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jamid

jamid


43 places I want to go   183 places I've been
  1. 1. Tulum
    MexicoQuintana Roo
    5 cheers
    Worth it
  2. 2. White Sands National Monument
    United StatesNew Mexico
    2 cheers
    Worth it
  3. 3. Sauvie Island
    United StatesOregon
    Worth it
  4. 4. Los Angeles
    United StatesCaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaLos Angeles County
    Not worth it
  5. 5. Bermuda Triangle
    United KingdomBritish Overseas TerritoriesBermuda
    1 cheer
    Worth it
  6. 6. Teotihuacán
    MexicoMéxico (State)
    Worth it
  7. 7. Central Park
    United StatesNew York StateNew York CityManhattan
    Worth it
  8. 8. Enchanted Tiki Room
    United StatesCaliforniaOrange CountyAnaheimDisneyland ResortDisneyland ParkAdventureland
    Worth it
  9. 9. Roanoke
    United StatesTexasDenton County
    Not worth it
  10. 10. Boulder
    United StatesColorado
    Worth it
  11. 11. Arlington National Cemetery
    United StatesVirginiaArlington
    Worth it
  12. 12. Vietnam Veterans Memorial
    United StatesDistrict of ColumbiaWashington, D.C.The Mall
    Worth it
  13. 13. Beauty And The Books
    United StatesWashington StateKing CountySeattleUniversity District
    Worth it
  14. 14. Times Square
    United StatesNew York StateNew York CityManhattanMidtownTheater District
    Worth it
  15. 15. Pearl Street Mall
    United StatesColoradoBoulder
    Worth it
  16. 16. Museum Of Modern Art
    United StatesNew York StateNew York CityManhattanMidtown
    Worth it
  17. 17. Post Falls
    United StatesIdaho
    Not worth it
  18. 18. Redwood National Park
    United StatesCaliforniaNorthern California
    Worth it
  19. 19. Deane's Oceanside Lodge
    United StatesOregonWaldport
    Worth it
  20. 20. Waldport
    United StatesOregon
    Worth it
  21. 21. Yachats
    United StatesOregonOregon Coast
    Worth it

Recent entries

Free Geek, Buckman

Untitled

Got a $20 hard drive and am using Ubuntu on the laptop I rescued with it right now.

over 4 years ago

Cancún, Quintana Roo

Obviously not for the authenticity snob

If you live in a suburb, drive an SUV, and shop at Wal*Mart, you might love Cancun.

The Hotel Zone is pure Vegas, catering to American frat kids and older people who hate their jobs and live to get rip-roaring drunk in public once a year in some bizarre fantasy that they, too, are still attractive like the frat kids and not really 26 or 51 and fifty pounds overweight. There’s a Hard Rock Cafe on every street corner in the Hotel Zone. At these establishments, it seems there are signed pictures (!!!) of heavy metal bands you heard of once in 1986. That’s pretty exciting, isn’t it?

I suppose for less angsty people, it is. Lucky them.

For me, the highlight of the time I spent in the Hotel Zone was a lagoon tour on some little speedboats. You get to drive your own boat through the lagoon and out into the ocean, where you can snorkel. The snorkeling is fenced in, crowded, and really awful. I saw like three gray fish, drank/breathed a gallon of icky sea water, and accidentally kicked someone in the head with my flipper. But the boat trip alone is genuinely worth $15-$20 USD, and the guides are competent and patient. I hope you’ll tip well.

For reasons beyond my control, I spent the rest of the day in the Hotel Zone of Cancun trying not to get drunk on $1 Coronitas and wishing I were experiencing Mexico, not Vegas-by-the-sea. I found big bottles of Kahlua for $8 at a Cancun liquor store, which meant we could drink back at the hotel — more my style than getting wasted far from where I plan to sleep in a country where I don’t speak the language very well.

Downtown Cancun is better than Cancun’s Hotel Zone. There’s a friendly, inexpensive restaurant down the northernmost pedestrian alley off Avenida Tulum, across from the city government headquarters. Hotel Colonial, down the next alley to the south, was absolutely awful, from the worrying leering front desk staff, to the shabby decor, to the pubic hair on the pillow (must have run out of mints), to the extremely loud dance club right next to the building that went until at least 3 a.m.

To escape from Cancun, grab a taxi or a combi to the ADO bus station, and you can get to some fun places like Cozumel, Chichen Itza, Xel Ha, and Tulum. There are undoubtedly many other places nicer than Cancun, but I didn’t have time to see them all. If you speak enough Spanish to get around on your own, steer clear of tours — they overcharge and don’t give you enough time to see what you’d like to.

over 6 years ago

Deane's Oceanside Lodge, Waldport

Untitled

It’s been about ten years since I was at Deane’s, but when I was there, it was a charmingly-maintained fifties-style motel, $30 a night, with a staircase straight to the beach.

over 7 years ago
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