Avoiding Bandits with Badges

I think you did the right thing.

I was just in the zona and even the chicas were warning me to be careful around the police. Carry as little cash as possible. No drugs. And yes, they advised ducking into a store if you see them coming. I feel like it doesn't look as suspicious as it might to an American cop, because in this case, both you and they are well aware they could rob you.

There was one night this weekend where we were out walking around with a pair of chicas and encountered la policia estatales. I think they are corrupt but maybe not as bad as la policia municipal. Still, the chicas took am awkwardly wide berth around them. One of them told me "Tranquillo" - stay calm.

This is a serious question...have you considered what the point is where the juice won't be worth the squeeze? No judging, but there seems to be a trend in these posts lately.

Wall, I've thought about it quite a bit. The bottom line is: corrupt police are an annoyance, but it's not the end of the world.

The worst case scenario in the zona is bringing a bankroll and losing it all. If that happened to me I'd be devastated personally and probably never come back to the zona.

But that's incredibly unlikely to happen. The cops don't usually pull cabs or the zona shuttle over, and once you get to room and can safely store the bank roll, you're all set.

Most of the time you're just risking the cash your pocket. I'd be pissed if I got robbed by the police, but it wouldn't ruin my weekend, let alone the Zona in general. My reaction would probably be similar to @PutaTester, who posted about getting robbed by the police recently. I'd be aggravated, but it wouldn't stop me from enjoying myself that trip.

It's an annoyance that's easily completely outweighed by the fact that the Zona is absolutely fucking amazing, like a disneyland for mongers.

I just came back from 3 nights there (literally today) and I did see a heavier police presence by federal police (those who carry the machine guns and soldier helmets) on foot on the main street in front of HK and BT. You usually see them in the trucks driving down the alley. I don't believe those are the ones you need to look out for yet if anyone has experiences otherwise, they might know better. I saw them walking around PedEast as well. It is the municipal police I worry about.

So I was with a well known contributor who does very detailed reviews (lol) one night and he met a lovely to talk about the weather or something so I went off on my own. I have basically always stuck with HK and BT with a trip to Oxxo in the alley for drinks for the room so I wasn't as concerned in previous trips. This time I decided to check out Chicago and D&G. So that night, I carried my ID (I usually leave in safe) and I limited my cash in pockets. Reading from Puta Tester's experience, I figured I would split the cash between the front and back pockets just in case it made any difference.

I too saw the municipal police at night, it was after midnight going to Chicago Club and turned back around and waited for them to drive past the intersection. To me that is better than walking toward them and not ducking them.

I walked by many groups of federal police this trip with no issues. Doesn't mean there can't.

In future visits, I will pretty much stay in HK and a few visits to BT/Senda Norte to limit my exposure. I appreciate the reading PT experience as I kept my eyes open the moment I left the door. If was say going to D&G and saw police, I would turn into BT if that happened to me. Like Ron says, if they are taking a small part of the roll then it would suck but not ruin the trip for me as well.

Coming into TJ, I personally did not put my trip bankroll in my pockets or backpack like previous trips. I carried in my pocket like $60 or $80 to be the diversion if possible or made any difference.

Little over a year ago October I got robbed by the policia right by the arch. In the previous 9 years of well over two hundred visits I never had a problem with any of them. Now I paid much closer attention to what I'm doing and where I am and making sure that most my money is well hidden away.

pay

Just like anywhere there are bad cops and better ones. I drove in a couple visits ago and ended up going down a one way the wrong direction. Was pulled over and thought here I go. Guy was super nice and no issue, chatted in broken English for a bit and told me to be more careful. If your car is registered to your Sentri/Global returning to the USA is an easy 5 or 10 min. If not count on at least a couple hours. Driving in opens all kind of opportunities and you don’t have to shlep over the border with a suitcase. Unfortunately no rent cars are allowed.

@623 - it is my understanding driving around TJ with California plates is an advertisement to be pulled over to donate to the "police fund". I personally haven't done this and am just echoing other's warnings.

Taxis and Uber is cheap enough that unless you are a frequent driver into Mexico, bringing your car in is not worth it. Plus the roads are so bad that I wouldn't want to beat it up there.

And rental cars are available on the Mexican side if you really want to drive in Mexico.

Oh I need to get back there, been too long.
I confidently walk straight to the HK limo/lobby when I cross no messing around, that short walk is the riskiest IMO, that’s when I have all my cash, passport and look like a target with my carry on bag and backpack. Once in TJ, I enjoy walking around and trying the food, people watching, etc, really helps break up the trip. I keep enough cash in my front pocket easily available to get me out of trouble if need be but not enough to ruin the trip.
Walk with a purpose, keep your situational awareness, dress down not up, leave the fancy jewelry, watches and shoes behind, try to walk with the flow and avoid looking solo, drunk, out of place, lost or going against the main flow. Just “blend in” as much as possible in plain sight, avoid low traffic areas and enjoy some of the other things in the area. It’s all about minimizing the risks and not sticking out or drawing attention to yourself.

