Overall

Mexico seems to have a duality to it. It has fancy buildings, museums and high rise apartments, but it also has corruption and poverty. I had a marvelous experience. There are vendors everywhere, on the sidewalks selling trinkets like batteries, watches, make up, toys back packs, to clothes. The sellers have a tone to them, usually saying something like "a diez pesos, diez pesos" at 10 pesos. Things were cheap. You could buy bottled water or drinks and food everywhere. The subway was extensive and cheap for 2 pesos with unlimited connections. Inside the subways were art, and many stores. You can never go hungry (if you have money, that is). Sometimes the amount of people is suffocating, as is the constant encouragement to buy something. Literally one time through a vendor area, the people were a swarm and we moved along as if by an invisible force. The subway can get very busy as well and you should have nothing in your pockets-no wallets! I used a waist wallet that goes under your shirt flat against your body. There are tons of police everywhere. They actually seem more like show then real force. Any store that is worth its salt has its own armed guard. I was not used to all these people walking around armed. I never felt unsafe though. The people are mostly friendly. The buildings are so old and majestic. Some beggars got to me, but you can never tell who was really poor or just faking. One thing that bothered me was the toilets! Most of those things in even nice places said "do not flush paper." as in you put your used toilet paper in a bucket nearby! I could never get used to that and I often didn't comply. The toilets were usually able to flush with paper,so I wondered why this was. It could not have been ecological because some other places you could flush it. Hot water for showers and sinks were terribly slow. Many vendors did not have change for large bills, like 100s. The banks are very busy. I waited in line for forty minutes and then changing travelers checks took another half hour. If you have white skin, or otherwise look like a tourist, the vendors will give you higher prices. You can negotiate with them. If they are stubborn you can always find another vendor close by. Also, the taxis are generally not recommended. Never hail one off the street. The bus system is complicated. You can hail one from the street anywhere (the smaller green ones) and you tell the driver where you want to get off and he will tell you a price-pretty cheap. The large buses with marked stops are in line with the metros and have designated stops are 2 pesos as well. The traffic is quite crazy and regulations are not enforced. Lanes blur, horns honk, cars weave, no posted speed limits in many places, makes it quite chaotic. However they seem to be more alert drivers and I never saw an accident. When packing, take less clothes and more money. No one wears shorts here. It was 75 degree weather and they still wore jackets.

Atmosphere

Convenience

Safety

Value

5 June 2005 | A Yahoo! User

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