Since I had nothing better planned, I headed off to Tijuana, Mexico, this morning.

OK, it was closer to noon before I actually got out of bed, but it was technically still morning.

There is a train that goes right to the border. I cheated a bit as I took the convention shuttle downtown first. The ticket was only $2.50, each way. I didn’t know what time I would return, so I just got a one-way.

When I had renewed my passport, I decided to spend a bit extra to get the passport card. It is only good for land crossings of Mexico and Canada, no cruise or flights. I don’t know why I did, at the time, I had no plans to drive over 1200 miles to the border. I did think that if I had lost my passport, the card would be useful in proving who I was to the consulate to get a new passport. At least now I can say I actually used it, even if I still had my passport in my bag.

There are over a dozen stops on the way, almost all are literally just a platform with ticket machines, sitting out in the middle of nowhere.

The ride took about 45 minutes, dropping us within 100 feet of the border control, which was surprisingly simple, just about 2 minutes to pass through, including getting a visa and bag scan.

We had to then walk down a pathway, with fences on both sides, maybe 200-250 feet long, then pass through a one-way carousel, before being in Mexico proper. There is no way to re-enter, so I wonder how there are so many vendors inside the pathway.

There were a hundred or so taxis lined up, ready to take your money, but jokes on them, I don’t have any. 😛

I had no real destination, just wandered down street after street.

There was nothing note worthy that I passed, except a couple of pit bulls that were “knotted”. If you don’t know what that means, I’m not going to tell you.

I saw a few statues on concrete pedestals, in the medians of the roadway, but I saw no signs stating who they were supposed to be, maybe generic Mexicans and Aztecs.

I spotted a restaurant, it didn’t look great, but it smelled wonderful.

My original plan was to just use my card. I know, I know, I was going to do the same exact thing I avoided yesterday. But this was different, yesterday I had US cash in a US town. Today, I had no pesos and didn’t want to have to exchange more than I needed.

Unfortunately, they did not appear like the place that had “technology”. I went to an exchanger next door and swapped $40 for 721 pesos. Over kill, I was certain.

I went in and just pointed to the menu on the counter, for a 4-piece meal, 159 pesos or about $8.50. After a minute, the guy gives me this reasonably large bag of food. WTF did I order?

The tables were occupied, so I decided I would walk a bit more, looking for a park or a shady bench. No such luck, they don’t believe in benches.

I did find a small window ledge on a building, with shade, so I sat and took a look at what I had.

The first container was a ~10 oz polystyrene cup w/lid, filled with frijoles marrones (brown beans), they were awesome. I shouldn’t be eating them, because farts, but I downed the whole container, including the broth.

The second was a pinkish rice. It tasted good, but had been squished into the cup too much and was hard to scoop, and a bit cooled off.

The next was a vegetable soup, pass.

I then decided I better eat the chicken before I got full. Fuck, this was the best chicken I have ever had. Seriously, it was magnificent. Slightly salty, smokey, and spicy, in just the right amounts. Also tender as heck.

This place was called “Rey de Pollo” (King of chicken). I think it might have been a chain restaurant, but they certainly are the kings.

The only downsides were that the 2 legs were a bit skinny, compared to American drumsticks, but I’ll take a scrawny delicious one over a fat, tasteless one. The other pieces were, i think, a back and a thigh.

Also included were a bag of chips and small baggie of salsa(?), or maybe it was just smashed up tomato. What am I supposed to do with a bag of sauce? It had some small soft tortillas, but I didn’t know what they were for, there wasn’t anything to put in them, unless I was supposed to pick the meat off and have small tacos.

Before I got on the train, I had to pee, but there was nowhere at the train station. The wasn’t any toilet on the train either, it was only 4 cars long. And as I stated above, the other stations were just open platforms, so I couldn’t even jump off to do my business, and catch the next train.

Sitting there eating, certainly didn’t help the situation.

I finished up and started walking in the same direction I had been beforehand. I went up an inclined road, going over the Rio Tijuana.

If you remember the movie Grease, there is a scene of a car race in the LA river. River being a loose term for a completely concrete ditch, with a trickle running down the center. In times of great rain, it will fill substantially, but normally, just a trickle.

This river was very similar.

