You remember Speedy Gonzales? You know the mouse dressed in traditional mexican garment always getting into trouble? I was expecting the same dress code and the same speediness when I landed in Mexico City two weeks ago..But boy, the flight to Mexico was not so much of a problem although I flew from Istanbul almost 16-17 hours. But after landing having to wait at the passport controls together with hundreds of exhausted souls was a bit of a pain in the ass. Nothing speedy about that I tell you..and no mexican dressed as speedy gonzalez.!!
It took me one and half hour to get through passport controls and then getting a taxi was also complicated, if you have no idea how to get one in Mexico City airport. I tried to take one outside but the driver told me that there was a fine for taxi drivers and that I had to get a registered taxi. That was new to me..However, when you get the hang of it, it"s quite simple. When you turn to the right at the end of the hall, there are registered taxis, where you have to tell them where you want to go and pay them upfront. You get a ticket, which you have to give to the driver and that"s it. The driver was quite friendly and we had no problems finding the hotel.
I took a hotel which had a pretty good rating at booking.com and one that was not so expensive. The hotel is called Room Mate Valentina and honestly, all good things aside I do not recommend to stay there. The hotel is located in the infamous area called Zona Rosa. I did not mind all the gay bars, prostitutes and sex shops in the "barrio". There was some noise in the streets when the people were partying but it was not very disturbing. The staff was friendly. What I did not like about my room was the bathroom which had a very off-putting sewer smell and it did not go away. I had a room at the 8th floor and the room was spacious, always clean. But the smell was soooo disturbing you could hardly sleep.
Anyways, I had to stay 5 days in the capital city and had little time for sightseeing as the exhibition lasted until 8 pm in the evening. Then getting back to the hotel with the terrible traffic it was already 9 or 10 pm. From what I could see was that the people of Mexico are not happy because there was always some sort of politicial demonstration. When I asked the taxi driver what it was all about he told me that he didnt have any idea but that the people here always find a reason to start a rally in the streets protesting against anything. So, I went to the old city walking from the Angel de la Independencia along the Paseo de la Reforma and the avenue is nice, with hotels and restaurants. Good for a stroll.
..To be continued...
It took me one and half hour to get through passport controls and then getting a taxi was also complicated, if you have no idea how to get one in Mexico City airport. I tried to take one outside but the driver told me that there was a fine for taxi drivers and that I had to get a registered taxi. That was new to me..However, when you get the hang of it, it"s quite simple. When you turn to the right at the end of the hall, there are registered taxis, where you have to tell them where you want to go and pay them upfront. You get a ticket, which you have to give to the driver and that"s it. The driver was quite friendly and we had no problems finding the hotel.
I took a hotel which had a pretty good rating at booking.com and one that was not so expensive. The hotel is called Room Mate Valentina and honestly, all good things aside I do not recommend to stay there. The hotel is located in the infamous area called Zona Rosa. I did not mind all the gay bars, prostitutes and sex shops in the "barrio". There was some noise in the streets when the people were partying but it was not very disturbing. The staff was friendly. What I did not like about my room was the bathroom which had a very off-putting sewer smell and it did not go away. I had a room at the 8th floor and the room was spacious, always clean. But the smell was soooo disturbing you could hardly sleep.
Anyways, I had to stay 5 days in the capital city and had little time for sightseeing as the exhibition lasted until 8 pm in the evening. Then getting back to the hotel with the terrible traffic it was already 9 or 10 pm. From what I could see was that the people of Mexico are not happy because there was always some sort of politicial demonstration. When I asked the taxi driver what it was all about he told me that he didnt have any idea but that the people here always find a reason to start a rally in the streets protesting against anything. So, I went to the old city walking from the Angel de la Independencia along the Paseo de la Reforma and the avenue is nice, with hotels and restaurants. Good for a stroll.
..To be continued...
