Monterrey

[QUOTE=Zygomatic;2311471]I just arrived to Monterrey and got a room at hotel Mexico for one day and I must say that I am very pleased, it may not appear it from the outside but the inside is spacious, new and friendly staff. I even got a receipt and for 26 dollars it beats any airbnb for what you get here. I will look around a few other hotels but this place is really all I could want. Thanks unstoppable for turning me on to this place.[/QUOTE]Great reporting, Zygo. I am going to be checking back every day for your updates. I haven't been to Monterrey in while, but now I think I think I'm going to start going again, and as I posted before, the round trip bus fare on Greyhound from SA is the same to Monterrey as it is to Laredo, sometimes even less, at least for us senior citizens. I just have to get my new passport. Incidentally for those that don't know, if you walk back into the US from Mexico you can use an expired passport, just so the picture looks more or less like you.

Did you try to get a weekly rate at your hotel? Sometimes in Mexico they will give a discount if you pay a week in advance.

[QUOTE=Zygomatic;2311471]I just arrived to Monterrey and got a room at hotel Mexico for one day and I must say that I am very pleased, it may not appear it from the outside but the inside is spacious, new and friendly staff. I even got a receipt and for 26 dollars it beats any airbnb for what you get here. I will look around a few other hotels but this place is really all I could want. Thanks unstoppable for turning me on to this place.[/QUOTE]So after spending the night at hotel Mexico, I still like it but the only thing I don't really like is the closed in smell because there are no windows to let the fresh air in. Maybe I can get moved to another room but I went to hotel 500 on Zaragoza and Madero and the reason that the hotel is named hotel 500 is because they have rooms that start at 500 pesos which is basically the same as the rates from hotel Mexico. I think hotel 500 is in a better location because it's right on Madero and it is more normal. Having to walk from hotel Mexico to an oxxo at night is scary because those side streets can be kind of creepy.

[QUOTE=Zygomatic;2311471]I just arrived to Monterrey and got a room at hotel Mexico for one day and I must say that I am very pleased, it may not appear it from the outside but the inside is spacious, new and friendly staff. I even got a receipt and for 26 dollars it beats any airbnb for what you get here. I will look around a few other hotels but this place is really all I could want. Thanks unstoppable for turning me on to this place.[/QUOTE]Well I just checked in to hotel 500, the location is much better than hotel Mexico, I have complete control here over the air conditioning, the price is 26 dollars per day, the hotel 500 is only 1 month old and everything is super clean, I'm happy now. Plus the hotel is very acceptable for visitors but maybe not working girls, I have regular visitors.

[QUOTE=Zygomatic;2311685]Well I just checked in to hotel 500, the location is much better than hotel Mexico, I have complete control here over the air conditioning, the price is 26 dollars per day, the hotel 500 is only 1 month old and everything is super clean, I'm happy now. Plus the hotel is very acceptable for visitors but maybe not working girls, I have regular visitors.[/QUOTE]Daaaaannnnggg, I had a wonderful Monday here in Mty, could it have been better, yea if all the stars were aligned perfectly in my favor but it was a helluva day anyways. I can't believe I have another 12 days left to go jeje.

[QUOTE=Zygomatic;2311977]Daaaaannnnggg, I had a wonderful Monday here in Mty, could it have been better, yea if all the stars were aligned perfectly in my favor but it was a helluva day anyways. I can't believe I have another 12 days left to go jeje.[/QUOTE]If I was a photographer I would have been able to take some award winning pictures today. On a different note I almost got robbed and possibly beaten up by Hondurans today at the macro plaza. Note to self, don't go to the macro plaza or alemana Park, it's dangerous. Places where commerce is active, even though there are Hondurans there, are still safe. Just my experience as if today.

[QUOTE=Zygomatic;2310721]What is the longest period of time that you have spent in Monterrey and do you ever venture out to places like Alameda Park and last but not least do you find yourself having to dress down so you can blend in more with the locals?[/QUOTE]I've lived in Monterrey on and off since 2008. The longest stretch was for a year about two years ago.

I don't know Alameda Park. Is it an actual park in centro?

I'm a t-shirt / jeans kinda guy so I don't find myself having to intentionally dress down. However, it depends on where you're staying or going. People in San Pedro dress well so if you're a shirt / pants kinda guy, you'll be fine there.

[QUOTE=Zygomatic;2312287]If I was a photographer I would have been able to take some award winning pictures today. On a different note I almost got robbed and possibly beaten up by Hondurans today at the macro plaza. Note to self, don't go to the macro plaza or alemana Park, it's dangerous. Places where commerce is active, even though there are Hondurans there, are still safe. Just my experience as if today.[/QUOTE]I was at Macro Plaza on Saturday evening and it was full of families enjoying the beautiful weather. I didn't see anyone harassing or threatening anyone. Did they approach you begging for money?

[QUOTE=Zygomatic;2311685]Well I just checked in to hotel 500, the location is much better than hotel Mexico, I have complete control here over the air conditioning, the price is 26 dollars per day, the hotel 500 is only 1 month old and everything is super clean, I'm happy now. Plus the hotel is very acceptable for visitors but maybe not working girls, I have regular visitors.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the review on this hotel. Looks like there's a price war going on. We should see centro hotel prices come down in the near future.

