That Thing About Hospitality (1)

It’s not that I (Willy) abhor Russia. And it’s not that Latvia is the friendliest country in the world. But Russia’s now a memorable country for having generally inhospitable and unfriendly people. Indeed not all Russians look like sour lemons though. We were real blessed to have Uncle Alex & Uncle Dina, friends from our church, looking out for and taking care of us like their kids for the past week in Moscow. Thank you both!! :)

The telling contrast between Russia and Latvia was revealed during our train ride from Moscow to Riga. The train timetables were listed in English! (The end of trying to decipher Russian Cyrillic) Then the Latvian carriage attendants stunned us with a hot cup of tea each without expectations of payment. We were so thrilled everytime we saw another smile or display in English.

While the Russian immigration officers later collected passports in a wooden tray and disappeared to probably shred them, the Latvian ones came by with a mini-laptop, chops and a smile. OK, the latter also disappeared with our passports, but that’s likely to check the authenticity of our Blaring Red Book since few Singaporeans cross this land border.


Alright I shall cease to be a sour lemon here. Russia’s still a fascinating place to visit, but just don’t expect to be treated like a king unless you stay at Hilton everyday. To be fair, we’re probably a spoilt bunch of Singaporeans expecting service standards if we’re paying customers. The Russians apparently don’t know how to deliver this standard simply because they have not experienced it themselves (read this somewhere). Frankly, I feel for them. So if you plan to visit this rugged country steeped in history and unsustainable industrialization, come with a smile and keep it on your face till your Russian counterpart gives up and decide to help you.