ukrm rough guide to Mexico City

If someone happened to be going there for a couple of days, and might
be able to wangle some free time, what would the foak recommend to see?

Would I be conspicious lugging a DSLR around, or better off with a more
discreet compact camera?

TIA

 

I only spent half a day there between flights and it struck me as
being a down market version of Istanbul (1) so I wouldn't go back
unless I was being paid.

Take the compact and if I was to believe the merkin I was with then
I'd suggest removing your watch as well.

Enjoy.

(1) I hate Turkey with a vengeance. I've been several times and every
time it was shit.

 

Don't take the DLSR unless you are staying in the usual touristy bits
and have a local guide. Having watched a ATM being refreshed by security
types armed with pump-action shotguns held at the ready, I think you get
the idea and this was on the main Ave Insurgentes. The other thing that
made you think twice was the shanty propped-up against the 3m wall with
razor wire topping of a "posh" residence.

 

Me too!

Its awful!

I had to go to a bar by the Med last night after work. Its a shitty bar!
There's no carpet (I think the sand from the beach 3m away may be the
issue there) and smoking's not banned. The real fire burning in the
middle of the bar makes the place way too hot. Also the view of the full
moon over the mountains is a really miserable sight as it reflects off
the flat mirror like sea. It just brings me down you know. It was almost
17 degrees C and fell to 14 by the time I had left the bar. I mean
Christ! Thats *COLD*! It really is a miserable cold and unwelcoming
place. The food is awful too. I hate the freshness of everything you just
don't get the e-numbers and flavour enhancers and preservatives and stuff
that makes food proper tasty like English food init.

So which bit did you go to then? We'll make sure to avoid it.

 

Italy is great.

 

OK, it worked. Bastard.

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I'm *pretty* sure we can fix that problem without a site visit




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I've had four trips over there for work and spent a total of about 10
weeks in the country and I've not been anywhere I'd want to return to.

I can't be bothered to look at google maps to give you the exact
locations but I don't think you'd want to visit a steel mill, an open
cast coal mine, a high speed canning plant or an aluminium process
plant. The only major cities I visited were Istanbul and Izmir and
both were (imo) shit holes but that impression was only gained over a
total of about 5 days in each.

Since my last visit I've refused to go back and if I was told I had
to go I'd look for another job, I've been to worse places but all of
them were war zones.

 

Sir wants to visit Colombia, if Sir wants a real eye-opener.

(it remains one of my favourite countries, though)

 

Bummer! I presume they were paying you though. You don't do that shit for
fun. (Do you?)

Istanbul! From a viewpoint of never having visited on the grounds that
it's probably a shit hole I really can't offer an opinion.

Izmir! Half of it is great. Lots of Bars and fun stuff. Transport is good
and easy. Half of it looks like the opening of Slumdog millionaire but
not quite as nice. They keep the tourists away from that bit. Not that
they'd come out if they went in.

So what do you do? Giz a job mister!

 

last time I went was 9 years ago[1] - great city - just be very careful
- no jewellery, watches or flash cameras and take licensed cabs else
you'll be asking for trouble.

There's the usual cultural and pyramid things. It's quite high there so
it will probably take you a couple of days top acclimatise.

[1] A great mate of mine was living there - went over for stag night in
Acapulco

 

I do it for the money, I'm a wage slave and that's the bottom line.

Wise choice.

Hmmm, I stopped at the Hilton and spent a couple of entertaining
nights drinking in a pub next door that had a Norwegian name for some
reason. It might have been the Stavanger but I'm not sure..

Izmir was good if you wanted to wander around the bazaar, drink coffee
and smoke tabs but I found the rest of the city pretty dismal. Nothing
I could really put my finger on but it just seemed infested by beggars
and I didn't like it. It's the usual story and others might love it
but you can only comment on what you see of it.

I'm just a lowly site manager trying to make idiots appear as if they
know what they're doing.

Mechanical engineering of the 'troubleshooting' variety.

 

Don't forget the Premier Inns, they're very important are the Premier
Inns. Guess where I'm stopping tonight?

 

I'm glad I no longer have 3 nights away from home almost every week.

 

Monday: Kendal
Tuesday: Lichfield
Wednesday: Scunthorpe

I'm due home a week on Friday.

I do get fed up with it and from tomorrow morning we're on power
station outages until probably late November but the pay's ok and I
get to visit lots of exciting places...

 

That's almost as glamourous as it was for me.

After having the company receptionist book me stuff for the first couple
of months, I started doing a scout around on LateRooms on a Sunday
evening to pick out some nice pubs with rooms instead of staying in the
big chains. Managed to pick out a few regular haunts doing that.

Oh. That's not good. I don't think I could do that. It was usually Tues
/ Weds / Thurs for me.

I don't regret it at all - got to see lots of places I'd never have gone
if it hadn't been for work purposes.

But it's nice to know that I will be home almost every night now.

 

Really? I love driving in Italy! Everyone drives like I do.

Oh, hang on...

 

<useless trivia heard on Radio 4 today>

Mexico City is the largest city in the world, as it was in 1519 when
Cortes invaded. [1]

[1] Although a brief google suggests both these claims are false

 

Proof positive that R4 is shit then.

 

Not the case in Sardinia. Not at all.