Mexico dangerous?

[Gregory]

we're leaving for Mexico in one week. every time I tell a friend where we're going, they almost aways react with something like:

"you'll need to be very careful."
"thieves everywhere. never put anything down."
"keep the car windows up or robbers waving guns will rob you at traffic lights."
"corruption everywhere. the police and customs can't be trusted. pay them off if you have to."

exactly how bad or good is it at Mexico, specifically Mexico City and Durango? is it safe to be seen with a Mark III, two L lenses and a MacBook Pro?

sincerely,
Gregory

[Woodcorner]

Depends on where you're going exactly. Ask the locals.

I've been there a couple of times and never found it to be more dangerous than most other places in the world. Would you be running around everywhere in New York city with a 1Ds MkIII hanging around your neck all the time? Just keep a low profile and don't wave with your dollars and you should be fine.

It is a marvellous country with wonderful people and places - don't let yourself get scared by such comments.

Cheers,

Andrew

[william]

I heard all the same stuff about Mexico City.  I found it to be no worse and no better in terms of safety than any other big city.  And I was walking around pretty much everywhere (well, everywhere that a tourist would go) with a 1Ds hanging around my neck, including on the Mexico City subway.

Just pay attention to your surroundings and all should be fine.  In Mexico City's Zocalo, I would say be a bit cautious because there are so many people milling about it's hard to keep track of when people might be approaching you.  But again, I went there every day with my camera and such and never felt particularly threatened.

[Lisa Nikodym]

The one caution I've heard about Mexico City that's different from most other standard big-city problems is the occasional criminal taxi driver (or person posing as a taxi driver) who will rob rich-looking tourists who take their taxi, so it's recommended that you order a taxi through your hotel (which will only use a reputable taxi service) when possible.  (This was something like 5-10 years ago that I heard this warning before traveling there, so it's possible this info is obsolete.)

Also, when I was there, it wasn't too expensive to hire a car and driver (again, handled by your hotel) for the day.

It can be useful to check the U.S. State Department web site for travel warnings related to the country you're visiting - there's lots of good info there:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_1168.html

Lisa

[wolfnowl]

Questions like this remind me of the story of an old man who lived on the edge of a city.  One day a traveler stopped by his hut and asked, 'What are the people in this city like?'  The old man looked directly at the traveler and asked, 'What were the people like in the place you came from?'  'Oh, it was terrible', came the reply.  'Nobody cared about anyone but themselves, everybody was always scrambling for a bigger piece of the pie, nobody trusted each other...'  'Well', countered the old man, 'I'm sorry to say that the people in this city are just like that too.'  And with that the traveler walked on unhappily.

Time went by, and one day another traveler stopped at the hut of the old man.  'Please, could you tell me what the people in this city are like?'  'Well', asked the old man, looking directly at the traveler, 'What were the people like in the place you came from?'  'It was wonderful!' exclaimed the traveler.  'Everybody shared in what was good.  Nobody was too busy to help out a friend in need.  The entire community seemed like a huge wonderful family.'  'I'm excited to tell you', replied the old man, 'that the people in this city are exactly like that too!'

Mike.

[Rob C]

Mike - just found this thread - would have saved me starting a new one on Kenya travel - but regardless, there are places where the risk outweighs any imagined advantage.

On the matter of taxi drivers: the same reports flow about almost any state in the far east.

Never mind taxis: we were in Singapore some long time ago, and during a snack at some stalls in a square somewhere, the relative calm was broken by a stall-holder chasing somebody through the tables as he held a frying pan of hot oil in one hand. Perhaps the other guy didn´t pay or didn´t tip, though tipping was seriously discouraged in most hotels. I like that in a society, tipping reeks of condescension as well as carrying its own weight of embarrassment. Staff should be paid a proper wage, exactly as in any other business.

You might well lose your hair in a shower of hot oil, but you sure as hell won´t get chewing gum on your shoes! I like that in a society too: no gum.

Ciao - Rob C