{"id":5369,"date":"2025-03-13T02:56:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T02:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/?p=5369"},"modified":"2025-03-13T02:56:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T02:56:46","slug":"mexico-week-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/?p=5369","title":{"rendered":"Mexico Week 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s been a while since my last update and few patrons have been asking. Here I am, stuck in an airport hotel (well, due to my profound stupidity of missing my flights).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a well needed vacation after months of working on cloud security. While I like my team, nevertheless I wasn’t ready to work that hard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My coworker picked me up from my apartment sent me my way to South<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kinda sad to leave such great weather behind <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

some gruesome hours landed in Dallas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I actually didn’t realize how massive DFW airport can be. The skytrain takes like a solid half an hour to loop around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Landing in Quer\u00e9taro <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was surprised to see how this tiny airport has so many United\/AA\/Delta planes parked there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After immigration, it was way past midnight and a quick Uber ride (about 40min for $20ish) to my hostal. The reception went to back and the owner left the key in a hidden place outside the hostal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Though, for some reasons he put me in a female dorm that night (I suspect it was because the male dorms were full since it was Saturday night)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My body definitely struggled to shut down due to being in a new environment and the heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Sign sees “Love” in multiple languages including Chinese <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As soon as I got up, I was greeted by Roman, who’s volunteering at the hostal, in Chinese asking if I speak Mandarin. Turns out that he’d studied in Taiwan for 3 years after having studied in the USA. He grew up bilingual (English & Spanish) in Northern Mexico as well. We quickly bonded as a result. He’s doing his soul searching bouncing around cities to cities – not so different than what I am doing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With any ups there bounds to have some downs. As always, it’s always with the Brits. I asked this old retiree if he’s from the USA since it’s logic to expect someone White to be from and I had previously only greeted him in Spanish. He just went on and on “educating” me about why I shouldn’t assume he’s from the USA. I don’t get why people stay in hostals when a simple “no, actually I am British” would do. Later on, he even whined about why I couldn’t tell from accent and how Americans always assume he’s from Australia. I am sorry, old Brit, your irrelevance probably doesn’t help. Besides, you think everyone should speak English to you while traveling in Latin America for years is just nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided to take a stroll around the city while waiting for Roman to finish up his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Local catholic celebration <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cloudless day means it was also warm. I stopped at a local bar for a drink and managed to know a local from Queretaro where he also took his family 4 kids and wife on a world trip. Nevertheless, he just kept buying me drinks and even checked on me a few days later. Let me just say that this city just is full of surprises<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Roman finished work, he took me out for lunch at his favorite local spot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After a short afternoon break, I wanted to see an Art museum<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of course, all museums in the city are also free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few hours after the celebration ended with fireworks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The other guys from the hostal wanted to go out. I was ready for bed at this point and partially was that I wanted to do a hike the following day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