On the other side, I spot a small shopping center, an open air mall. I head in and am rewarded with a sign for the “sanitarios“. I know the term baño, for toilet or bathroom, but I guess in a poor place like Tijuana, you might want to specify that it is clean, or at least it flushes.

I wandered around, never really passing anything worth while, for a few hours. Lots of construction, but even more destruction, neglect, graffiti, and trash.

Not much to see, plus I didn’t really want to use my iPad to show off my iWealth™.

Everywhere I went had huge amounts of traffic and dust. I doesn’t rain often, so the dust doesn’t get washed away.

Eventually I got too tired of walking, and I was getting a little redder each day, so I started to find my way back.

It did seem to take longer to get back than the entire time I had already been there, but I am sure that was just my skewed perception.

I pass a long double lane of stopped cars, they are going to go through the border crossing. Glad I ain’t one of them.

Under an bridge, a man is selling drinks and fruit. Well he had them for sale, he wasn’t really doing much “selling” himself. I see on his menu an orange drink I had seen before, a type of fizzy orange soda, with juice, much like Orangina. It is a bit tart, not very sweet, just like most Mexican oranges.

He looked in his cooler, but didn’t have one, so he zipped down to another vendor to get one. They didn’t have any either, must be popular, but he went further up the road to a second vendor to check. It was 40 pesos, and I dug out that amount in coins while he was gone.

While standing in the shade was better than walking in the sun, I didn’t want to wait around, so I started walking back up the road, meeting him on the way. He was successful, and I paid him.

I then find out why 2 lanes were stopped for so long, while the third was moving, the right lane was for local traffic, that exited left, while the left 2 were held up for the border. Police had barricades to prevent blockage. It seems to me, that it would have been better to have the 2 right lanes be border lanes, and the let all flow naturally, but I seem to make sense whereas the police don’t.

Finally, I get back to the area I had come through the carousel, but didn’t know how to go back in. I was also being accosted by even more taxi drivers.

Following the map directions, I go along, passing a line line of people. After the convention, I didn’t even notice the line, too used to it already.

This line was long enough, that I had to notice at some point. It was over a half mile long, no joke. This was the line of people trying to cross into the US, and that’s the line I was going to have to get into. Crap!

I checked the border control website for more info, maybe I could go into another line as a citizen. Nope, nothing about that, just that there was 2½ times the normal Friday foot traffic. Perhaps they were also going to Comic-Con, either as guests or just to spectate.

I am walking back down the sidewalk, checking the slow Mexican internet for possible faster routes, when a man asks me if I want to take the bus across. Well, no I don’t, but I also don’t want to stand in line for hours.

He says the price is $10 or 200 pesos. I still have 500, so I go that option.

He takes my passport card and enters it into his machine and issues me a ticket. I board and a few minutes later we drive off.

We don’t drive very far, maybe 150-200 feet before everyone exits the bus to go through the checkpoint. Inside there is even a special “bus passenger only” lane.

Just the usual, take your photo, look at your passport, ask the question of “Are you carrying anything illegal?”, and we’re through.

I exit right next to the train, just on the other side as when arriving, also closer.

I go to the machine to get my ticket, but they only take credit. It is only $2.50, WTF?  Same machines as when I got on, but no cash option.

Since no one had ever checked my ticket on the way down, I decided to chance it. I didn’t buy a ticket. I just got on with the intention of saying, “I thought I had selected the round trip, oh I’m so sorry.” But never needed to. Take that San Diego Transit!

I exit near the convention center, not where I originally got on, as I wanted to go to the Chinese History Museum.

On the walk there, I found a street that was closed off to traffic, because it was filled with gobs of conventioneers, many in costumes posing for photos. So I hung for a bit.

But I didn’t know the hours of the museum, so I high tailed it over there. When I arrive, I see closing time on Fridays is 4, and it is shortly before that, but it is already completely closed. I notice another sign specifying that they are temporarily closed on every Friday. Dangit. Maybe I can swing by tomorrow.

I go back to the party street, spotting Deadpool driving a sports car. That has to be illegal, but I’m not going to tell someone that can’t be killed, that he can’t do that.

Walking count: At least another 5 miles (mostly in Tijuana), total so far 19.