Things I wish I knew before my Mexico trip

School is cancelled because of the coronavirus. I finally have the time and boredom to write a new post :)

What this post is:

• A miscellaneous list I compiled after my trip to Mexico
• The things I wish I knew before the trip

What this post is NOT:

• A post about the tourist spots in Mexico (you can find much better recommendations on Google)
• A place where I post the pictures I took during the trip

Let’s get started!

Language

1. English is not well-understood in Mexico, expecially in small towns. The followings are the words and phrases I found very useful:

   1 - uno, 2 - dos, 3 - tres, 4 - cuatro, 5 - cinco,

   6 - seis, 7 - siete, 8 - ocho, 9 - nueve, 10 - diez,

   11 - once, 12 - doce, 13 - trece, 14 - catorce, 15 - quince,

   16 - dieciséis, 17 - diecisiete, 18 - dieciocho, 19 - diecinueve, 20 - veinte

   chicken - pollo, beef - res, lamb - cordero, fish - pescado

   Is this spicy? - Esto es picante?

   Where is … ? - Dónde está … ?

Money

1. How much do you need?
   I spent 10 days in Mexico, and I spent about 7000 Peso.
   A meal at a fine dining place costs about 400 Peso (tax included, but not including the tips). This is based on the average of the 4 of us.

2. Where to exchange Mexican Pesos?
   I exchanged some Pesos while I was in the US — a very bad idea! I got fewer Pesos than if I chose to exchange anywhere in Mexico.
   My friend exchanged Pesos at the store by the baggage reclaim area of the Mexico City International Airport — also a bad idea! They are the only store inside the gate, and that store gives terrible rates. The good idea is to wait until you go through the gate (you can’t return after you leave) which leads you to 50+ stores. The stores there have very good exchange rates, 18 or even 19 Pesos/USD as of Jan 2020.

Water

1. Water for drink is charged in almost all restaurants.
2. Among the three places we stayed for the night:

• one of them has hot water in the shower
• one is not cold, but also not warm (lukewarm, maybe just as warm as the body temperature)
• one, despite the landlord fixed for us in the evening, didn’t have hot water at all

Miscellaneous

1. Many museums in Mexico City close on Mondays.
2. Many museums in Mexico City are free on Sundays.
3. Take your student card with you if you’re a student. You might get discounts.
4. Pyramid of the Sun (Teotihuacán) is open on New Year’s Day.
5. You need your photo ID to buy a long-distance bus tickets. Many long-distance bus companies provide lunch, water, and snacks with their ticket.
6. I like this peanut candy, de la Rosa: