lcuy

Well, other than the fact that I quit visiting Tijuana a few years ago, I have a very good knowledge of TJ dating back to the early 60s. I continued to visit long (and recommend it here) after everyone else gave up, always hoping things would turn around. I'm not afraid of the city, it just became a waste of time to make the effort to get there.

It's convenient to blame the northerners for all the problems in TJ, but read your own blog. You have a detailed post on how Tijuana marketed itself as the naughty side of the border from its very beginnings. Whether it was individual merchants or simply that the residents and the gov't allowed this development doesn't matter. It's what was presented to attract tourists.

To quote your own blog, " It does not matter that all they saw was a sham Mexico concocted to play on the visitors’ preconceptions, like Tom Sawyer’s Island in Disneyland." In other words, you gave em what they expected.

And to spend several days in Tijuana hoping it will reveal the good parts? No thanks.

Carrabella

Thanks so much to everyone for all the information, controversial or not! Why would I want to go there? I'm from Australia, and whilst a trip to the USA is in itself fun for the cultural diversity, even a day trip to such a different culture as Mexico can add to this experience.
We have crossed the border at San Ysidro twice in the last twenty years, the first time by taxi,( but we realised we could walk back, and did so) the second on an organised bus trip to Rosarito. Both were interesting and enjoyable.

But now we are older, and one reason I would not want to go, would be having to wait for hours in a queue to get across or back.
Thanks again to you all!

suze

Depending on your time and finances you could fly down to one of the beach resorts town for a couple days. It's easy if you're already in southern California. Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta are great spots, easy to get to and will give you a better experience of Mexico than a day trip to Tijuana.

sagrada

http://vimeo.com/13748633

I've lived in Tijuana for 6 years. Nothing about how Tijuana has been characterized in the American media is accurate. They are the most courteous people I have ever encountered. The press would lead you to believe their are bodies rotting in the street. When I think of danger, I think of Sarajevo, where the citizens have to go through bombed out buildings for cover from the snipers and run across open spaces when there is no cover available. In the documentary above, one of the people interviewed, American, points out that both Baltimore and St. Louis have higher murder rates than Tijuana, yet no one is saying not to go to those places. Los Angeles is more dangerous, there are street gangs there, where in Tijuana there are no street gangs...

Barbara

"Los Angeles is more dangerous, there are street gangs there, where in Tijuana there are no street gangs..."

If I can ever stop laughing, I'll think of a response.

sf7307

Barbara, I could use a laugh -- let me know when you come up with something!

nanabee

TJ is extremely dangerous with sometimes as many as 40 murders in a one-two week period throughout the year. We are talking about powerful drug cartels who are shooting it out, leaving heads on posts, bodies in trash cans, etc.

I love Tijuana as I've grown up on the boarder going back and forth from a very young age. TJ and San Diego are like one big city.

Most Mexicans who live in San Diego but have relatives and businesses in TJ won't even go over any more, or if they do they go infrequently.

I can understand the poster who is offended. Most city officials and business interests are trying to promote a better image.

If you want to go to a wonderful little Mexican town about an hour drive from TJ I would highly recommend TECATE. It has an adorable town square, is quiet, safe, and has very little traffic crossing the border. In fact, we walked across and some federale just waved and said, "Buenos Dias" we were the only people crossing. Coming back we walked thru immigration or customs and there were only about 3 or 4 people in front of us.

Crossing and returning at the TJ border will take about 3 hours on a fast track day!! Seriously.

nanabee

"no street gangs..."
in Tijuana?
Seriously?
I guess just because they are called DRUG CARTELS they aren't really 'gangs'?

november_moon

Sarajevo, eh? Please join us in the 21st century. The Balkan War is over and drug cartels are fighting a bloody war in Mexico.

tom42

Well, I am off to Tijuana tomorrow for 4 days. I will report back about my experiences, although as I said in a previous post, my experience will likely be different than the average tourist since I am going to stay with friends.

nanabee

Adios Tom, vaya con dios! Don't get stuck in traffic on the border! Look forward to your report. I live just a few miles north of the border too.

tom42

We are back from 4 days in Tijuana safe and sound. Our amigo picked us up at San Diego airport on Wednesday evening. Although it took him 3 hours to cross the border into the US, going into Mexico was a breeze - I was surprised that we didn't even have to show our passport. We drove to his house in TJ, dropped our stuff off, freshened up and met some of his friends for dinner at a restaurant, the name of which I can't remember. We had a very tasty meal which started off with two small skillets of melted cheese - one with jalapenos and one with crumbled chorizo - and some warm flour and corn tortillas. It was really good. For dinner, I had enchiladas con salsa verde.

Thursday, we drove south toward Ensenada, stopping at the ocean for a while, then going to a winery along the Ruta del Vino. We did a wine tasting and purchased some Mexican wines. A very pretty area. It was a really nice day. Thursday evening we had a Mexican barbeque. Our amigo made carne asada - delicious. I was in charge of grilling the four different kinds of peppers and the tomatoes that go into the salsa for the carne.

Friday we drove around TJ, seeing both the wealthy and poor areas (more poor areas than wealthy, unfortunately), went out for lunch, did some shopping. There is a very nice outdoor mall in Tijuana.

NYE night was crazy - we started with a dinner party catered by a friend of our amigo who is a teacher at a culinary school. He made a beef dish that was braised in a prune sauce. Another really good dinner. We all went out to a local nightclub to ring in the New Year. The night didn't end until 6:00 am at the home of one of our friend's family (grandmother, mother, father, aunt, uncle, nephews, neices), where we were served menudos (a soup made with cow's stomach and some type of popped corn). Not exactly what this gringo's stomach wanted after an evening of drinking but the family was so friendly and welcoming that I couldn't say no. Let's just say I won't be ordering this soup anytime soon.

Saturday was a recovery day.

Sunday our amigo drove us back to the airport - this time it only took about an hour and a half to cross the border.

TJ is an interesting city. Lots of poor areas and some really wealthy areas. Walking across the border just to see the tourist area probably isn't worth it. The real experience for me was meeting the people. Everyone we met was so welcoming, friendly and generous.

Barbara

Glad you had a great (and safe!) time. Menudo is supposed to be very good for hangovers!

This article appeared in the San Diego paper today:

http://www.sandiegored.com/noticias/...wn-in-Tijuana/

tom42

>

Ahh, that makes sense then. I was wondering why everyone was eating soup at five in the morning. Come to think of it, although I was exhausted the next day, I did not have a hangover. Maybe it works!