The first time in Zocalo

This is not the first time I'm in Mexico City but it's the first time I went to the city center: Centro. Today was the only day I really had any free time here and I went to buy some suvenirs from La Ciudadela market and then I was close enough to walk to Zocalo. Last time I promised myself to buy a guitar from La Ciudadela, but I did not do it. Maybe next time.

It's really a shame how the Europeans built their churches on top of the sacred sites of the native people. There was not much left of the pyramids on Plaza Mayor. It's also interesting how this area used to be a lake.

Funny details from the hotel:

1. Water is apparently drinkable.


2. They change the soaps every day. So I take one shower and the soap is replaced with a new one.


3. The room is huge and the minibar expensive.


4. According to the hotel regulations: "It is strictly forbidden to make annoying noises, cause quarrels, bring musicians or animals into the facilities"

So, musicians or animals, stay away from Fiesta Americana Grand Chapultepec :-) Just kidding, the hotel is quite OK.

I have had some problems sleeping. Last Saturday we came back from Thailand and then on Tuesday morning I was on a plane again heading for Mexico. Because of the late booking, I got flights through Frankfurt and Houston. It took me 24 hours to get here. When I leave tommorrow, it will take only 18 hours to Finland...

Holiday in Hua Hin

The title refers to a Dead Kennedys song Holiday in Cambodia. This is so called "bridge of an ass" like my colleague aptly translated it from Finnish (aasinselkä). Sofitel hotel in Hua Hin was staged as a hotel in Phnom Penh in the Roland Joffé movie The Killing Fields. Well, we did not stay in Sofitel and not even in Hua Hin but Veranda Resort and Spa in Cha Am about 15 minutes drive from Hua Hin http://www.verandaresortandspa.com/. I must say that it was the best hotel we've ever been on holiday. One reason might be that this was actually our first package trip. Usually we have booked flights and hotel separately but now we decided to take a Top Club trip to Thailand. At the same time, a former Finnish MP and her husband stayed in Veranda as well so we were in a classy company. The only drawbacks were the 600 baht that we had to pay every evening to go to Hua Hin for a dinner and night market and the lack of free Internet access (that's why I am writing this blog entry in Mexico City).
Kia also liked the place because we just relaxed by the pool and on the beach. Not like in Florida, where we changed hotels almost every day. So, if you plan to go to Florida, my recommendation is The Sunset Cove in Key Largo http://www.sunsetcovebeachresort.com/. Then again, if you happen to be around Hua Hin, try Veranda Resort and Spa. Spend a little extra and you will get an own villa with a private swimming pool by the beach.

The funniest thing that happened was that when we went to the "Monkey mountain" in Hua Hin, I promised Kia that she can feed the monkeys. So when we got there, we asked one of the sales ladies, what do the monkeys eat and she said water melon. So we bought a bag of water melon and immediately a monkey came and tried to get the bag from Kia. Kia resisted for a while and finally gave up. One monkey got all the water melon... It was not the one on this picture, so this guy's innocent.

Can anyone explain, why this restaurant has such strange opening hours?

And then, I almost forgot: For a frequent flyer it's a good idea to book your holiday flight for Finnish winter holiday (week 8 in southern Finland). The whole family was upgraded to business class and we started the holiday with smoked reindeer and champagne. Thanks, Finnair.