San Diego Travel Notes
I’m in San Diego after a 3.5-hour bus ride. Since the bus came to the center, I walked to the hostel.. I had made a reservation before coming.. Since there are not many hostels here, I suggest you make a reservation before you come.
I paid 52 USD for two nights, including breakfast.. Beautiful location in the center of the city, close to the busy streets. I can say that it is an ordinary place compared to the hostels I have stayed in before.
It is said that San Diego is one of the most ideal places to live in America or one of the cities where retirees want to settle.. The reason was that the climate was so good that you could spend a whole year wearing only t-shirts and shorts.. The weather was fine when I went too, it’s good for a walk.
As far as I can see, life here is about the same as Los Angeles or a little more.. For this reason, it is not a very affordable place to visit, have fun and stay.
After settling in the hostel, I wandered around the center that day.. In the evening, I hung out in the Gaslamp Quarter, which we can call the central region.. Here, like Los Angeles, bars and places that sell alcohol close at 2 am.. But everything is very lively until 2. I have visited one or two places that have live music, there are very neat and quality places.. Prices start from 4-5 usd for an ordinary drink and go up.
The next day, we found a friend from the hostel and wandered around the places to visit in San Diego.. Balboa park is one of them.. This park has several museums, zoos, ponds, street performers, and botanical parks.. We went to one or two of their free museums that day, but I can’t say I saw anything impressive.. At the park entrance, you can get the map of the place from the info and find the place you want to go.. Don’t say I’ll just wander around, it’s a big place, you’ll get tired for nothing.
Then we went to the area called Old Town. I saw the opposite while waiting for old buildings, old streets, historical buildings here.. Everything is artificially newly built, giving it the old look. Since there is not much history in the city, the men built the old town area like the town you know.. Anyway, there are gift shops and restaurants of different cuisines here.. Since I haven’t had soup for a long time, I preferred a chicken soup, a soft drink and a meat dish with rice.. Menu price is 15 usd. But the menu is quite large, I can say that it is difficult to even eat them all.. Let me tell you, this price is a bit high for someone who travels all the time.
On the way back, we came to the central area by walking from the seaside.. Here’s an aircraft carrier used in war. It was closed to the entrance because it was evening when we went.. Even if it was open, I think I wouldn’t have preferred to pay 20 usd and go inside.. There was also the pirate ship used in the movie where pirates of the caribbean was filmed before coming here.. But I didn’t see it open to visit. We took pictures outside and continued on our way. There is a huge sculpture in the open area next to the aircraft carrier.. They reenacted the kissing scene of the boy and girl before going to the famous war. It’s in the video below, you’ll remember it when you watch it.
As we approached the center, we saw Little Italy street. I said, they probably made this place like the concept of Italy, but there is not much here, except restaurants.
San Diego is all about it in general.. It has no date, there is no place where I can say for sure, see here. The climate is nice, the people are respectful and kind, it’s a place where you want to live.
I thought I’d add it in case there are people who are interested in fishing.. In a couple of towns between San Diego and Los Angeles, there are both places to surf and alternatives where you can take a boat tour and catch huge fish.. I didn’t include them in my itinerary because I’m not very interested in such things.
Before I started the trip, I thought I would come to San Diego and I would probably come back from here.. I was thinking of going to Mexico, but because of what I read from right to left, it is an unsafe place, I thought I would not have any trouble.. But then I thought, I had read similar articles for other countries before and experienced that there were actually false information.. I said the same will happen this time, while I’ve come this far, I’ll go to Mexico.. I went to the Mexican border by tram. I knew there was a big outlet there and I didn’t pass by. You can continue my shopping experience in America from this article.
The border between America and Mexico is one of the most ridiculous borders in the world in my opinion.. When you go to Tijuana, Mexico, no one even asks you if you have a passport.. Even though I went to Mexico and stayed for 4-5 days and came back from the same border, there is not a single trace of Mexico in my passport, not even a single stamp.. Anyway, watch the video, then let’s continue from Mexico.
Tijuana/Mexico Travel Notes
As you can see in the San Diego article and the video there, it’s easy to cross the border. As I understand it, America thinks like this; If there is someone in trouble in the country, let them get out of the Mexican border and I won’t mess with anyone.. If he wants to come back I’ve already been scavenging like I’ve got what I want. Of course, that’s just my opinion.
After crossing the border, there are taxi stands and buses to the centre.. I looked around a bit, maybe I’ll see a backpacker, so we can split the taxi, but unfortunately I couldn’t see anyone.. I agreed with a taxi driver for 3 usd and went to the center.. Anyway, the road is very short, 3-4 km.
I’ve never seen a hostel here. The other day, I found an affordable hotel by searching the internet, and I went there directly after taking the address.. He wanted 375 pesos per night.. I went out and wandered around a bit and thought I’d look at other hotels.. After 10 minutes I found another hotel with better location and comfort and agreed on 300 pesos per night.. Equivalent to about 23 USD. The room is pretty big. The price does not change whether you stay for one person or two people.