Kind of like you would in the lowest rent area of any US city.

I try to blend with the surrounding people but it doesn't work very well because I am a 6'3" old bald white guy. And I don't wear fancy clothes (or even nice clothes) usually I'm just in a T-shirt and shorts and flip flops. no bling at all either. and for 9 years I never had a problem with the policia. But I stay much more aware of my surroundings now... especially TJ cops...

Dressing down is more frowned upon in Mexico. Especially shorts on men. I'd stick with closed shoes and a shirt with buttons and a collar.

In my years of TJ clubbing experience, which includes driving inside by car many times and our usual border-crossing on foot, I’d recommend avoiding taking yiur car unless it’s absolutely needed.Although each time we have driven inside TJ, the driver has always been my friend that’s very familiar with TJ area since he lived out there many years ago along with his parents that held government jobs until deciding to migrate out here to the US for good. So, he knows the entire TJ whereabouts quite well and is very comfortable driving within TJ area. So, our main reason behind driving inside TJ was to mainly hit up Puerto Nuevo, Rosario and Ensenada areas for some mouthwatering lobsters/seafood and sightseeing.Besides it just felt more convenient as well driving inside, coz we could hit up any clubs/bars, hotels, restaurants and malls anywhere at our personal discretion without having to walk anywhere or else depend entirely on the taxis.

Still if you ask my opinion,I am against the idea of driving inside TJ area for two main reasons:

1. The Policia, 50% of the time while driving inside TJ city we got pulled over for no reason besides just having California license-plates on our car. Even though we always managed our way out without any issues especially my friend is a fluent Spanish speaker, but it was an inconvenience regardless.

2. The waiting time to exit the border-crossing into the US, always took us in excess of 2 hrs + ( regardless of our well planned timing to return off their peak hours ). While walking in/out of TJ via pedestrian-crossing mostly takes us 10-15 minutes max.

So as I mentioned, if you really have a plan to drive around far outside TJ area into Puerto Nuevo, Rosarito or Ensenada then it’s best to avoid driving your car inside Tijuana coz it’s not worth the hassle with the policia. Even though we have always been quite lucky in general, but I am still against the idea.

Dressing down is more frowned upon in Mexico. Especially shorts on men. I'd stick with closed shoes and a shirt with buttons and a collar.

👆🏻As ilbbaicnl has correctly mentioned.

In my years of clubbing out in TJ, it’s my understanding that you usually get the respect by the locals based on your clean attire and confident demeanor ( IMO ).This isn’t just a rule that works well in Tijuana, but also applies the same at our local California clubs/bars. You get treated on how you look (unfortunately, that’s the reality)and if you look like a bum and seem vulnerable then people will try taking advantage of you.Even the girls won’t take you seriously, and approach you instantly with an upper hand coz they are already assuming that they are in control.

Just think about what I’ve said for a minute, coz it may very well be a game changer for someone by following this simple rule.

^ I have always said you never get a second chance to make a good first impression

^ Caught in another lie and plagiarism

A First Impression By David Jeremiah The phrase, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” was a 1966 advertising slogan for Botany Suits..." davidjeremiah.org

^ I’ve never been one to wish a man dead, but reading your obituary would give me great pleasure.

Classy, ain't he? Not sorry to burst your bubble, gramps, but I'll be here to piss on your grave.

Doubt that very much. Weirdo

I'm a good 30-40 years younger than your 80 year old ass. I am happy, healthy, and loving life while you are sad, lonely, bitter, and stumbling through a demented haze with a chip on your shoulder. Don't fool yourself. Denial won't help you.

You’re also too stupid to know anything about me, my guess is you’ll open your mouth one day in the wrong neighborhood probably call someone a porch monkey and you’ll be done.

I read you like an open book. I've known too many foolish old boomers just like you. Your life is a train wreck, but you cannot admit it because you have peers who have done so much better. You feel like you got short-changed, but are too proud to own your own failures. You guys all die the same: alone, bitter, broke, and soon.

^ what a pathetic little weirdo

I know you better than you know yourself, and I have been using it against you since your first revealed yourself to be an angry, blowhard.

I'm going to disagree with the dressing down part in México, especially for gringos. Yes, it's true that many adult Mexican men don't wear shorts.

However, I've been wearing shorts and a t-shirt all throughout Mexico for nearly a decade now and I get treated with respect everywhere and by everyone; women, meseros, store clerks, bank employees, hotel staff, etc.

Personally, as an experienced México traveler, I think you are much better off dressing down, not wearing a nice watch, etc. You want to look like you don't have too much money or else you'll be more of a mark.

Just my dos pesos advice.

Whether you wear shorts or not, it's obvious to the locals everywhere that you are a gringo. Being fluent in Spanish and respectful of the locals is the best way to fit in in México imho.

Plenty of Tijuana and Hong Kong GoPro videos have been posted here and online (pornhub, youtube, etc.). Whenever I travel internationally and to new parts of the country, I check out videos like those to see how most others -especially locals- are dressing.