Yel Kaye – Travel Blog, Writing and Photography

Man, Mexico sure gets a lot of bad rap these days.

A few weeks ago I was cashing in some leftover travelers checks in Toronto.

“Where were you?” the teller asked.

“Mexico,” I replied far too wistfully.

“Wow,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to go visit Mexico really bad.”

“Why don’t you?” I asked.

“Well, the media makes me too afraid to go,” he replied.

That’s right: The media makes him too afraid to go to Mexico. The media.

I’m not saying that Mexico doesn’t have its fair share of dangers. After all, border cities like Ciudad Juarez are some of the most dangerous cities in the world. But during my travels to southern and central Mexico I’ve felt very comfortable as a whole. More comfortable, unfortunately, than I did in Guatemala.

Above all, Mexico City has the worst reputation, one that it doesn’t really deserve. People would ask where I was in Mexico, and when I say the capital their eyes open wide.

No, really, it’s not that bad. In fact, it’s a wonderful place. Of course, you want to take safety precautions – don’t wander around late at night, call and don’t hail a taxi, yada yada yada – and avoid bad areas, but Mexico City is in fact a wonderful and surprisingly accessible destination for a city of around 25 million.

Why?

1. Public transportation that’s both awesome and cheap. The metro is fast and goes almost anywhere you’d want to visit. And it costs about 25 cents a ride. It’s almost always busy, so while you’ll want to look out for pickpockets, crowds of people are always good for safety.

If the metro isn’t getting you where you want, there’s also the Metrobus, a fabulous new system that is sort of a cross between subway and a regular bus. Buses zip along two major roads and pick people up in subway-style platforms. Efficient and also cheap (40 cents). And when there’s no Metrobus, there’s also peseros, minibuses that go anywhere and everywhere and cost almost nothing.

When you need a taxi, it’s best to call one but even that’s not too expensive. I took a private radio taxi from south-west of downtown to the airport (and this is a huge city so keep in mind the large distances) and it only cost 9 bucks.

2. Cheap museums and galleries. So many cities are inaccessible for the budget traveler because it’s “cultural” things cost so goddamn much. I mean, isn’t getting into the Museum of Modern Art in NYC about a bazillion dollars? (Or twenty.) I went to see the excellent Museo de Arte Contemporaneo. I was disappointed to find out it wasn’t free museum day (Sundays) but that I’d have to pay the extortionate price of… $1.50. Other great museums in the city include Museo Tamayo, Bellas Artes (free), the Frida Museum, the Trotksy museum and more.

3. Clear, distinct neighborhoods. One of the reasons Toronto is my favourite city in Canada is its unique distinct neighborhoods. Mexico City has this too! Condesa, Roma, Coyoacan, Centro Historico and many more have their own particular feel and make Mexico City a lot more manageable than you’d think.

4. A city on the move. For all the griping you’ll hear from resident chilangos, you do get the sense that Mexico City is a place that embraces change, that’s trying new things out, that’s striving for improvement. For instance, there have been efforts in recent years to make the city more bike friendly. They now close down Avenida Reforma on Sundays so it can be used exclusively by cyclists. In the neighborhoods of Polanco, Condesa and Roma there’s also a bike sharing program. You pay an annual fee (about 20 bucks) and then a very nominal fee to rent the bike by the hour. There’s pick up and drop off spots throughout these central neighborhoods. This are just a couple of the interesting things that Mexico City is doing.

5. Helpful population. You’ll hear people from other cities describe people from the capital as rude and unfriendly. (You’ll also hear Mexico City residents describe people from the “provinces” as close-minded and uneducated, so I guess the score is even.) But it’s not really true. The people of Mexico City – chilangos – are very friendly and most would be happy to give you advice or point you in the right direction.

There’s many, many more reasons to love Mexico City, but these are just to show that the capital is really not the scary place you imagined it was.