hopped on a local bus to see the Pe\u00f1a de Bernal <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In about an hour, I got the foot of the rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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start of the ascend <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s actually way shorter than I thought (about 1km one way.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s a bit warm and very sunny. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In like 30min or so I reached the “top” – the last section wasn’t open. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Celebrate finishing the trail <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A lunch – though the seafood scene seems a bit out of the blue <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I had a quick nap on the bus, the traffic was bad. So took quite a while to get back to the hostel. I wanted to cook some Chinese, but the market was already closed at 5pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We decided to venture out to the city supermarket<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of course the Canadians got be here<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Unfortunately, I didn’t have any pictures of the food. I did some stir fry and a soup. It was lovely with everyone tasting. I suggested to Roman that he could open a stir fry stand in town. He cleaned up the kitchen and packed the left over, a good husband material for sure. I did ask him about how many marriage proposals he’d received when he’s in Taiwan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 4<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Meander day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Turns out there’s actually a big train network in Mexico. Just life in the USA, no passenger service anymore <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I really wanted to see the train museum, but it was closed that day. I think it’s always good to leave something behind for next time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Went to a city garden<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Found a boutique brunch place. I was more attracted by the live piano than the food<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Museum time<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are some exotic images and entire exhibit dedicated to LGBT rights and gender role. Let’s just say, latinos are hung. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Turns out the Beer Hall is promoting Hanneken 0.0, hard pass. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Day 5<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Woke up early enough to say goodbye to Roman. I think hostal life is to force 3-4hr sleep time and somehow still managed to function fine. I guess less is more. I definitely feel more accomplished whilst staying in dorms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Strolled around waiting for bus to my next destination <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I tried this BlaBlaCar thingy, which didn’t really work in my favor. Buses are just also way more comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arriving at San Miguel De Allende<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For some reasons, my hotel doesn’t serve alcohol. I had to get some hydrations for lunch before my afternoon walking tour<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Obviously, pictures are great on camera thus why influx of tourists. The city itself is quite small and a bit boring if not lack of substance (I mean, that’s just about everything Americans have touched?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunset time<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Followed my walking tour guide’s suggestion I went to this legendary restaurant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a great night and I slept for like 12hr straight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 6<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another great morning for some strolling around town<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Turns out the botanical garden was the highlight of the city. I think it was just the first time I did a guided tour through the desert environment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The valley is actually used for hosting concerts in the spring due to the acustic effects from the rocks <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rescued plants <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The island is man-made, the original owners wanted to see migrant birds thus created one for better viewing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The guide who’s British (well, there are also good Brits) moved to the city 17 years ago after working in the Vancouver as a gardener for a few decades. He’s happy just to do what he loves the most (obviously he’d not accept our tips).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Went back town for lunch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Later I went to the local high end supermarket. I didn’t take any pictures but it was fun to be able to do dine and wine taste while shopping. The Mexicans definitely figured out something we couldn’t<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 7<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Last day in town. To be honest, I was really to leave but somehow I booked the night because it was Friday and didn’t want to be forced to find another accommodation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Found a Tiktok stop by accident and obviously bumped into a group of Seattle visitors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I really don’t think it’s that special but of course my fellow Americans just like to express how “amazing” everything is. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Same dance as in Queretaro <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

beer time<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On my way back to the hotel I managed to find the only “local” restaurant in town<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Obviously it still causes twice as in my next city. Delicious nevertheless <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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More sunsets<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To end my first week <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Expenses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Week 55<\/td>Currency:<\/td>MXN<\/td>20.177359<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Day<\/td>Food&Drink<\/td>Lodging<\/td>Transportation<\/td>Other (tickets\/tours etc)<\/td>Day total<\/td>Country<\/td><\/tr>
1<\/td>$0.00<\/td>$13.92<\/td>$245.61<\/td>$0.00<\/td>$259.52<\/td>Mexico<\/td><\/tr>
2<\/td>$34.61<\/td>$13.92<\/td>$0.00<\/td>$0.00<\/td>$48.53<\/td>Mexico<\/td><\/tr>
3<\/td>$56.34<\/td>$13.38<\/td>$15.23<\/td>$2.18<\/td>$87.14<\/td>Mexico<\/td><\/tr>
4<\/td>$39.58<\/td>$13.38<\/td>$0.00<\/td>$0.00<\/td>$52.96<\/td>Mexico<\/td><\/tr>
5<\/td>$63.70<\/td>$35.17<\/td>$14.43<\/td>$28.37<\/td>$141.67<\/td>Mexico<\/td><\/tr>
6<\/td>$58.87<\/td>$35.17<\/td>$0.00<\/td>$14.60<\/td>$108.64<\/td>Mexico<\/td><\/tr>
7<\/td>$46.21<\/td>$35.17<\/td>$0.00<\/td>$0.00<\/td>$81.38<\/td>Mexico<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td>$299.32<\/td>$160.09<\/td>$275.27<\/td>$45.15<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
<\/td>Total<\/td><\/td>Grand Total:<\/td>$779.84<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
I probably missed some minor expenses here and there.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been a while since my last update and few patrons have been asking. Here I am, stuck in an airport hotel (well, due to my profound stupidity of missing my flights). This is a well needed vacation after months of working on cloud security. While I like my team, nevertheless I wasn’t ready to… Continue reading Mexico Week 1<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5369"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5443,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5369\/revisions\/5443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}