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Terrible Travel program about Mexico City

 
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MixtecaMike



Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 643
Location: Guatebad

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:39 pm    Post subject: Terrible Travel program about Mexico City Reply with quote

Anybody seen a TV show (I think) called the Pilot Guide to Mexico City, made or associated or something with Lonely Planet? I don't know the details because I downloaded it, but it has to be the worst "guide" to Mexico City ever.

If it really is by Lonely Planet, I can only say that their books are crap, but their TV shows are pura m... I can't imagine anyone watching this and thinking "I must go there." How can they make such an interesting city look so dull and boring.
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lozwich



Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, with that girl wandering through the markets in a sleeveless top and short shorts? Shocked

I saw it a few years ago. Interesting camera work (as an ex-multimedia bod) but that's about it. But then, have you ever read a Lonely Planet??? double Shocked

Wink
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skratchmer



Joined: 04 Jan 2005
Posts: 10
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Does anyone have any suggestions of a travel book or tv program that does do Mexico City justice??

I would like to take the bus there from Puerto Vallarta, but I have no idea where I would start in a city that size.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Sherri
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lozwich



Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Lonely Planet is ok, but take a lot of what it says with a grain of salt. They do have some good hotel and hostel entries. There are also pretty good tourist information booths around the Zocalo, and I think they speak English, if your Spanish isn't up to it.

Good luck, and have fun!
Lozwich
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richtx1



Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 115
Location: Ciudad de M�xico

PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
The Lonely Planet is ok, but take a lot of what it says with a grain of salt. They do have some good hotel and hostel entries.


That's pretty good advice for all travel guides. The "Lonely Planet" is probably a bit better on Mexico City than some (it damn well better be... I think I'm listed in the Acknowledgements for some minor contributions Cool ) -- its writers at least have a nodding acquaintance with cultural and political history, something often missing from other travel books.

One well-known travel guide to Mexico (which shall remain nameless) -- geared to the well-heeled older traveler -- rhapsodizes about a friendly "typical cantina" in Leon, never mentioning that its a gay bar. Another (again nameless... like "Lonely Planet" it's aimed at the budget/backpacker tourist) mentions a painting of "Emperor Maximiliano's daughter pleading for her father's life to Benito Juarez" that is displayed in Puebla. Mad Max had a *beep* son, but no daughter. The painting shows Princess Salm-Salm (an American circus acrobat who married a German mercenary officer) who went to see Juarez in her circus outfit and -- according to Juarez tried to seduce him -- according to her spicy memoir, was subjected to his inflamed "indian" lusts. A much more interesting picture than Benito Juarez and some relation of that Austrian twit.

Half the fun of living abroad is picking apart the tourist materials for errors.
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isabel



Joined: 07 Mar 2003
Posts: 510
Location: God's green earth

PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 2:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The best thing about the show, which I recently downloaded and watched, is that the woman stays in the room at the Isabel where I stayed for months a few years ago. That was a rush, I really wanted to head back there from Korea when I saw that.

Oh, I so miss Mexico.
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lozwich



Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536

PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 6:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

isabel wrote:
Oh, I so miss Mexico.


Me too.. and the thing I'm wondering is what to do about that. Due to some commitments I have at home, I'm thinking it might be the most mature, well-thought out thing to do an Asia stint for a few years, and get my finances sorted out, and then return to Mexico.

But at the same time, I'm wondering about whether that might put me out of the loop for jobs there.

Although, it seems that there are a lot of people in Asia in the same boat as me? Care to talk about that?

Cheers,
Lozwich.
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isabel



Joined: 07 Mar 2003
Posts: 510
Location: God's green earth

PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

lozwich wrote:
isabel wrote:
Oh, I so miss Mexico.



Me too.. and the thing I'm wondering is what to do about that. Due to some commitments I have at home, I'm thinking it might be the most mature, well-thought out thing to do an Asia stint for a few years, and get my finances sorted out, and then return to Mexico.

But at the same time, I'm wondering about whether that might put me out of the loop for jobs there.

Although, it seems that there are a lot of people in Asia in the same boat as me? Care to talk about that?

Cheers,
Lozwich.


(Oops- I'll edit this now that I see you are already in Asia. Why do you think staying in Asia will hurt you- age?)


Well, there you have it- I was in that very same room when I got a phone call at 4 A.M. from a university in South Korea. I had been doing privates in D.F., and traveling two hours for every hour taught. The money wasn't bad, but unpredictable.

My job here pays very well, I have good housing provided, I teach 12 hours a week. Oh, and I have almost 5 months a year off. Paid. We get a month a year severance pay which accumulates and is paid when we leave, as well as about month a year in a pension fund that we can also take when we leave. Counting those I have banked over 10,000 U.S. a year. And I have traveled extensively (those long breaks are spent in either S.E. Asia, Australia or the States.)

Not all jobs are as good as mine. I hit it very lucky the first time here, and have stayed with this job into my third year. That is what keeps me here. I am not young- 56- and I know what my prospects are in Mexico as an older woman. If I leave this job, the same holds true here- serious age discrimination.

Depending on your age and education, there are lots of jobs in Asia. Financially, the places to consider are Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Vietnam. Most of those places, except Viet Nam, require at least a bachelors degree.

But my heart is in Mexico, and I am hoping to go there again in a few years, when I have enough of a nest egg that I can afford to.
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MixtecaMike



Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 643
Location: Guatebad

PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 12:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I too am in the Land of the Morning Calm, I don't have a nice university job but I do manage to send over US1000 a month back home, which keeps the family living in a style better than what we woz accustomed to, plus saving some up so I won't be dependent on the rather sorry salaries back in LatAm. I work a 40 hour week (30 classes =2 hour prep-time) and get almost sweet nothing in vacation time, but it's a job for a year or so, not a life-time of servitude.

If all goes according to plan I might actually be paying those pittances, instead of earning them, LOL.

My other plan is to buy a used pickup and ferry people from town to town after the last bus has left.

Loz, not sure if you were at "you know where" when there was an elder woman who had worked and saved in Japan, it meant she was able to get a lower-paying job she liked better (I think) in Oaxaca City and supplemented it with her savings.

The lifestyle here is very different, but it's not at all unpleasant.
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lozwich



Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536

PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2005 10:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for that.. Isabel I'm 35 and living in Spain, but I'm thinking of Japan in the near future. Basically, my 'nest egg' is an apartment in Australia, and the whole time I was in Mexico (my first year being a landlord) I was terrified that something would go wrong with it, and I wouldn't have any money to send home.

For this reason, I want to save up a beepload of money, get a bit ahead on my mortgage, and then go and live in Mexico without having to worry. If I live in Japan for 2 years, I'll also be able to do a Masters (thinking Language and Literacy at the moment), which should get me a better job in Mexico, regardless of my age.

What do you think? Its good to know (and I mean this with the utmost respect) that there are people older than me doing the same thing - makes me feel like I'm not barking up the wrong tree. Its also good to know that life is bearable outside Mexico. To put it mildly, I haven't had the best time in Spain this last academic year. Sad

And, no, Mike, I don't know who you're talking about: have you taken your Alzheimers medicine today?? Razz

Thanks again,
Lozwich.
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