Friday night: Andy and Patty's last night in LA. They stayed in to rest (still knackered from the time difference and all).
I met up with Jonathan and Ruben at a Himalayan restaurant in Culver City, where I ate Yak! It was delicious and lean but still tender. I also ordered it extra spicy. After stopping by the apartment, we then drove to TRiP in Santa Monica to see some live music. It was kind of a disappointment. There were only like 10 people in the audience. And I was talked into buying a strong Belgian beer that really didn't taste that great. We left around 11 and I was asleep before midnight.
Saturday: MY DAY TRIP TO TIJUANA!
Said bye to Andy and Patty, who left for LAX to catch their flight to Vegas. They almost missed the flight! (Extremely) Luckily the flight was delayed an hour, giving them time to get through security. I was stuck in traffic near LAX and almost picked them up too.
No ridesharers ended up joining us to Mexico. And Michelle (other) flaked out. So it was just the two of us. Whatevs. The drive was fine past the LAX traffic/accident. I parked at a San Diego trolley station in National City and we were soon on a trolley ride to the border! The neighborhoods passed by, and the composition of people riding the trolley became steadily more Mexican. The end of the line came, and Michelle and I simply followed the crowd as it entered what looked like a nondescript parking garage. It was actually the bridge to get over the freeway and over the border crossing. And, after spiraling up and down either side of the bridge, we simply walked through the metal revolving door and were in Mexico!
That was easy.
There were a couple police outposts right by the border entrance, but we weren't stopped once. The walkway opened into the street, with plenty of taxis eager to snap you up. I naturally had my guards up. Nevertheless I was surprized with the level of persistence that taxi drivers (and shopkeepers) insist that you choose them. I had plenty of opportunities to master my "No, gracias!".
We walked down the gauntlet of tourist-trap souvenir shops and "2 for 1" restaurant-cantinas. There weren't very many visitors anywhere. Right before crossing the river, there's a big plaza that was near deserted. There were small stands along the sloping path that spirals up to the bridge over the river. The staircase down the other side smelled pungently of urine.
Soon we were on Avenida Revolución. There were shops selling touristy stuff. Not much different than the touristy part of any major city. We were hungry, though, so we headed straight for the red light district, home of the restaurant mentioned on Wikitravel that served goat. It's actually
birria, which is a meat stew that was absolutely delicious! Michelle and I split that, they kept refilling our tortillas (which were freshly hand-made) and even the stew! I also (spontaneously) ordered a gordita, which was full of cheeeeeeeeesy awesomeness. It's essentially a super grilled cheese sandwith WITH CARNE ASADA and made with tortillas instead of bread. Simply amazing. We were both elated to be eating such great food.
We then walked around the red light district. There were plenty of girls just standing on the sidewalk, with apathetic looks on their faces. The neighborhood didn't give me that bad of a vibe, though, despite the fact that Michelle and I were the only non-Mexicans around. We then returned to Avenida Revolución. (My camera was acting up this whole day, shaking and vibrating whenever I'd turn it on, so I didn't get many good pictures.) We bought two Mexican wrestling masks as gifts for the birthday celebration later that night. It was amazing having to haggle so aggressively to buy something. The salesman originally said the masks were $65 each. We eventually got him down to $10, but I wonder if we could've gotten him lower. Meh. Soon afterwards I did a similar bargaining dance with a shop lady for a wall-sized Mexican flag for my collection. $15 - I feel I should have held out for a lower price.
After walking all of Revolución, we set our sights southwards, toward the big flag that towers over TJ. You could easily see it from the U.S. too. So we walked there.
Then we walked past a small city park, with a creepy homeless guy talking to himself and yelling loudly. That moment was probably the least safe I felt in Tijuana. And I felt similar to how I feel in LA when a homeless guy yells at me.
We then walked past a few shops selling caskets and funeral accessories. Wikitravel said this area was the more genuine and authentic side of Tijuana. Hmm...
We continued walking in the sandy bright sun. Back across a couple of not-so-noteworthy neighborhoods that vaguely reminded me of parts of San José (Costa Rica). We stumbled upon the Tijuana Cultural Center (or whatever it was).
Michelle and I sat in the shade of the substantial orb and rested our legs. (I was wearing chucks this whole day, btw.) I soon finished the last of my water bottle.
The afternoon passed more quickly than I had expected. It was nearly 5pm and we needed to get back across the border. So we walked across the river, tried to see a side of TJ beyond the usual tourist routes, but alas, there really wasn't much worth noting. There WAS, however, a Thrifty Ice Cream stand right before the border! Of COURSE I had to get a scoop. I munched on my cookies and cream while waiting in line at the border. It took like half an hour almost to get through the passport check. Meh.
Back in the U.S. The trolley took us back to Sue, who survived safely in the parking lot. I drove Michelle briefly through downtown SD because she had never really been before, which astonished me. I got a voicemail from a potential rideshare, but by the time I got back to the US and could call him, he had already found a ride. It was 8pm by the time we got back. I had two girls couchsurfing with me that evening - Victoria and Rachel. And we had a good night indeed, but that's a whole other story... to come...
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