Welcome to the newest independent country of the world – Republic of Kosovo, it is just a baby still, hardly 18 months old, not yet a fully recognized UN member, but set to become one in near future. It is surreal how things work on this side, the contrasts are everywhere. One moment I’m walking down the slum and column of military police cars are rushing buy, the next I’m siting in exquisite restaurant eating steak that is just as good as in any of the world metropolis, but half the price. It is a place of extreme contrasts and it took my be surprise, as the other Balkan countries offered much tamer experiences than expectations I had about them before visiting.
First off the bling – Kosovo probably has the second highest ratio of luxury cars per citizen in Europe (after Monaco). The black market here is way bigger the the grey or official one. There are latest BMW, Audi and Mercedes SUV’s on every corner, literally. You are what you drive.
Second – the unfinished buildings. At first I thought its just a big construction boom after independence, but apparently, as wise local explained to me, it’s more to do with property tax. None of the buildings are ever really finished, as then you need to pay the tax.
Then my favorite subject – coffee. You can not go wrong with it in any of the establishments here, Kosovo probably serves consistently better espressos that most cities in Italy, the homeland of coffee fanatics. And the best thing is that it will cost you 1 euro max, or between 50 to 80 euro cents in most places.
Finally, the myth about safety – based on my last two days here and after talking to some locals, I’m pretty sure that my survival rate here is considerably higher that living in South London. Foreigners rarely get into trouble here. Things have changed dramatically in last 10 years and unless you try to steal some business from local mafia, you are extremely unlikely to get hurt. Over and out.
Posts Tagged 'crime'
Kosovo
Published September 17, 2009 Travel Leave a CommentTags: coffee, crime, kosovo, pristina, safety, suv's, Travel
Crime and Punishment
Published August 23, 2009 Statistics 1 CommentTags: crime, globally, murder, police, punishment, Statistics
I love statistics, that’s why Nation Master website is one of my best friends. It gathers official statistics globally on wide range of topics, starting from agriculture all the way down to terrorism, and ranks country performance on neat little charts, try it out, but be warned you might end up spending hours there.
Last few days I’ve been looking at crime figures, and trying to see if my misconceptions of relative safety in different countries will be justified or proven to be false. I’ve selected 5 different countries for comparison, with no other reason but my personal interest. First up is UK, because I live here, next is Latvia, because I used to live there, next is US because its too big and important to be left out, next is Finland, representing the Nordics, ultimate democracy with perceived low crime rates, and finally its South Africa with somewhat violent image globally. So here you have it, that’s my interpretation of globally relevant comparisons. Data is from single source and calculated per capita, to allow for direct comparisons.
First I looked at serious crime figures such as murder and rape. Looking at murder rate (per 1000 people), South Africa confirms its notoriety, number two globally, only after Colombia. But what surprised me was UK performance, down in 46th place, proving that you are 2x less likely than in Finland and whopping 35x less likely than in South Africa to be a murder victim. Next up is rape, another vicious crime, here again SA leads although other countries are much closer. You are only 3x less likely to be a rape victim in US that in SA. On average you are 5x more likely to be a victim of rape than murder if that is any consolation.
So much for the crime, let’s look at the punishment. US is leading the world imprisoning their citizens, with over 2 million people currently behind bars in US, that is 0.7% of total population there or almost all the population of Latvia. Whilst in Finland you are least likely to get jailed, with only 0.07% of population behind bars. In terms of police force Latvia has the strongest presence although other countries are not far behind.
All in all UK is proving to be safer that US or even Finland, so good choice for me to move here. If you are looking for some adventure go to South Africa, but if you’ve been a bad boy and don’t like prisons, head to Finland. Over and out.
Big in Japan
Published August 12, 2009 Travel Leave a CommentTags: big, city, crime, japan, sushi, tokyo, Travel
I’m 6ft5in (just shy of 2m) so upon visiting Japan I expected to feel like a giant. How wrong I was, I fit in perfectly, nothing was too small, everything was just right, tatami was long enough, sushi portions were filling and seats on trains had plenty of leg room. Clever Japanese engineers have thought about all freaks of nature. Ok, I have to confess I did not go cloth shopping.
Another thing that struck me in Tokyo (the mega metropolis of the world) was total obliviousness of potential street crime – the wallets were out there, the bikes were unlocked etc. Latest teen fashion was over sized Louis Vuitton wallets, size of woman’s hand bags, that teenage boys stuck half way in the back pockets of their jeans. Pretty much in any other big city in the world huge wallet hanging half way out would be an invitation for a thief to snatch it, not so in Tokyo, it was just another fashion craze that everyone followed.
And it is not that expensive either, despite its image stuck with Japan (read Tokyo) from the ’80. Yes, you can have excellent Michelin starred meal for €100 a head, but it is just as easy to find excellent sushi bar and eat for less than €10. The same goes for accommodation, I stayed in lovely single room just outside centre for €25 a night, I’d be hard pressed to find equal bargain in London.
Finally, tidy streets, uber polite people and efficient everything was like a music to my ears. Too bad its all on the island in the middle of Pacific Ocean, where everyone speaks only Japanese and working 16h a day for 35 years in one company is a norm.
Full photo set from Japan can be seen here.
