Mexico City Mania

We left Japan on November 30th around 5:00 p.m. and landed in Mexico City about 20 hours later, but it was still November 30th and sometime between 9-10:00 p.m. This was my longest day ever, both literally and figuratively. I thought I’d sleep like a baby considering we had a business class flight, but even laying completely flat in an airplane seat I was still wide awake all “night.” We took an Uber to our beautiful Hampton Inn & Suites hotel, which didn’t feel like a hotel at all. We enjoyed four free nights here located in the very walkable Centro Historico area. We were pretty jetlagged and already trying to adjust to the altitude so we crashed right away.

The next day we decided to buy some subway tickets since that seemed to be the best way to get around the city. Wow. If you’ve never been to Mexico City to witness this insanely unorganized manic event, let me tell you about it. First of all, the subway is nothing like we experienced in Taiwan or Japan where the flow of thousands of people in a hurry just seems to somehow work. We wanted to visit the National Museum of Anthropology and needed to take the subway.



We got our tickets and headed for the platform. We were waiting in “line” when suddenly more and more people were stepping in front of us in the already limited space between us and the subway tracks - clearly stepping over the giant “do not cross” lines. Ricardo and I just glanced at each other and shrugged like 'oh well'. When the train came, it was about 10-15 seconds of pure madness. I’ve never seen so many people jumping out of a train with arms outstretched and elbows flying. At the same time this is happening, everyone waiting to board is pushing them back on as they claw their way into the car. Limbs were still flailing as the train doors were trying to close and the train rushed off. Needless to say, we didn’t board that train. After being stunned that this is how it works in Mexico City, we got prepared for the next train and pushed and plowed our way when it came! Then, for what seems like an eternity, we stood face to face with strangers bumping and brushing up against us while others pushed their way through trying to sell items or play music for tips until we reached our destination. The subways here are absolutely insane because it is incredibly inexpensive, and it is used by too many people. We did have a phenomenal time at the museum and it's one of the best I've been to!



One of my favorite, and more relaxing, activities we did here was visit the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco. This was about 50 minutes by subway and then a short 10 minute walk. We knew we were in the right place when everyone wanted to “lead us” to the boats for a tip. We kept telling them we didn’t need help and we got there just fine. We ended up going with a wonderful family to split the cost. The boat companies typically don’t let you do that, and they were watching to see if we had actually walked in together. After a little bit of...negotiation, we set out on a one hour boat ride. Our new friends helped us order from the vendor boats and we had a great time!

Another favorite spot of mine was visiting Teotihuacan to see the temples. On a good day, it’s only a one hour bus ride on the local bus, but ours ended up being a three hour bus ride because of horrible traffic. It was quite the experience in itself. We picked up random people along the highway so that they could walk up and down the aisle selling food or body lotion, or anything else you can imagine, before letting them off to pick up the next. By the time we got there, we only had a couple of hours to see what we wanted before needing to catch our bus back. We fit in the main sights along the Avenue of the Dead: Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun. We climbed all the steps up both Pyramids - easier said than done! We caught our bus and were lucky enough to be serenaded by a guy singing and playing guitar for a good 30 minutes. Lesson learned: local buses are super cheap, but it's always an adventure!

As always, we found our favorite food spots. The best food I’ve eaten so far in Mexico has been these quesadillas that we stumbled upon on the street. This woman cooks these right out of her home and there’s always a line. We chatted with some locals about what to order and to no surprise, their suggestions were amazing. We went back another time for a to-go order and enjoyed them on the balcony at our hotel.

Continuing with the theme of this adventure, these days in Mexico City flew by. I admit I had a bit of culture shock coming from Asia, as this was my first time traveling through inland Mexico. While the language is the same here as in Spain, we're learning how the cultures are really a world apart. We would definitely visit Mexico City again in the future. I can't say I felt the same way about Querétaro...Stay tuned :)