The Great Mexican Post
Well folks, here it is. I'm finally done writing about Mexico. It starts with a description of my resort...
Riu Palace Riviera Maya
984-877-2280
Tour includes hotel accomodations, tax, and service. Continental breakfast in room 7am-10:30am, exchange privileges with Riu Palace Mexico, Riu Tequila, Riu Yucatan, and Riu Playacar (dinner restaurant excluded.) Unlimited alcoholic beverages, minibar and liquor dispenser, sauna, jacuzzi. Inclusions subject to change without prior notice.
Dec. 14, 2007
First class is great. I never thought that good airline food still existed. Going from BWI to Dallas, first they gave me warm nuts. Then for lunch I chose the beef BBQ. It was a beef brisket sandwhich and potato salad. I had a glass of red wine with the meal, and they kept refilling it... and refilling it. Yay! And then they gave me a fresh baked cookie. It was all warm, and falling apart, and the chocolate was melted all over the place, mmmm. I should have asked for seconds, lol. On my second flight to Cancun I had the warm nuts again. This time, I got Pepsi with Makers Mark, mmmmmm. For dinner I had tortellini which was in a white mushroom sauce, and ceasar salad, and cheesecake. Both meals came with a coupon for Ann Taylor. I'm so lucky. I feel so pampered. My dad got me the first class flights with his frequent flyer miles. So not only was this free, but he had to use up the miles or they would be lost. This is also the last year he could do this since he won't be travelling much anymore next year. Soooo lucky, and thankful. Well, that's it for now. Don't want the batteries to run out!
And so the story goes on. It took forever to leave Dallas since there were passengers going through immigration from a connecting flight. We got to Cancun about 45min late. Of course, I'm wondering if my transportation to the hotel was still going to be there. He was, fortunately. Now, for the ride to the hotel I was with a family, but their hotel was about 10min from the airport. I had about an hour ride left alone with the driver. Fortunately, he was nice and tried his best to converse with me in English and tried to teach me a little spanish. "Los ciudad de los topas." "The city of speedbumps." Man, on the way to Riviera Maya they had these speedbumps that were like rows of shells that could really mess up a vehicle going to fast. We were going at a crawl over those things. They take their traffic control seriously in Mexico. Mmmhmm. I get to the hotel close to 11pm. I get to my room. I'm still scared to be alone. I had Mokona to keep me company. But the room is HUGE. AND I have 2 beds! AND the tub is a jacuzzi. The minibar is unlimited. But my cellphone doesn't work. I can't connect to the internet. Then I find out that I have to pay for internet at the sportsbar. Awww, I want to contact Keith. I also get a message saying that Jenny, the bride, won't be in until the next afternoon due to weather. Gosh I hope they're ok.
Dec. 15, 2007
I'm still nervous, but once I leave for breakfast. OMG what a view! The resort is gorgeous! I look further, and it's like OMG IS THAT THE OCEAN?!?!? Then I look out over the beach, and there's Cozumel. Hey! I've been there! (I went horseback riding there in the Mayan ruins. It was awesome!) Breakfast was a nice buffet. There was one fruit that I wasn't so sure of. It had a lot of seeds, and the stuff around the seeds was kinda snotty in texture. Fun, fun, mmmmmmm. OK. More later. I'm off to the rehersal dinner... (evening of the 16th.)
Well, I ran into Christina and Seung just as I finished breakfast. I was sooooo relieved to see a familiar face. I also met the best man, Ross and his fiance, Sarah. He was talking about organizing a trip to Tulum. While waiting for the bride and groom to arrive, we went into Playa del Carmen for some shopping. I got most of my Christmas shopping done there so I was happy!
Poor Jenny when she had arrived, she and Binh were so exhausted from their delay. Apparently they had a stopover in Philly, but their plane had to circle around for 5 hours due to the fog. So they missed their connecting flight and had to stay in a hotel there overnight. A lot of other people were delayed in arriving as well. I felt a lot better once everyone was here though. Wherever I went, I could run into someone from the wedding. Everyone was so nice, it was awesome.
After shopping, I went to the internet cafe to email Keith saying I was OK. I didn't find out until later that I could use my laptop in the lobby to connect to the internet for free. Since I couldn't connect from my room, I had assumed they just didn't have a wireless connection.
