Tijuana: the highs and lows

Tijuana is a place on contradictions. One of the most murderous cities in the world also happens to be one of the most fun. In one day lunch might be a $1 street taco and dinner might be a $60 chef’s tasting menu. 

I don’t do a “highs and lows” post for every city. In fact, I’ve only done this one for an entire country (Pakistan) and once for an entire region (SE Asia). I seem to be inspired to do posts like these when I there is a clash of feelings, like I shouldn’t love a place but somehow I do. I felt this clash in Pakistan. I felt the clash throughout my 6 months in SE Asia and the many ups and downs I had there. 

Tijuana is still different. I did not have a set of extreme experiences there, but rather, it is a city of extremes in and of itself. Take a look at my list and decide which outweighs the other.

Things I loved 

• Gourmet food: Mision 19 may be one of the best meals I have ever had. And my favorite octopus pizza at La Justina is not to be missed. 
• Street food: ubiquitous and abundant, everything can be found on the street in all delicious varieties. I have yet to get sick from eating anything. 
• Nostalgia: Tijuana evokes memories from me of places all over the world. Perhaps because the city itself is a crossroads of sorts, harboring refugees from Haiti and Latin America, a confluence of people of many cultures. No wonder the city reminds me of all places at one. 
• Cars stop for pedestrians: of all the safety concerns you may have in Tijuana, getting hit by a car should not be one of them. 
• The nights: while days can be plenty hot, nights are cool and breezy. Going out at 10:00 or 11:00pm is the perfect time to savor Tijuana’s nightlight outdoors. 
• Uber English: Uber is easier to use than ever! 
• Fluid queer culture: there is a thriving gay scene in Tijuana that attracts people of all genders, ages, races, abilities, and life circumstances. It was great to see so much diversity. 
• Pace of time: time moves slowly and quickly in Tijuana. Slowly, when you are in the moment, and you can savor ever bit of the presence, but quickly because the days pass in an instant. As my friend calls it “Time slides” 
• Coffee flavors: The lavender lattes cannot be beat. And the vanilla doesn’t taste like vanilla anywhere else in the world. 
• Sunsets: magical moments that can be appreciated from any street corner or rooftop in the city

My not-so-favorite-things 

• Random shooting: I would put Narco-vioence in a big category of “what sucks about Tijuana” but the worst is when innocent bystanders are shot simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 
• Drugs: Not only are there plenty of drugs flowing from Mexico into the US thanks to warring cartels, but there are plenty of drugs swimming in Tijuana. Syringes on the street are a commons sight, as are junkies. As a foreigner, I also have to worry about being harassed by police who think I might be buying drugs. 
• The sidewalks and roads: One of the very legitimate dangers of Tijiana is it’s poorly constructed roads. Drivers have to worry about seriously deep pot holes, while as pedestrians we worry about gaping cracks in the pavement and huge curbs. 
• Trash and sanitation: parts of the city are very, very dirty and the trash can be overwhelming. For my friend who lives there, sometimes the water can get shut off and there will be other basic issues with infrastructure. 
• Things open late, or not at all: Many cafes and restaurants are simply not open until 12:00 or 1:00pm. If you are early to rise, I have no idea what you will do to pass your morning. Also, businesses might show they are open online or have hours posted, but be closed. It seems every place has a relaxed about when to open. 
• Aggressive street hawkers and taxi drivers: Only on Revolucion blvd will you get called at by hawkers. It’s annoying but they are easy to ignore. Taxi drivers are aggressive and scary. I avoid them at all costs.

More than a feeling: Highs and Lows in SE Asia

My 6 months in SE Asia was full of extremes, and now that's it's all over I've decide to post the experiences that have really stuck with me, the ones I can recall instantly from member. 

The Highlights

Bagan, Myanmar. Indisputably, the best moment of the trip

At 5:30am we climbed the dark steps of a 13the century temple and sat together watching the sun rise. On our left, I noticed the hot air balloons begin to ascend. We promised each other that we wouldn't bring our cameras because we wanted to be "fully present" for the moment. But I snuck my iPhone into my pocket and took this photo. I am so glad I did.

