Melisasa

So far I've taken a couple of solo trips out and I've accumulated quite a lot of information on getting around and generally, a deeper understanding of Mexico, as a traveller. Thought I pass it on, and hopefully one of you out there enjoy Mexico like I did!

(Following up from part 1, this post will be about getting accommodations, and finding out which places to visit.)

3. Places to visit 
Finding out which places to visit is always the most difficult part when planning for a trip. Having made so many trips out, I found that the places that left the best impression were not always the most beautiful ones. A lot of it, is dependent on my experiences there, and the things I did.

To make the most out of your experience, you have to understand what type of traveller you are. Starting out, I always made my plans around the top places to visit on tripadvisor. But these places are always suitable and sometimes I found myself wasting time and money, just to visit a place for the sake of it.

Mexico generally fits into these few category of places: Mountains and Hikes, Natural formations, Beaches, Art, Historical and Culture, Archeology, Nightlife 

Mountains and Hikes
Mexico lies on the plate boundary and naturally have volcanoes and mountains. The ones I know, are La Malinche in Tlaxcala and Popocatepetl in Puebla/Mexico.

La Malinche isn't a very hard and technical and usually takes about half a day. Most people would stay at the cabins at the base of the mountains the night before, but a day trip is possible too.

Popocatepetl is an active volcano and is currently off limits, but one can scale the peak next to it, Iztaccihuatl. I have never climbed any of these volcanoes, but I understand that there are tours organised to visit the volcano and it should take 1-2 days.


There are other mountains in Mexico too, but these are the 2 that I know.

In Mexico there are also alot of hills that are great for hiking. It's not as high as a mountain, but the view is equally amazing. Queretaro has a Pena de Bernal and there are lots of small hills in Tlaxcala, including this one that I climbed.


Natural formations
By far, Chiapas has the greatest variety of natural formations I've seen. Located in Chiapas is the Canyon Sumidero, where one can take a 1 hour boat tour through the canyon. There is also Aqua Azul, a series of pools with water that is really blue, cascading down the valley. There is also Lagunas de Montebello, a huge lake with an island on the middle. One can pay to row a boat to the island, and take a short swim near its shores.


Oaxaca also has a really famous limestone formation, Hierve el Agua. This is something that shouldn't be missed when in Oaxaca.


The states of Yucatana and Quintana roo, are also famous for their cenotes and corals. From what I've heard and seen, Dos Ojos Cenote seems to be the prettiest and biggest one of all. There are lots of diving spots there as well. Ik Kil cenote is also famous, though I would not recommend it, for it is crowded with people and that ruins the whole experience. For corals, I would recommend Cozumel, an island just off the coast of Playa Del Carmen. Snorkel tours can be booked at $440 pesos per person, excluding the boat ride to the island.


Beaches 
Mexico has so so so many amazing beaches and beach towns. Puerto Vallarta in Guadalajara, Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca, Acapulco in Guerrero, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum in Quintana Roo, La Paz in the Baja California stripe, are some of the famous ones. I personally would not recommend Veracruz, because the water and sand still seems to be affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The water and sand on the east side of Mexico are unbeatable, but the towns of the beaches on the west side are alot nicer (personal opinion - do note that I have only been to Puerto Vallarta for beaches on the west side).



Art, History and Culture
Mexico is rich with history, culture and art! I really developed a greater appreciation for art while exploring the various museums here and this is my favourite type of destination.

The great news is most of the states have a series of museums and they are all located within walking distance, unlike nature sights which often requires a day tour with transport provided. In every city, there would be 1. Zocalo - the main square of the city, and it is usually surrounded by ... 2. The main Cathedral and 3. The National Palace (or Palacio, in Spanish). The Palace are usually covered with murals that explains the history of the country or the town. The architecture style of the main cathedral would give some insights into the culture and generally architecture style of the town too. One can often find a market (mercado) in the city as well, and that is often one of my favourite place to visit, just to try the local food and purchase the local produce.


So, generally, when planning where to visit, the best place to start would be the Zocalo, because that is where most of the attractions are centered around. Most cities have at least 2-3 museums to visit, but the cities with the best variety of museums, is Mexico City. It is my favourite state/city. And my student card in UDLAP gave me alot of free or discounted access as well. Other states with wonderful museums are Guadalajara and Puebla. Puebla is especially beautiful with lots and lots of historical buildings.


