Last year I spent 3 weeks in Mexico City on a business trip with the group that runs the Mexican stock exchange. This was an ideal place to travel to. I knew very little about it and went with an open mind and let the experience form my opinion.

Semi naked protests

It seemed like every day or two there was a massive anti-corruption protest on the street. It’s frustrating because the government doesn’t seem to give a shit even though there are literally hundreds of thousands of people attending.

I was lucky enough to experience one up close and personal. It was a semi naked protest led by farmers. A whole square full of chests and boobs on display. Kind of makes you wish Boston had more corruption.

YouTube video here

Teotihuacan

On my first weekend I visited Teotihuacan – possibly one of the most difficult to pronounce tourist places I’ve ever been to.

The tour was gimmicky and commercial, but I had fun. They show you how they make Tequila and Mezcal out of agave plants and you get to try different kinds.

The blind shot was interesting. I was glad I didn’t end up in the trunk of a car.

By the time the tourism starts you’re quite drunk….makes for an interesting time going up very thin very steep stairs.

The Pink Zone (Zona Rosa)

The client put me in a hotel that was right across the street from the trendy Zona Rosa (pink zone – the gay district of Mexico City). Maybe they did their research, maybe I just got lucky.

Could the name be any gayer? The only way I could think of would be to have it on a hill and call it Brokeback Mountain.

The area brought a few interesting nights. A random Grindr chat one night ended me with a Japanese guy and his Belgian partner at a gay bar. There I chatted with a Mexican software engineer, but I had work the next day, so I left early. As I crossed the road, literally in the middle of the highway, the Mexican guy called me, and in a very corny yet memorable moment, he tells me he will never forgive himself if he doesn’t kiss me, and proceeds to stick his tongue down my throat while cars frantically honked at us in the middle of the highway. Good kisser. Neither one of us turned into a prince.

Don’t whip out your beginner Spanish in public

Everyone I met was convinced I was Mexican – literally no one spoke to me in English. After my second week there I built up some confidence and started throwing around some sentences in Spanish. It didn’t go too well when I went to an ice cream place and ordered a coño instead of cono. Got a very angry look from the lady and she refused to serve me. Coño=vagina, cono=cone.

New nicknames

Everyone at work called me Yoey. It grew on me and I stopped correcting them after a while. Señor Yoey.

Starbucks had a different one for me.

Mayan/Aztec art/design

I was very intrigued by the art. The skeletons, dark theme, bright colors, and the strange alien style faces.

The hype seems to be all about Frida Kahlo and, while she does have some lady Gaga moments (see below), I was much more taken by her husband Diego Rivera, the famous muralist.

You can find some of his work at the historic center in the Bellas Artes palace. Man controller of the universe was definitely my favorite mural. Really makes you wonder if we are at the center of it all or not.

Museum of Anthropology 

Typically this isn’t my type of museum, but this one was really good. I think I spent a good two hours there seeing artifacts from the different civilizations.

       

Mezcal

This agave plant alcohol tends to be quite smokey and typically drunk straight. There are less smokey versions or you could make a cocktail out of it. Since I discovered it in Mexico I’ve started seeing it pop up at many bars in New York and Boston. Luckily they no longer put the dead worm at the bottom of the bottles like they used to in the old days.

Chile en nogada 

A dish with the same colors as the Mexican flag and typically made for Independence Day. Who knew a chili could taste this good. My favorite dish of the trip.

Mole Mio

Chocolate mole. Because I love chocolate anything, this went well.

Churros made in heaven

My coworker took me to Chureria El Moro a 100+ year old place. No sugar in the Mexican hot chocolate. Just take a bite of the churro and follow it with a sip of the drink. Perfection. Do not miss this place!

Oaxaca

It seems to me that Oaxaca is to Mexico what Hokkaido is to Japan, but I could be wrong. These were my favorite types of restaurants to eat at. I even tried a guacamole with crickets, crunchy!

Sandwiches

I never thought I would be blogging about a sandwich place but Bravo Loncheria is pretty damn good and deserves to be on here.

Hot sauce buffet

It was quite typical and interesting to see 5 or more bottles of hot sauce at the table to accompany a meal. 1 is good, 6 is better!

Zocalo / El Centro

The (historic) center of the city.

You can find anything here: old, new, upscale, downscale, hipster, trendy, super wealthy, super poor, kids playing  soccer near 1000 year old churches, mariachi bands, the terrifying street where you could easily get mugged and the fancy ass high rise/shopping district just one or two blocks away.

    

Montezuma’s revenge

You may or may not have heard this term before (also known as Traveler’s diarrhea). Hopefully you never will. The name refers to the ruler of the Aztec civilization who was overthrown by the Spanish in the early 16th century, putting Mexico under the rule of the Spanish crown. This is his form of revenge.

I thought it was quite ironic how I got it though. I was going out alone eating here and there, even street food, but the one night I went out with coworkers after work, we got a few drinks and headed to supposedly the best taco restaurant in the city, I got increadibly sick. They even tried to kick me off the flight the next day because I looked too sick to travel. My worst flight ever.

Random Interesting Tidbits

– Mexico City is HUGE. 5th most populated city in the world.

– Its very liberal. I saw this couple holding hands in the trendy Roma district and was shocked. Turns out gay marriage was legalized in Mexico City in 2009!

– On the way to Teotihuacan I saw tons of rainbow colored houses. The driver explained that the different political parties would paint your home for free if you want. I guess that makes polling easier 🙂

– I was surprised to find myself in a traditional Cantina in the city. That’s a place where men gather to drink, play dominoes, cards and other games. Women and minors are not allowed. My coworker told me I can ask any of the waitresses for sex. For many obvious reasons, I didn’t.

– The city is constantly sinking and has sunk more than nine meters in some areas over the last 100 years.

– Mexico City has the most museums in the world and all of them are free on Sundays! Check out the beautifully architected Soumaya museum.

– Mexico city has records for the most people kissing simultaneously, the most people dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at the same time, and the world’s biggest enchilada (weighing nearly 1.5 tons).

The bottom line

It’s a massive country with rich culture. I must come again, visit different regions and try more food – this is the sort of country that needs time to explore.