Mexico City

Yesterday I made it to Mexico city after 6.5 hour bus ride from Oaxaca (left at 6:30AM). My guide book for this part of Mexico is from 2004, very old in term of backpacker time. So I decided to stay at the International Youth Hostel near the old city center after reading Brian's newer edition. But the place is like a party zone, loud music. But they assured me it will be quiet by 10PM. Also the place is expensive for a dorm $14 or 158 pesos, which does not make sense in pesos since the exchange rate is around 1$ to 10.7 Pesos, even if you use 11, it should be 156, what a cheat. Anyway after I talked to my dorm-mate, he (from Thailand) informed me that the music did not shut off on Friday and Saturday until may be 2AM! Deeply concerned I started to look for a place to stay for the next 3 nights at around 7PM. Luckily few steps from the youth hostel there is another hostal, no loud music, clean bathroom and $4 cheaper and they use $1 to 10 pesos (the norm throughout my Mexico trip). Only drawback was 12 beds in a dorm compares to 4 in the other one. I was able to get my money back at the first hostal and this morning at 6:30AM I dropped off my backpack in the new place and went to see the Teotihuacan, a large ancient city.

The builders of Teotihuacan, the place of the gods, dated around 300BC - AD 600, still a mystery. It was not just a ceremony center, it also housed artisans, laborers, merchants. It even housed merchants from Maya area as well Monte Alban from Oaxaca.

After the visit to Teotihuacan, I moved my stuff into the dorm, had quick small lunch and went walk around the city. I was told by Jorge that there is a 100 pesos coin as well as a 20 pesos coin mentioned in the book. So I went to the bank and got my hand on the big and beautiful coin. I walk around more, there are so many historic buildings. I even stumbled onto Chinatown, a tiny area, but full of Chinese restaurants. I also found a market where I got half kilo of passion fruits. I also grab some street tacos and afterward I went to checkout couple handicraft markets. Of course I overpaid for the items at the first one. The reason I Iknew is that at 2nd market I saw the same item priced at much lower without even haggling! Tomorrow, I will visit some museums (most of museums close on Monday)

There are very few Internet places at the city center, and all were closed yesterday. The hostal has 'free' Internet, which is what I am using now.

As for yesterday I just walk around the colonial city center, got some groceries. O, I had a Chinese buffet (no comparison to US). I was sorry afterward. I felt bad till may be 10:30PM (after a juice and ice cream sundae). Too much fiber all the sudden, and my body can't process it fast enough, I felt pain, and luckily the small blockage went away. I'll need to lighten up my diet a bit, don't want any medical condition when I only have few days left on my trip.