10-25-2017, 03:28 PM
Well, alright. I'll skip to that part of the tale.
We stayed at the She-RAT-on near campus and Family Weekend ended Sunday (although we bailed on the Sunday brunch). Our plan was to go to Tijuana so Stacy can get her teeth cleaned and check out this dentist, then come back to SD and catch a plane back to San Jo. Mind you, this puts us on public transit all the way.
We got up early, like daybreak, to catch the 150 express from UCSD to downtown SD (about an hour ride) and then pick up the Blue Line Trolley to San Isidro at the border. Turned out that despite the ticket vending machines for the trolley and constant reminders to have your ticket on the trolley intercom, no one ever checked. Which was good because we were just going to use our bus day passes and plead ignorance if that didn't work. It was another hour to the border.
The border was intense. Despite what 45 says, there already is a wall, and a formidable one. I am still kicking myself for not snapping a pic of the gateway to Mexico because it was all steel and oppressive, with these twisted spires (decorative?) and razor wire, and then a solid steel gate with MEXICO written in block steel letters an thick steel bar turnstiles into a dark cavernous passage. Looked like a freakin Mad Max version of Mordor. And it was hot. Like high 90s.
I didn't expect the culture shock. The other side looked like the worst HelLA barrio, cluttered with amputee beggars trying to sling Chiclets and sketchy tourist stands. We caught a cab to the 'dentista', about a 5-10 minute ride which was supposed to cost $7 but actually cost us $10 and mi espanol es muy malo so I wasn't going to debate that $3 (besides I felt I got a deal with the trolley).
The dentista was www.americanbiodental.com. It was housed in a huge casino hotel mall, that was actually nice and civilized, although it had some labyrinthine architecture that reminded me of China, weird halls and walls at odd angles. But nice. And everyone spoke English. The place was clean, friendly and efficient. The cleaning cost only $35. One of the patients had driven down from Seattle to walk the border and said they got their work at a quarter of the price they were quoted in the U.S. Stacy was very satisfied and she can be tough to please, especially because she's had some really bad experiences with dentists. We may go back if need be. The price was right, the service was good, and it's an excuse to visit Tara. We're told that people who get major work will opt to stay at the hotel, and that looked okay for Tijuana. We were both tripping on some of the other medical services Bio Dental offers - lots of cancer, detox, and facial treatments - experimental stuff.
I had this initial fantasy of getting some fish tacos, but the Tijuana culture shock and the oppressive heat was too much, so when the dentista offered a complimentary ride back to the border, we took it. The walk back to the U.S. was long, so many queues, worse than the line for a major Disney ride, but relatively empty, just a long walk in the blistering heat. We hopped back on that trolley and high-tailed it to Little Italy for iced coffee and poached eggs at https://loftycoffee.com (highly recommended) and stayed there through lunch, kept ordering more drinks and snacks, because it was nice and had AC.
I would tell Ms. B that Tijuana is better than Thailand. Thailand is harsh in a different way and it seems like more of a gamble. It depends how much she's traveled in Asia. Thailand is Asia for beginners, but it's still edgy - only place I've ever been ripped off.
We stayed at the She-RAT-on near campus and Family Weekend ended Sunday (although we bailed on the Sunday brunch). Our plan was to go to Tijuana so Stacy can get her teeth cleaned and check out this dentist, then come back to SD and catch a plane back to San Jo. Mind you, this puts us on public transit all the way.
We got up early, like daybreak, to catch the 150 express from UCSD to downtown SD (about an hour ride) and then pick up the Blue Line Trolley to San Isidro at the border. Turned out that despite the ticket vending machines for the trolley and constant reminders to have your ticket on the trolley intercom, no one ever checked. Which was good because we were just going to use our bus day passes and plead ignorance if that didn't work. It was another hour to the border.
The border was intense. Despite what 45 says, there already is a wall, and a formidable one. I am still kicking myself for not snapping a pic of the gateway to Mexico because it was all steel and oppressive, with these twisted spires (decorative?) and razor wire, and then a solid steel gate with MEXICO written in block steel letters an thick steel bar turnstiles into a dark cavernous passage. Looked like a freakin Mad Max version of Mordor. And it was hot. Like high 90s.
I didn't expect the culture shock. The other side looked like the worst HelLA barrio, cluttered with amputee beggars trying to sling Chiclets and sketchy tourist stands. We caught a cab to the 'dentista', about a 5-10 minute ride which was supposed to cost $7 but actually cost us $10 and mi espanol es muy malo so I wasn't going to debate that $3 (besides I felt I got a deal with the trolley).
The dentista was www.americanbiodental.com. It was housed in a huge casino hotel mall, that was actually nice and civilized, although it had some labyrinthine architecture that reminded me of China, weird halls and walls at odd angles. But nice. And everyone spoke English. The place was clean, friendly and efficient. The cleaning cost only $35. One of the patients had driven down from Seattle to walk the border and said they got their work at a quarter of the price they were quoted in the U.S. Stacy was very satisfied and she can be tough to please, especially because she's had some really bad experiences with dentists. We may go back if need be. The price was right, the service was good, and it's an excuse to visit Tara. We're told that people who get major work will opt to stay at the hotel, and that looked okay for Tijuana. We were both tripping on some of the other medical services Bio Dental offers - lots of cancer, detox, and facial treatments - experimental stuff.
I had this initial fantasy of getting some fish tacos, but the Tijuana culture shock and the oppressive heat was too much, so when the dentista offered a complimentary ride back to the border, we took it. The walk back to the U.S. was long, so many queues, worse than the line for a major Disney ride, but relatively empty, just a long walk in the blistering heat. We hopped back on that trolley and high-tailed it to Little Italy for iced coffee and poached eggs at https://loftycoffee.com (highly recommended) and stayed there through lunch, kept ordering more drinks and snacks, because it was nice and had AC.
I would tell Ms. B that Tijuana is better than Thailand. Thailand is harsh in a different way and it seems like more of a gamble. It depends how much she's traveled in Asia. Thailand is Asia for beginners, but it's still edgy - only place I've ever been ripped off.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse