Day 199: Cancun – Mexico – Jan 2nd

Between Merida and Cancun, is another famous Mayan ruin known as Chichen Itza. Most people know about it mostly of its grandeur, but also because it is one of few Mayan ruins within a close proximity to Cancun and the beaches of the Mayan Riviera.

Taking the bus from Merida to Chichen Itza, we realized our mistake once we got off the bus. The place was like summer time at Disney Land, and was JAMMED with people! There was a lineup wrapped AROUND the whole entrance just to get tickets…. what’s up with that? Sort of reminded us of China during the holiday season over there, and it’s definitely not fun to have to bump and push your way through everywhere. So, we quickly changed our minds and decided we’ll skip this ruin and head straight to Cancun.

Google maps says the trip from Merida to Cancun is an approximate 4.5hr drive. It took us 9hrs to get from point to point!!! By the time we got to Cancun it was already dinner time, and to save money we stayed in the downtown area and not in the resort zone of Cancun, leaving us a very different impression of the city compared to everyone else. Tired of having unflavourful local disasters, we grabbed dinner at the most internationally recognizable brand name in food: McDonald’s! Man…. it was much better than what we’ve had ever since leaving Oaxaca.

Heading back to the hostel, we sat down at the bar downstairs thinking the night is young and we can grab a beer before going back to bed. Well, turns out, the bar was CLOSED…..and this was 10:12pm. W T F? This is Cancun?

Our only reminder that this was Cancun was that, when we headed off to bed at around midnight, our dorm-mates came in, got changed and put on make-up. Our first reaction was: “Why does anyone put on makeup before sleeping!?!”, then when they said “Have a good night, we’ll try to keep quiet when we come back”, was when we realized, midnight is just the beginning of the party. Definitely too old for this!!