Arrived safely into Brasov station, a bit run down around here. Found the taxi line and asked one man if he'd take us, he pointed to another taxi, who in the end passed us back to the first guy. He bounded up and speaking fine English tossed our bags in the trunk and let us get inside. Then he told us the meter was broken and it would cost 25 lei to get us to the apartment. Jihye asked if he'd do it for 20, and he said that no, it would cost more than that. He drove us there and got out and even tried to help us get into the apartment, which admittedly didn't look like much from the outside. He even offered to take us on a personal tour of Bran Castle in addition to two other popular sights outside of Brasov. Total cost: 50 Euro.
After he pulled away, Jihye said she'd heard of that scam, the broken meter. And I had seen a big sign on the side of the door stating that the metered fare was 1.35 lei/km. And I had watched the odometer, we'd traveled about 4-5 km. from station to front door. So, total cost should have been around 7 lei.
Moral of the story: we got taken for about 15 lei (I always give 10 lei no matter the cost, it is just ridiculous to ask for 1 or 2 lei in change). So we lost out on roughly $4. Is that a lot overall, no. But losing 15 lei on something that should have cost 10 lei (or 7 lei as a matter of fact) that is pretty bad. But the first time into a new city, just getting there is worth it. Or I suppose that is what they are preying on. Lesson learned.
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