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.
-

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.

-

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!

Sad to say, Cancun was a bit disappointing. I stayed in the Downtown area instead of the Hotel zone, cos that area is way too expensive.

In the Downtown, the most exciting area was the park which happened to have a fair when I was there. And there were stalls selling tacos and desserts too. But the food really ain't that fantastic, though for the people staying in the Hotel zone, it will definitely very cheap. There were clowns putting up a show, street performers, and a bazaar selling souvenirs from different states of Mexico (all of which I have seen).


At the Hotel zone, there were 2 shopping areas. One at the artesanal market, and another just opposite the Westin Hotel. The artesanal market was overly expensive and touristic. Unless one is looking for a souvenir, there isn't much to see. At the other mall, there were branded clothes and restaurants. The back of the mall had a nice habour to view the lake, but unless one is intending to spend a sum of money, there wouldn't be much to see/buy.


Besides the shopping areas, there were 2 beach areas at the Hotel zone too. One is a little after the artesenal market, the next is at Playa Delfines, which provides a few free 'sunbeds' and free umbrella shades. The 'Cancun' sign can be found at Playa Delfines too. I went in the early morning and saw alot of couples taking their wedding shoot. I then spent the rest of the morning reading at the edge of the waves. The water is really pretty clear at these beach in  Cancun. But I felt that the waves were just a little big for a relaxed swim. Also the red flag, indicating dangerous swimming condition, was up the whole time.


And that was all I found in Cancun. It really didn't suit travellers like myself. And the hostel I stayed in was really terrible, I felt it ruined the whole experience too. I think Cancun is really best for couples who can afford to spend the night at one of the posh hotels there and relax on tours or at Isla Mujeres (which I didn't visit).

Thankfully, Playa Del Carmen turned out alot better.


I got to my hostel fairly quickly via the collectivo, which costs only $38 pesos. And immediately headed for the famous 5th Avenue. As expected it was super touristy, but it felt more fun and mexican than Cancun. I had a nice time strolling through the street, admiring the stores design and ignoring calls to sign up for tours. Mid way through the avenue, there's a really nice eco-green mall that had Forever21 and other more affordable brands. Even though I wasn't going to get anything, it was still fun to window shop. Triposo also recommended a nice like cafe at the end of the avenue, which I entered and enjoyed one of the best hot chocolate I've had.



The beach lies parallel to the stretch of Avenue too, and there are 2 spots for the public to lay out their towels if one isn't interested in renting the sunbeds ($50 pesos more or less). The area I really liked was at the end, nearer to the jetty because it sits just in front of the famous sculptured gate. Also, it's handicapped friendly and it's great to see how everyone is enjoying the beach.



During my stay at Playa Del Carmen, I took a trip to the nearby island, Cozumel as well. It was there, that I had my virgin snorkelling experience. The tour brought us to 3 different sites, came with snorkelling equipment, a guide, and costs a total of $440 pesos. The guys managed to get a bargain of less than $400 pesos, but I didn't try my luck. What I liked was (of course) how beautiful the sites were, and that they provided water, coke and beer on the boat. But I did not like how we were not properly taught to clear water from our snorkel pipe and that our safety wasn't super top priority. I started off with a life jacket but decided to take it off after, because the saltwater made it easy to swim. But halfway through, water kept entering the pipe and I had difficulties treading and clearing water at the same time. I had to hold on to an old man for help and after that I learnt to follow closer to the guide and the float. Nonetheless, it was amazing. To see the fish, corals, and a sting ray from a far. There were sculptures, pots sitting on the seabed, at one of the sites too.




Besides snorkeling, one can also visit some of the ruins and the beach on Cozumel, but I decided against it, because all of it required either a taxi or a car/scooter/bike rental. The cheapest was the bike, which costs $220 pesos for a day. But I ain't gonna rent a bike for $22SGD just to cycle to a beach. The other way was to take a taxi, which costs at least $200 pesos each way. I decided to return to the main island and spent the rest of my afternoon there instead.

Today, after my second and final night at Playa Del Carmen, I headed for Akumal Beach in the early morning and found turtles to swim with! I took the collectivo from Playa Del Carmen at 7.45am for $35pesos and arrived at 8.15am. The walk in took 30mins and it wasn't easy considering that I was carrying all my things. At the beach, I rented the life jacket for $75 pesos and made the decision to go without a locker ($150 pesos). Instead, I locked my valuables in my duffel and left it on the beach. I managed to buy a snorkel for $175 pesos at a random drug store in Playa Del Carmen and that saved my the rental costs here as well. To be honest, I was rather doubtful before I entered the water, because there didn't seem to be any turtles and I wasn't sure I would be alright snorkelling alone. But Pam said the turtles were just there, so in I went, and sure enough, 5 mins into the ocean and a turtle swam past. Afterwards I had to swim towards areas with people to spot more turtles but it wasn't that difficult. The hardest part was really swim in the current and stopping water from entering my snorkel mask.
The next stop for the day was Dos Ojos Cenotes, if I'm not wrong, the number 1 cenote in the area for snorkelling and diving. I took the collectivo from where I was dropped, in the direction of tulum, and paid $20 pesos. The walk in was torturous. I was halfway through when a pair of Mexican girls pulled up and offered me a ride. The ticket in costs $200 pesos and came with a life jacket. And since I already had my snorkel, that was all I paid! There are 2 areas for snorkelling - the east eye and west eye. There is also a bat cave, but one isn't allowed in without a guide/tour. I spent about an hour snorkelling and 1/2 hr picnicking. Once again, I went without a locker and locked my valuables in my duffel. On the way out, I got another ride, this time from one of the salesperson at the tour agency. And if I'm not wrong, I believe he was the one trying to sell me a tour when I first entered. The irony! I rejected his tour that provided transportation and he ends up giving me a free ride out.



From dos ojos, I took the collectivo to Tulum ($25 pesos, 20 mins), then to Carillo ($60 pesos, 1 hour), then to Bacalar ($65 pesos, 1.5hrs) and then a taxi to my hostel ($30 pesos), where I am now! The plan is to head to the lake and kayak for the whole day tomorrow, before heading to Xpujil in the evening.

Till next time!