Archeology
Mexico also have lots of Pyramids!!! I had no idea they had pyramids before I came, so it's really quite a nice surprise. Mexico used to have Aztecs and Mayan tribes before the Spaniards attacked and conquered the country, and there are lots of museums to go with the pyramids, explaining and detailing life before the Spaniards arrive. The Anthropology Museum in Mexico City is a must visit as well.

The famous pyramid structure in Mexico are Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Palenque in Chiapas, Teotihuacan in Mexico City and Monte Alban in Oaxaca. I would recommend reading up on the culture and history of the respective tribes of the pyramids and also hiring a guide for first time visits. Otherwise, it would seem meaningless like a bunch of rocks built by ancient people.


Nightlife
Mexicans loveeee their party. But I did discover that Mexicans party differently. While Singaporeans are used to the American styled clubs, where everyone jumps and go crazy over the latest hits and rave parties, Mexicans typically party over salsa and cumbia music, where everyone would cumbia with friends and strangers on the dance floor. Micheladas are a popular party mix, along with tequilla and cervezas (beer).

That being said, lots of beach towns still provide the type of clubs and parties that most are used to, and Playa Del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco are especially famous for it.
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When identifying places to visit, I find it super helpful to mark down the locations of these sites on a map, I usually use Google Map and Triposo, but more often Triposo. Triposo is an app that allows you to save a location at any coordinates unlike Google and it has recommendations on where to eat, sleep and visit too. It also has offline maps available, which really help to conserve my phone's battery and data usage.


After marking down the sites, it is a whole easier to plan, knowing the distance between each site, and whether to skip some completely, because its just too out of the way.

4. Accommodations 
(I have only stayed in hostels when I traveled here, so this guide would only be applicable to people who are considering the same option.)

I always make an online reservation for my stay before going to the place itself, to feel more secure and also so that I know someone out there, at my destination knows about my arrival. Should I find myself in some trouble, at least someone would know that I'm missing. Sounds drastic, but think of it as an insurance. The website that I used throughout this entire exchange is booking.com, simply because it allows me to cancel my booking should I see the need to.


Usually, I would first mark down the places I want to visit on a map. Either "star" the location on Google map or mark it down on Triposo. Then I would search booking.com for the list of hostels and order them by lowest price first. I would then begin choosing from the cheapest hostel. The factors I would first consider is location. Is the hostel located near to most of the places I want to visit? If not, are there hostels, just a little more expensive, but with a better location? Next factor would be comfort. Is it a female dormitory? Does the room look comfortable and clean? Following which would be, breakfast. Is breakfast provided? And lastly, I'm assuming all hostels have wifi. It's the basic necessity!


Next thing to note, when packing for the trip, always bring your own towel, lock and toiletries. Most hostels do not provide a towel for free, and almost none provide toiletries. Some of the hostels rent out locks at a deposit, but sometimes you might land up in one that requires you to make payment, or worse, does not have a locker space.


Before departing, I would always save my booking information in my phone, and also check and notify the hostel of my estimated check in time. I forgot to do this for my hostel in Tulum, and ended up sleeping in the bus station, when I arrived at 3am and realised the counter wasn't open 24/7.

Otherwise, hostels are a great place to meet people when travelling alone and for finding out more information on places to go too. I also managed to sell off my snorkel on my last trip in Quintana Roo and Yucatan when I was leaving and knew I didn't need it anymore.

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And that's all for the guide! There are so many more details I would want to share as well, but I think anymore information should be converted into an ebook, ahaha. Perhaps! That would be one thing on my bucketlist!

Wow, I've been back for a day already, and looking back, this 9 day trip felt like a month. Whatever I did before this 9 days felt like centuries ago, ahaha. And it was pretty weird returning just in time for the last day of school. I'm not ready for school to end yet, and yesterday felt so abrupt as I watch all the professors leave the class for the last time. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to meeting ed in USA again and then returning back home, to Singapore, albeit its the start of my final and presumably most stressful semester ever.