For dinner, I went to the Japanese restaurant, Yashima with Christina, Seung, Kelly, and Vince. The food was pretty good. There was a sushi appetizer, then I had a seafood stew which tasted like it was in a miso broth. I had the shrimp in tamarind sauce which was nice and tangy. Finally, for dessert I had tempura ice cream. I'm always up for some tempura ice cream, mmmmm. That night, our generation hung out in the courtyard, had drinks, and got to know each other. Seems like Jenny and Binh had tons of fun in their travels with the canadian guys, Sean and Kam. OK. I need to get ready to board the plane. Adios amigos y amigas!
Dec. 16, 2007
I had to get up early this morning. Went to breakfast, then met with everyone in the lobby. We went to Tulum to see the Mayan ruins. On the way there, we got to try a local version of Tequila. It's made from a local agave plant and tastes more like licorice. They had some pretty merchandise there too. Definitely more time was spent on replicating the Mayan gods through woodcarving and inlaying gems. At Tulum I also learned about the Mayan calendar which is still the most accurate calendar out there. It was made completely through observation of the sun. The sun would rise the furthest to the north in summer, then furthest to the south in winter. They would count the days inbetween, then multiply by two to get the 365 day year for the normal calendar. They also had a Mayan calendar which had 200 something years. For any given date like Dec. 16/ May 14, in 52 years that day would happen again. On the 52nd year, they knew to add 13 days to their calendar. This compansates for the 13 leap years that occur during those 52 years. Woa. They also constucted a window that would frame the sun like a picture during the spring and fall equinox. This would let them know when to sow the seeds in the spring, and when to reap the harvest in the fall. This made them the most agriculturally advanced society of their time. For their human sacrifices, they didn't consider it as a cruel or savage act. They saw the sun as rising on one side, then dying on the other only to rise again the next day. Human sacrifices did not die in fear because they believed that they were meant to die like the sun, and come again another day. The Mayans also knew enough about human anatomy so they could go up under the ribcage to get to the heart. They didn't magically bypass the ribs straight in, and rip out the heart like you see in Indiana Jones.
After that, we went swimming on the beach. It was fun. Jenny and Binh kept beating Dao and Eugene playing chicken. We were all tired on the ride back. There was also a strange smell about that we couldn't place. Smelled like diaper, it was gross. I remember smelling that in the bathroom, so I get the feeling someone stepped on something.... eww. The smell died down after a while... or we just go used to it.
After I got back and bathed, I went with Jenny to get her hair done as a trial for the wedding. When Kelly and Christina came, I went for lunch and met Bihn there. He was such a great groom. He really was doing everything he could to make things go smoothly for Jenny. After I finished eating, he had me bring more food to her while she was getting her hair done.
I was then so tired... tried to lay out on one of the beach chairs, but the sun was already going down. Then I decided to play volleyball with Dao, Regina, Binh, Jenny's Dad, and a couple other people from our party. It was a lot of fun. And we all wanted to work off all that food we were eating, haha.
The rehersal dinner was at Don Manolo's. It was their dinner buffet. Their ribs were so tender and awesome. There was also a chocolate fondue fountain! You can take a toothpick through a marshmallow and drizzle it under the fountain. Mmmmm.... Bihn did a pre-rehearsal on the table using salt and pepper shakers football style. It was hilarious. It was like "these two walk this way, then those two walk that way." All bouncing the shakers around. The real rehearsal took place on the beach.
A bunch of us in our generation were supposed to get together for drinks at the sports bar. The girls would head off in one direction, and the guys would head off in another. That didn't happen though. Jenny needed to rest before the big day so the girls were there in the room with her just chillin, drinking champagne. Lan did our nails. Then we headed off to let her sleep. It was nice though, getting to know everyone and catching up with Jenny, Kelly, and Christina.
Dec. 17, 2007
The big wedding day! I got up and had breakfast. Then I went over to Regina and Lan's room to see how the hair was going for the bridesmaids. I pretty much ran around and let them know when it was their turn to get their hair done. I was also in charge of making sure the guys had their outfits ironed. While everything was in motion, I had the chance to finally go swimming. There was a safe area to swim inside the breakers. I tried to go kayaking with Dao, but they guy said that the waves were too rough. Well, boo. So I picked up shells and what I thought was a fern turned out to be a sand dollar. (Keith was happy to get these!)
