly tried to get me to come into a strip club down the street.
I ignored him at first but when he insisted I firmly told him NO.
He followed me into the restaurant, telling me, “The girls are really hot” and “you can just look.” Thankfully, the cashier at the restaurant chased him out and told him to stay away.
The döner and falafel, by the way, really hit the spot:
He may have stepped out, but he was waiting for ME to finish my food…
When I stepped out, he begged me to come with him. “Please, friend. Just for looking.”
I held up my ring and told him I was not into that sort of thing. His answer? “Maybe tomorrow?”
I ignored him and walked away. He finally got the message. Oddly, no touts on the way back to my hotel…
Look, I know a young(ish) guy walking alone at midnight is a prime candidate. I also know that these guys need to bring in customers to make a living. It’s a horrible way to hustle, but it’s also the “oldest business in the world” for a reason.
But this did not leave me a favorable impression of Old Town Bucharest.
The following day I had a nice walk through town and found some nice coffee, but I’ll certainly be staying away from Old Town Bucharest after dark…
Some of these kind of venues are up to rob men by threatening their visitors/customers. And if they don’t pay an extortionate price after entering the venues it can come with some nasty man-handling or a crooked police visit for supposed theft of services or other crimes. And the “performers” in the erotic services marketplace in the region are often under threat themselves and may have also been subject to human trafficking.
Happened to me in Istanbul. It was years ago when I was still naive. Guy swooped in, befriended me, even bought me dinner, then took me to a hostess bar where a couple of women came out and asked me if they could start ordering drinks.
I finally figured out what was happening and excused myself to use the restroom, but then ended up sprinting past the bouncer and out into the streets.
I later heard that they will run up an enormous tab and make you pay in cash, forcing you to go to the ATM if necessary, or break your legs.
Massages! Strip clubs! You comb the world for click bait quality!
Maybe your mouth said no but your eyes said “yes”
Would have loved to have Matthew as a midnight snack!
The correct manner to answer someone asking you to spend money on frivolous ways is :” I’m unemployed living with my mother “. Swiftly ends money based discussions.
They offered the wrong product. If they were touting to see the belly of an A318, you should say “yes!”
Lol I love it!
Was that beef döner?
That is a lovely looking hotel lobby.
Lamb.
Gosh. Going out at midnight in a red light district? Don’t expect a discussion about climate change.
Thankfully your virtue was spared!
That’s bizarre. I was there a month ago, a single male 32 yo, and stayed for 4 nights at the Marmorosch. I was never approached once, I guess you’re better looking than me 🙂
Serioulsy? I’m not exagerating. The restaurant touts were bad too. Desparate people!
I’m sure that the touts were apprentices compared to those found in Egypt…….
“La” and “La Shokran” (if you’re feeling polite) are needed to walk anywhere in Cairo.
As for touts in general, they are a blight anywhere they work. They are social vandals. Even DFW Airport is starting to see the “Taxi, Sir!” crowd waiting for you downstairs (particularly Terminal E after 10:00 PM).
As for Matthew’s experience, it’s unfortunate and sadly not uncommon in many parts of Europe. There’s just enough business (and sometimes willing victims) given to those sleazoid touts to keep them in business.
One benefit of being in my 50’s is that stuff like this doesn’t happen as often. When it does, I try to explain that my wife doesn’t let me date.
“ I held up my ring and told him I was not into that sort of thing. ”
Dude, they are looking for guys with rings, that’s their best customer type.
Occasionally Dave Edwards and I agree on something, lol. C’mere, give me a man hug.
Simple answer to such situations.
Do not speak – use international sign language!
They won’t have a clue!
This is the best part of traveling, the women and sex!
Always go in, and always pay. It’s a good time for sure – you’ll get an adventure.
When in doubt – GO IN! Always happy when my wife and I do.
Hilarious. Same thing happened to me in Bucharest. Such aggressive touts.
A retired Major League Baseball umpire who traveled America’s largest cities for two-plus decades gave me a useful bit of advice. He said go straight to your hotel after dinner. And stay there. He said, “Nothing good ever happens on the street after midnight.”
I can’t believe you travel without snacks. Peanut butter crackers, granola bars, nuts, whatever for eating when stuck or at strange times.
Mexico too. If you’re a lone guy walking down the street in some bigger cities on the strip, they will certainly ask you to come into the strip club.
Did you go to Transylvania? The Dracula castle ?
Old Town Bucharest wasn’t like this in the late 2010s. It’s only really post-Covid that these types of annoyances sprung up… I think liked to the rise of budget tourism from Western Europe…
I think you’re right – the flights are so dirt cheap on the budget carriers.
Poland is much, much worse. Particularly Krakow. All the strip clubs are run by organised crime and notorious for spiking patrons’ drinks and then clearing out their bank accounts. People lose massive sums, wake up injured, I’ll and traumatised in the street or a cell, and the corrupt, lazy and inept Polish police just shrug and laugh. Horrible country that doesn’t deserve to be in the EU at all.