In Lithuania, they save money on the pharmeceuticals by simply inviting you “home,” and having their “boyfriends” beat you up and take your wallet. Now that I think about it, that technique is universal . . . it’s just that the women are so darn gorgeous you lose your mind.
The Soviets usually kept a lid on that, so I was pretty safe. That, and I stuck out like a sore thumb in my blue crackerjack suit. In the streets, I usually had an entourage of school kids trying out their English or Great Patriotic war vets who wanted to buy me a drink. It was very cool.