When we said we were driving South, everyone said, see Oaxaca, it is so beautiful.
When I said I was going to Shanghai, everyone said, see the Bund, it is so beautiful.
The Bund is a short stretch of street, in Shanghai, that is on the waterfront.
At one time, foreigners were only allowed in China if they went to the Bund.
Along this stretch of the river, in downtown Shanghai, each country was allowed to build one warehouse, office, complex.
These buildings were made out of square blocks of rock.
Today, after 400 years of dirt and dust these buildings are lit up at night with coloured lights and at night are a major tourist attraction.
During the day time they are drab and boring.
Ships no longer dock along the docks, across the street.
The docks have been replaced with a promenade for the tourists.
In Oaxaca, the old part of town covers a larger area than the Bund.
The blocks of rock, and the buildings, are bigger than those in the Bund.
The buildings are lit at night but not as colourful.
The buildings are about the same age as those in the Bund.
And, in the daytime they are just as drab, and boring.
Although the buildings are painted different colours, they are pale and anything but beautiful.
Though we drove around the downtown core, we failed to find any of the beauty that we had been told about.
We did find a large market.
Far larger than anything I have ever seen in China.
Row after row of stall after stall.
We walked steady for an hour, pushing through the Sunday shoppers, and never saw half of the shops.
 ENTERING OAXACA FROM THE SOUTH |  WITHOUT MAKING ANY TURNS, UNTIL WE CAME TO THIS TRAFFIC CIRCLE, WE HAD FOUND THE HEART OF THE OLD CITY |
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 WITH A LITTLE EXPLORING WE FOUND EL CENTRO AND A CHEAP ROOM ONLY 3 BLOCKS AWAY |  |
 THESE BLUE TREES GROW IN THE STRANGEST PLACES |  |
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 EL CENTRO | 
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We started close to El Centro, checking for hotel rooms, and worked our way down from P450 a night to P200, thatÍs P100 each.
The lobby of the hotel looked like a bikers den - motorcycles being worked on.
On one side of the lobby was a bar, noisy all day, and most of the night.
On the other side was a night club that didnÍt start until 9 PM but closed at 3 AM.
Our room, was way, in the back. The noise that filtered through wasnÍt as bad as what we had had to endure from `Tequila TownÍ and `RickÍsÍ. (Across the street from us in Ziuatanejo).
And everything did become quiet at 3 AM.
However, at 3:30 someone went into their room and turned the TV on, loud.
But it was only 3 blocks for El Centro.
Posada Principal at 208 5 De Mayo
Kind of hard to find, only a small sign out front, and the building just blends in with all the rest.
 SUNRISE, TAKEN FROM IN FRONT OF THE HOTEL |  |
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 |  LEAVING OAXACA FOR TAXCO |
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