Mexico City on a Shoestring: The Student's Guide to Not Starving
just landed in this concrete jungle after a 12-hour bus ride that smelled like regret and cheese puffs. hostel? $8 a night with bed bugs that might actually be my new pets. food situation? real bad right now - found a $2 taco stand that’s basically a hole in the wall serving something that might be meat. i just checked the weather and it’s basically sweater weather, so if you’re packing flip-flops you’re gonna be that person shivering on the metro.
heard from this drunk guy at a taco stand that the free museum days are actually free but only on tuesdays and they’re packed with school kids. also said to avoid the ‘authentic’ tourist markets unless you wanna pay $50 for a painted sombrero.
*chapultepec park is saving my life right now though. it’s this massive green lung where i’ve been napping on benches like a stray cat. saw a guy feeding squirrels stale bread - basically my spiritual twin. el centro histórico is cool but feels like walking through a postcard. the cathedral is impressive but holy crap, the stone work took centuries and i can barely assemble ikea furniture in an hour.
overheard two locals arguing about the best tacos al pastor. one said it’s the stand near the zócalo, the other swore by some dude selling them off a bike in doctores. no consensus, so you just gotta risk it.
if you run out of excuses to not shower, puebla and cuernavaca are like a bus ride away and way less intense. cuernavaca has these gardens that look like they were designed by someone who really hated straight lines. also heard someone whisper that the botanical garden in coyoacán has a cactus that’s older than my great-grandma’s secret chili recipe.
seriously though, my stomach is making sounds that could be mistaken for a dying animal. found this place called el moro that sells churros so cheap they’re practically giving them away. check their yelp - it’s got decent reviews but mostly from tourists who think using a fork for churros is normal. also found this hostel called the yellow house that’s supposedly clean and has free coffee. their tripadvisor page says the staff is cool but the wifi’s slower than a snail in molasses.
also, someone told me the palacio de bellas artes is free on sundays, but you gotta line up at 8am to get a spot. otherwise you’re stuck watching people take selfies for hours. which is fine because i have nothing better to do. also heard the zócalo* at night is sketchy but the street performers are kinda lit if you ignore the guys trying to sell you fake designer bags.
anyway, gonna go beg for some tap water. peace out, broke travelers.
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