When I went to lunch, Bihn's mom called me over to eat with her and his dad. After I got my food and came over, she was like... "Oh! I thought you were my daughter!" I was like.... OMG. After Bihn's siblings had thought I was Jenny's cousin, Bihn's mom thought I was his sister. LOL. I guess I do look like I could be related to either side. Kinda funny. It was great getting to know everyone though. Everyone was so nice.
The wedding was beautiful. It was on the beach. It was kinda wierd having people sunbathing and watching us while they were on lounge chairs and in bathing suits. The wedding was a nice 10-15min. The mariachi band that played for them was fun. The women got to be barefoot, and the men wore sandals. Very laid back and comfortable. Got some gorgeous pictures too.
The reception was at Chili's. No... it's not the same chain as we have here in the states. It's a steakhouse. There was a printer where you could plug in your memory card for your camera and print out a picture to put in the guest book. That was the coolest, fanciest guest book I've ever seen. Dinner was awesome. I had a delicious ribeye. The cake was good too. They had some funny games too. The women had to take their rings off, and Binh had to figure out which one of us was Jenny just by touching our hands while blindfolded. Of course, on of the guys got in line with us for comic relief. He picked her sister as being her first, lol. Jenny had to touch the guys butts. She actually guessed right, but Binh towers over everyone else, so did she just pick the butt that was higher than all the others? LOL.
Afterwards, we all changed, and those in our generation went out clubbing and drinking. The first club we went to was in our resort complex so it was all inclusive. It was all good fun for the most part. There was one guy that was high on E that really bugged the hell out of us though. He literally was all over everyone in our group, guys and girls. That was disturbing. Some of them went back to the hotel since they had an early flight. The rest of us moved onto a club in Playa del Carmen. All the women got in for free. I have no idea how much the guys paid to get in. The part we went to played a lot of oldies and 80's dance mixes. It was fun. I taught Eugene how to do the Pee Wee Herman, haha. I also had fun doing the charleston whenever a swing song came up. I tried to swing dance with Shawn, but he didn't know how. Eugene and I were the last ones standing by the end. I had to stop dancing becuase my toes were cramping up. This was an awesome place though. Next to the dance floor was some tables, then a rope, then the ocean. It was gorgeous. Eugene was hoping to see the sun come up, but we were all tired. We got back to the hotel and had a snack in the sports bar. Then we all called it a night.
Dec. 18, 2007
Ayayay! So I'm at the cancun airport. I'm trying to connect to some wireless connection, but it's not working. Or maybe my computer's not working? I don't know. Oh well. I've got lots of time to kill.
OK. I'm down to 30min left. Today wasn't that exciting, but I got to take my time gettin gready for the airport. Got up a little before 10, showered, had breakfast, then checked out. I said goodbye to Jenny, Binh, Vince, and Seung. The American Express van picked me up at 12:20pm. The driver this time spoke to me mostly in spanish, but he was trying some english too. I'm so glad I know a little spanish or I'd be completely lost. Leaving so early kinda sucked though. My flight isn't until 5:20 and boarding is at 4:40. I got to the airport well before 2, checked in, filled out my immigration stuff, then was like... I have 3 hours to kill. So I hit the Hard Rock Cafe, then go eat some $8 slice of Domino's Pizza. It was more like a double slice and darn tasty. I was craving pizza so bad since I saw the sign. Fortunately there was more I wanted to write about the trip ^_^. Gonna backtrack now.
The trip home was OK. Didn't have the nice meals this time around. Just the warm nuts. The transfer in Miami was hectic at best. After going through the passport line, and the customs line, I had to go through security AGAIN. So... I had a whopping 10min to run to my gate. I get there, and my ticket wasn't working so they gave me a new one. Different seat, but I figured my original seat should not have been filled so I went ahead and sat in that one. Well, turns out it was filled so maybe that's why my ticket wasn't working? They made me move, but I insisted on keeping an aisle seat since it wasn't my fault they double booked the chair. We left about 45min late waiting for other passengers after I has booked it to make it on time. The service sucked too. They didn't pick up the cup leftover nuts before landing. I was sitting there wondering... that's gonna go flying isn't it? Sure enough. We land, nuts all over my jacket. THANK YOU! I shook the nuts off and left the mess on the floor... why on earth is that called first class? So we land in Baltimore 30min late. Keith picked me up. We got my car from my parents house. I finally get to bed around 2am and had to work the next morning. Yikes! Oh well. Rough ending to a happy vacation. But at least it was a happy vacation. Finito...