After a little rest, I went to the reception.. When you say reception, do not think of receptions in such big hotels.. Slightly shabby, two chairs and a table. As I do every time I go to a foreign country, I asked the man what to do and what not to do here, where is dangerous, where to eat and all the details.. This is what the man said: Just hang around on the main street until the morning, you won’t have any problems, but if you make a left from the suspension bridge, 500 meters ahead, and go towards the border, anything can happen to you.. I made it clear in my mind.
During the day, I wandered the main street to find out what this place is, I dived into the side streets.. What I see is more than half of the shops are closed, abandoned ruined places. Not much to do with Mexican culture, just a city in between with not much humor. So don’t say you’ve seen Mexico just because you came here, because I don’t think the real Mexico is such a place.
When it’s evening, restaurant-style places on this main street turn into bars and the activity begins.. Food and entertainment is very cheap here. Even Americans come here to have fun in the evening and come back the next morning.. Especially if you are here on the weekend, it is possible to see Americans everywhere in the evenings.. Entrance to some nightclubs is paid.. Paid but something 3-4 usd. As far as I understand, it’s because the Mexicans are not allowed in without money.
I went to a place where more local people hang out on the first night to see Mexican music.. The nightclub has 3 different sections and each plays different styles of music.. I got a little carried away, but I realized that this kind of Mexican music is not for me.. They don’t just take the classical guitar and play it and sing.. A raspy music accompanied by the orchestra you know. I have included this in the video below, you can understand what I am saying when you watch it.
The next day I wanted to get away from the center and go to other places.. I took a bus or something like a minibus and went to a mall-style place outside the city.. Buses are very cheap here.. not even 1 usd. And the buses are hilarious. Separate music in each, different decoration, fancy wheels etc etc.. You can also find them in the video below.
People here are more friendly than in the center, they are more interested, but there is a problem that most of them do not speak English.. Don’t say how they don’t know English because they have a border with America.. Because Spanish is spoken as a second language in many west coasts of America, especially in San Diego.. Spanish texts and announcements are made on all public transport vehicles. As far as I understand, they didn’t need to learn English.
After hanging around for a bit, I go back with another minibus or bus.. This time the stop is a big mall in the center and the cultural center next to it.. You can find well-known brands in this open-air mall, go to the movies and fill your stomach.. I say sit in a crowded place and watch how the people of Tijuana live, what they wear and how they live roughly.
Next to this mall, there is a cultural center and a museum inside.. I visited this place completely, but there was not much that caught my attention.. After exiting, there is a large ball-shaped structure outside. This is Imax’s private movie theater. The reason it is in the shape of a ball is because the curtain is completely ceiling.. I don’t know if I explained it fully, but imagine yourself in a hemisphere and everywhere you see is a movie screen.. You feel like you’re officially in the movie you’re watching. It’s a little difficult to describe this experience, if you go to Tijuana, you should definitely stop by here.. The entrance fee is 4 usd.
Let me talk a little bit about the food. I can say that I feasted here every day because I love Mexican food and their famous tacos.. Also, don’t be happy when the prices are cheap 🙂 You can eat a nice Mexican menu for 6-7 usd even in the restaurants on the main streets.. No, if you want it to be even cheaper, the prices will drop to 4-5 usd in the restaurants in between.. To be realistic, the food I ate in one or two places was not very good.. But later on, I went to crowded places and found good food.. I say you should do the same.
I hang out on the main street again for evening walks, but the devil is poking me from the bottom so that you go to this dangerous area and have a look.. I went to the place the man at the front desk was talking about.. As I got closer, the streets began to get dark and I started to see bad sisters on the right and left 🙂 As I got a little further, slum taverns and not-so-cane people increased.. I said no more adventures come back. I came back to the main street, which is the safe zone. That place is yours, this place is mine, I wandered in and out. These are the European-style places you know and everything is affordable inside.. When the music is good, it’s easy to have fun.
After spending 4 nights in Tijuana, I thought I’d go to Las Vegas from here.. Of course, it is not a direct route, I had to go back to San Diego first and continue by bus from there.. There is an airport in Tijuana, but because I could not find cheap tickets, I had to choose the road.. The bus cost from San Diego to Las Vegas is 50 usd. The road takes 8-9 hours.
I will go back to San Diego but this time the border crossing is on arrival. it’s not easy like. The border is overcrowded as some Mexicans go to America every day, work there during the day and return to their country in the evening.. Average waiting time 3 hours. When the situation was like this, I set out at 5 am.. At this time, I searched the internet that the border was empty.. And it was like that, I never waited in line. I crossed the border but only the US side has control at the border. So I stayed in Mexico for 4 nights, but there is nothing about Mexico in my passport.
We wrote and drew this much, watch the summary on the video Let’s continue to Las Vegas.
US Travel Notes -4- Las Vegas And Seattle
America’s Shopping Guide
