I’ve met some lovely people over the years who have described Guadalajara with such lovely phrases as “The Boston of Mexico”.  It has been on my list for a while because I’ve been to the state of Jalisco many times but only to Puerto Vallarta.  As the capital of the state, I figured Guadalajara would be a good mix of Mexican urban life, architecture, history and food.  It ends up that Guadalajara is not that simple.  It’s public transportation infrastructure is mostly based on highways and the newly implemented, but not highly functional, bike share system.  There is a small metro, but it does not touch the Bario Americana or the trendy Avenida Chapultepec, where I was staying.

Transportation and quality of life issues were my biggest concerns while in Guadalajara.  I was disappointed that I had to rely on Uber to get to most places.  Many of the bike share kiosks were out of order.  Even worse: the entire bike share system closes at midnight. Staying on Chapultepec itself was probably a planning mistake.  I should have taken the advice to stay in Chapultepec to mean that I should stay around it, but not on it.  I did not know that this Avenue was home to amateur karaoke singers who bring their own sound systems, singing well into the night on weeknights and until 4am on weekends.  Sadly, these were not very good singers and I’m not sure how many customers they were catering to.

I have some funny stories about the tales of the wonderful Guadalajara nightlife.  It’s important to note that my nightlife expectations are set extremely high: we’re talkin NYC, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, Mexico City.  So when I’m told the nightlife is amazing, I get excited and think about where this new experience will fit on the aforementioned list.  When I arrived at my airbnb, my hosts greeted me with a home-cooked meal.  We spoke in Spanish-only and they were very complimentary of my level of proficiency.  I could hear the street noise very loudly from the apartment on a Tuesday night.  I figured the noise would be worth it if the nightlife is really that good.  So the host starts telling me about how amazing the city is and how super cool it is. He’s getting all worked up about all of the places I can go and things I can do.  So I’m totally smiling and I asked him, “where can I go tonight?”  He makes a sad face and says, “oh it’s Tuesday, most places are closed.” 

Wait what about this amazing nightlife?  Don’t tell me it’s just noise.  There’s all this music and sound outside.  Oh god, here comes the realization: it’s just noise.  Yes, sad face.

Part two of the story goes like this: the next day I went to a spa and met a local guy.  I asked him, “so where can I go out tonight?” He asked me what I want to do.  I let him know I want to go to a bar and talk to people and meet them and drink and dance.  He responds, “oh yea we got places with beer, tequila,...” and I cut him off and I ask him to give me the *name* of a place.  He kinda looks uncomfortable and he disappointingly says, “oh I have to think about that.”   He couldn’t name a single place.  So much for nightlife on Wednesday.  Thursday was a bust too.  Luckily I went out to the club Friday night and had a good time.  I met up with a friend Sara who I met while visiting the Uxmal archaeological zone in Merida.

The architecture of Guadalajara is all over the place.  El Centro and Bario Americana have beautiful historical buildings from the time of Dictator Porfirio Diaz.  This style is called Porfirian and it is also evident in Mexico City.  However, because Guadalajara is primarily a city for cars, there are parking lots everywhere.  Sidewalks become parking lots.  Facades of fantastic structures are blocked by perpendicular parked cars. Some regular-looking buildings have giant parking lots on top of them.  It looks like someone dropped a giant box of cars on the building. It’s a shame as it takes away from the charm. 

The Guadalajara zoo is, however, extremely charming.  You get the benefit of viewing the canyons at the northern end of the city as part of your gift for visiting the zoo. 

My last day in Guadalajara was spent at Lake Chapala, the largest lake of the state of Jalisco.  It’s where the drinking water comes from and is also home to famous hot springs.  The spa experience was a bit different than European or Asian style and I appreciated that.  The temazcal Mayan sauna is a lovely Mexican spa speciality.  The ritual facial mud mask definitely made my face feel tighter.  The seafood pasta was delicious.  The only thing upsetting me was the electrified barbed wire fence separating the spa from the lake.  It’s definitely for security purposes.  It ruined the view and I thought there must be a better way.

I had some great food thanks to my super friendly Uber drivers in Guadalajara.  They taught me about the ahogada style.  This means covered in sauce.  I had tacos, torta and baked potatoes covered in awesome Mexican salsas. 

I need to reset my nightlife expectations. It’s not fair to compare every city in the world to the queens of nightlife.  This would come up again in Taiwan, as I’m writing this entry on the plane from Taipei to Kuala Lumpur.