I wanted a unique experience, something different than I’ve ever experienced before. And my husband suggested Mexico.
But not the typical, curated, Americanized Mexico, but Mexico Mexico. Menachem’s logic was that Mexico is a vast, beautiful and rich country, full of an abundance of culture. Why go somewhere else if we have this massive, incredible country right nearby. So that settled it.
So here goes a summary of our trip 🙂
So we landed in Mexico city. First thing that struck me was the amazing amount of color from all the buildings and houses. It was a preview of what was to come in terms of Mexico’s rich and colorful culture.
As we were following the signs to our booked car rental, I advised that we should keep walking and not stop to ponder where to go. My reasoning being- it sends a signal to a person looking to take advantage, that we are a potential ‘target’ (A naive American tourist). I walked confidently without making too much eye contact.
Tip 1: Use your body language and expressions to signal confidence. When you subconsciously give the signal of being a tourist and naive, people may think of you as a target to make more money off of you.
We then grab a ride to the car rental. They then demanded a signed letter from my hubby’s bank stating that the collision damage waiver is covered. My husband researched beforehand what we needed to provide and this was not mentioned. We had all the necessary proof for what they required, however they would only accept a signed letter OR us paying a significantly higher amount. Typical Mexico car rental scam.
So that screwed us over because of course the bank took forever to answer and we got disconnected mid-call. We got sick of waiting and just decided to leave.
In retrospect, taking buses and Ubers proved to be easy, cheaper, and effective. It was all for the best.
Our Stay
We stayed in Polanco, where they have a massive Jewish community with 30+ restaurants, exquisite Shuls, and gorgeous Mikvahs.
It felt pretty safe, they had a ton of security guards like all over. We stayed at this cool apartment complex we found on Airbnb, we were on a high floor so we got to see some great views of the city. Mexico has an interesting type of architecture where the floor lobbies are out in the open. The staircases too. I hope no one falls over the edge. Kinda cool and kinda dizzying because you are out in the open.
We were hella hungry, so we went to the Tamar restaurant. Dudeee, the food was so freakin good, and every restaurant we went to- the food was always amazing and very affordable. It was an Israeli-styled place, it was honestly so spot on. The pitas were so fresh and all the food was so delicious.
We used Uber to get around which was insanely cheap and efficient.