[QUOTE=Unstoppable;2312451]I was at Macro Plaza on Saturday evening and it was full of families enjoying the beautiful weather. I didn't see anyone harassing or threatening anyone. Did they approach you begging for money?[/QUOTE]It appears that on weekends the macro plaza is more family oriented and safe but on weekdays is when it's more isolated and when the bad people hang out. I went toward the front block of the palacio municipal in order to get a massage from the blind people who give 15 minute massages and there they were in groups of about 7 sitting down on benches or standing up. I noticed them drooling over my big cellphone that I have in my pocket, I noticed another group walk by and one of them said "look there's one" as if saying that there is an American they can rob. Well I walked a further away from these people but still able to get a massage from a blind man and as soon as I put my head down where I could not see anyone and the man was massaging me, one of this Hondurans walked up to the man giving me a massage and asked the blind mind for money and the blind man shouted back at the Honduran and said "work for it" and then the Honduran acted like he was so offended and that people should just take care of them while they go around asking for hand outs. Well, not long after that I was still getting a massage and with my head down and a group of Honduranians walked up to where I was and they told the blind mind giving me a massage to hit me as hard as he can and then another Honduran guy said "yea hit him hard so he starts to cry". Well the day before which was Monday I saw another Honduran guy just staring at me while when I woke up from getting a massage. So it's hard to describe but to conclude my discovery, they are there during the weekdays when there are not so many people there and they want to steal from people. It was very obvious to me that they hold Americans responsible for their misery because in their minds we are not letting them cross our border which is so ignorant of them to think that way.

[QUOTE=Unstoppable;2312448]I've lived in Monterrey on and off since 2008. The longest stretch was for a year about two years ago.

I don't know Alameda Park. Is it an actual park in centro?

I'm a t-shirt / jeans kinda guy so I don't find myself having to intentionally dress down. However, it depends on where you're staying or going. People in San Pedro dress well so if you're a shirt / pants kinda guy, you'll be fine there.[/QUOTE]Well I wear Levi's and sketcher shoes and simple but well made t shirts and that is being dressed up LOL. Alameda Park is another huge park downtown and is known for immigrants and maids to hang out looking for work. In Mexico it is custom to have a maid live in your house and be the person who cooks and cleans 24/7 and that is the park where you would be able to find these girl's who want to be maids. But unfortunately, that is where Hondurans would also hang out but I did not go. I have not been there, I may or may not go to see what it's like in person.

P. S. This park is also where people hang out to pass the time and enjoy a nice park, you could find love there and lovers like to hang out and kiss and hug and lay down on the grass. But it's mostly for people on the poor side.

[QUOTE=Unstoppable;2312453]Thanks for the review on this hotel. Looks like there's a price war going on. We should see centro hotel prices come down in the near future.[/QUOTE]Yes, I wish I could upload photos from my cell phone but this hotel is awesome, the rooms are small but you have Netflix, strong WiFi, its 99 percent of the time super quiet, there is strong security in the hotel lobby, it's got great bathrooms and lots of hot water and strong water pressure, it's got a mini split with remote control, the beds and pillows are super comfortable and more. There is an oxxo and a laundry or dry cleaning business one block away. I can also look out the window at night and watch people and working girls from my floor but since there is security downstairs I do not go outside at night unless I am going to oxxo or have a real date with a girl from Twitter.

Today I am finally getting into the groove of taking it easy, walking slow and observing the places along the way, I am using the metro for site seeing purposes, it's only 25 cents and you get to learn the major parts of the city, round trips available for same price, one can stay on the metro all day if one wants for 25 cents.

I know that allot of people don't like to talk about this subject in the United States but here I notice or get the overwhelming feeling by observing people that the majority of Mexican citizens view men and women to be equals. In addition, people in Mexico have very healthy sex lives, including the older men. I recently saw a news report that the United States is currently going through what allot people refer to as the greatest sex drought in American history and people like to blame this on social media. But why is Mexico not affected?

According to AMLO (Mexican president), the solution to crime and murder in Mexico is to give the bad guys jobs so that they can make an honest living instead of committing crimes. If he can pull this movement off, it would be great because I love supporting people who work for an honest wage. It would be great for us Americans and great for Mxico in order to build up the Mexican empire.

[QUOTE=Zygomatic;2312489]Yes, I wish I could upload photos from my cell phone but this hotel is awesome, the rooms are small but you have Netflix, strong WiFi, its 99 percent of the time super quiet, there is strong security in the hotel lobby, it's got great bathrooms and lots of hot water and strong water pressure, it's got a mini split with remote control, the beds and pillows are super comfortable and more. There is an oxxo and a laundry or dry cleaning business one block away. I can also look out the window at night and watch people and working girls from my floor but since there is security downstairs I do not go outside at night unless I am going to oxxo or have a real date with a girl from Twitter.[/QUOTE]Sounds awesome. I'll have to give it a try one day.