“No thank you!” I replied sternly to an middle-aged woman who approached us and offered help. And then I promptly walked away. I’m not sure if Vincent and Naomi remember it when we were there in the Republic Square. I knew I was asking for trouble standing in the middle of the square reading a travel guidebook. But then a lot of tourists there were doing the same thing, walking around with a guidebook. Maybe I was being paranoid, maybe that woman was really trying to help, us three Chinese people looked lost in the square. Maybe I was more upset being perceived as lost. (I was not lost! I was just studying the map in the area)
Well, I did feel bad being a little rude, but I think it’s better to be a little more careful. There was another time when we were walking on the street close to the National Theatre, we walked past a street person. After walking for another minute, I noticed him were just behind us. So I stopped and pretended to take a picture or something, gave him another glance at the same time. He noticed that I spotted him, and so he just kept walking. I kept my eye on him for some more time as he crossed the street and seemed to be targeting someone else.
Again, maybe I was just being paranoid. I asked Vincent if he noticed that man, but he said no. (I can see Naomi and him are enjoying their time there, maybe they barely notice me too) I figure us being Chinese are so obviously tourists, we become easy target. But I do feel Prague is a safe place, it’s definitely no worse than any other big cities.
On the east side of the Vltava river, there are the Old Town, New Town, and Jewish Town (really a part of Old Town) The Old Town Square is one of the few places that gave me the “wow” reaction when I saw it. I mean I read quite a bit about it while doing research, and when I was finally there, it’s so much bigger than what I pictured. There is more people and more lively than I thought. The Jewish Town, they called it Josefov, is quite nice as well, but I didn’t think it’s a must-see. The New Town is a bit more commercial, but they do have the nice Wenceslas Square, leading from shopping area to the National Museum.
I read it somewhere that one way to enjoy Prague’s Old Town is to be “lost” in it; to walk in small streets and hallways. There are people everywhere so it’s quite safe. So I don’t need people offering me help; just let me be lost.