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So, the last 2 days of Merida was filled with ups and down. The day I went to Chichen Itza was probably one of the worst days I've had in the 9 days, when I truly felt helpless, for more than 1 time in a day.

The day started off with a short walk around town, exploring the mercados and getting to know the area better.





Following which, I bought my bus ticket to Chichen Itza for $80 pesos. The journey took approximately 2.5hours and I chose to drop off at a town, Piste, located just before Chichen Itza, for lunch. It wasn't a bad decision because I later found out that prices for food were more than $60 pesos at Chichen Itza. I was told that I could take the next bus that passes by to Chichen Itza when I'm done with lunch, but I waited for 1/2 hr and finally decided to hop into a cab instead. The bus would have costs me $7 pesos and I would have to walk for about 500m to the entrance, while the cab costs $35 pesos and would drop me right at the entrance. The difference wasn't great and I think I made the right choice, cos it saved me so much time.


By then, it was already 2pm and I still had to visit cenote Ik Kil and the Grutas nearby, which both closes at 5pm. (I should have done my research on the closing hours beforehand!) So I practically rushed through the whole of Chichen Itza in 1.5 hour (I've seen enough pyramids and read enough to quickly identify and appreciate the key features anyways), before heading to the next location.





The plan was to head to cenote Ik Kil and then proceed to the Grutas de Balamkanche. The only way to head out was by taxi, given that I have no time to wait for another bus to pass by. The ride costs $75pesos, but halfway through the taxi driver told me that the Grutas close at 4pm and thus I changed my mind and decided to head there first. It was a little further and costs $100pesos (these are the standard rates set). But I half regretted when the taxi told me there are no taxis at the grutas. My next question was, "can I walk to ik kil fromthe grutas then?". He said yeah, probably 2km away. He didn't mention that it was a 2km walk on the highway. And that to visit the Grutas, one must take a tour and it costs $118 pesos, and the last tour starts at 4pm. I was the only person there, and the guide said that, there will be no tour if it's just me. It was 3.30pm, the cenote closes at 5pm, and the tour would take 1/2 hour at least.

It was either the grutas or the cenote. I chose the cenote, and began to walk out of the grutas. At this point, I was chiding myself for actually paying more to get myself stuck at the Grutas where, there are no taxis and the possibility of not being about to see anything. Thankfully 3 mins into my walk on the highway, a car pulled over and asked me if I knew where the other pyramid is located. I said no, and asked for a ride, and got it. Oh yeah. But I reached cenote Ik Kil only to be disappointed again ): I paid $75 pesos, excluding life jacket and locker rental, thank god I didn't pay more, because it was over crowded and way too small. I swam for barely 20 mins, got out and left.


Just in time to wet again, in the rain. And guess what, there's not taxis at cenote Ik Kil too. The downpour reflected exactly what was going on in my mind. I immediately started approaching the tourists had rented and parked their cars at the parking lot, asking for a ride. All of them were going in the opposite direction. Dismayed, I started walking out to the highway, hoping to get a ride there. Thankfully one of the couples saw me when they drove out and decided to drive me back to Chichen Itza, even though it wasn't on the way. I couldn't be more thankful.

Back at Chichen Itza, I wait for the night light show to start. I was totally looking forward to it. Seeing pyramids and amazing light display at night. But the rain didn't stop and the show got cancelled after waiting for 1.5 hrs. Saddest moment of the day. I did so much just to get back to Chichen Itza, just for a cancelled show. To head back, I planned to flag one of the bus traveling in the direction of Merida. But when I asked the venders, they said there was none that pass by this road. I wanted to cry. And at that moment, their ride for Piste happened to come. And so I got my third and final ride of the day back to Piste. And from there, took the bus back to Merida.

I don't think I was ever fully dry the whole time.

Thankfully, the next and final day was better. I spent the day walking around town. My favourite was the train museum that costs only $20 pesos and came with a student guide that volunteered there. He explained everything in Spanish though. And I actually understood 75% of it. Yay! I bought him a coke after that, cos he doesn't get paid ahaha.













Getting to the airport after wasn't hard, though the bus from Mexico city back to Puebla took 3 hours. Slowest driver ever. And that concluded the end of my 9 day solo trip!