Other memorable moments:

Watching the sunrise in Bagan

Watching the sunset in Bagan

Watching the sunrise from Pre Rup

Shompoo cruise in Laos

Reading on the beach in Na Trang

New Year’s eve party on train from Hanoi to Hue

Just being in Yangon

Dinner place in Vientiane

Caves of Mulu

Every breakfast at the noodle place in Chiang Mai

Seeing the fat dog in Saigon

Evening runs in Vientiane

The Lowlights

Hua Hin, Thailand. Photo courtesy of my partner. I couldn't even take pictures at this point.

After a bout of depression in Malaysia, I had been looking forward to the train ride into Thailand, the country that had been at the top of my list for years. But when I arrived in Hua Hin, a small coastal town, my depression deepened. I barely left the hotel. This was compounded by guilt at being depressed while I was supposed to be "living my dream" of traveling around SE Asia. After two days in isolation, I left the hotel to go to McDonalds and cry in a plastic chair. Though nothing bad had actually happened to me, this was my emotional low. 

Other not-so-great experiences:

Getting some money stolen in Bali

Bus breakdown from Kuala Lumpur to Penang

Getting ripped off in Vietnam (twice)

Boat from Mandalay to Bagan

Train from Yangon to Mandalay

Just being in Luang Prabang

Getting sick and spending all day in the Chinese hotel in Mandalay

Pakistan: The Highs and Lows

This is the list of things I loved and didn't love about Pakistan. I hesitated in calling this a list of "Bests and Worsts" because I really doubt that my mundane musings and annoyances are the absolute best and worst things about Pakistan....

This includes both tangible and intangible items, feelings and experiences. These are not all things that are necessarily unique Pakistan, nor is everyone bound to experience what I experienced there, but if you are curious about what one solo female traveler liked and didn't like about this relatively un-traveled country, here is my list:

Best things about Pakistan:

• The people. By far the best thing about Pakistan is the Pakistanis. Of course, I came to Pakistan as a guest, so I was treated with the utmost hospitality by the families hosting me. However, in my rare moments alone, I found that even strangers were friendly and welcoming.
• Sugar. I loved sugar! It was so refined and dissolved into tea so easily. I have never found such sweet and delicious sugar elsewhere. 
• Cheekus/Chikoos/Cheekoos. The brown chocolate-tasting fruit, which is so sweet people with diabetes  cannot eat it.  

• 

  Cheeku fruit

• Orange Juice. Fresh-squeezed form the juice cart, and served with a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor
• Coca Cola served served in a glass bottle and not sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, and it has a cool Urdu label.
•  Tea: boiled in milk and so thick and so strong.
• McDonald's Iced latte: being so creamy and frothy, possibly because the milk is better in Pakistan
• Cool windy at nights coming unexpectedly at the end of a long hot day.
• The stars: abundant and visible at night, (and thanks to load shedding, even the cities are dark at night)!

My not-so-favorite things:

•  Load shedding, also known as rolling blackouts. In some places, you have less than 12 hours of electricity a day. Most people use generators but it is still inconvenient.
• Naan.  Pakistani naan is totally different than Indian naan. It is very thick, and has the texture of pizza crust. I missed the thin, puffy, Indian naans.

  

  Pakistani Naan

• Heat and sun. Enough said.
• Guns. They are everywhere in Pakistan, especially Karashi. Everyone has a gun, military, police, security guards. You get used to seeing guns everywhere. 
• Curfew. Most young women in Pakistan have curfews of around 9:00 pm. If you are staying with a family, expect to be home after sun down, unless you are out with the family. Even if a formal curfew is not in place (because you are staying in a hotel, etc), it is good to know that most women do not go out at night due to safety concerns. I am a night creature and I missed being out in the darkness, though cities are not particularly well-lit at night (due to load shedding) and nightlife in the forms of bars and club does not exist (though house parties and underground raves certainly do). I should mention that I also got very delayed jet-lag towards the end of my trip, and this made me want to go to bed at 8:00 pm every night. Despite all this, I had a few opportunities to be out after dark, and I remember them all vividly: once at the pani-puri cart in Karachi, several times in Lahore (at LUMS, at a juice cart, and at a rooftop restaurant), and once in Islamabad on the rooftop of the home where I was staying.    

I will be writing in greater details about things like load shedding and safety in my next post, Pakistan: Know Before You Go.