Hong Kong on a weekday afternoon

I was travelling to San Diego on business and reviewed my options for an SC visit. I originally planned to hit some SCs, maybe see an AMP or two, but then read about the zona norte (the red light district in Tijuana) and just how easy it was to get there.

I ended up driving to the border and parking at a lot right next to the 'outlets at the border' on the west side of the highway. I chose that spot for a couple of reasons: 1) I had read that the 'Pedwest' (the west side of the freeway pedestrian border crossing) was much faster/easier; 2) I didnt want a parking ticket for street parking in the area of the outlet mall and 3) definitely didnt want to get towed FROM the outlet mall (hard to explain to the missus back home OR my boss). If you're wondering why I didnt drive across...well, there's alot of reasons not to (long lines, need to pay the rental company extra, general hassle) and really no positive reason to drive.

So...I parked the car, and walked into the Pedwest crossing. There were US soldiers deployed on the US side of the border (not going to get political, but they were there) and lots of CBP. Once I crossed to the Mexico side, I had to fill out a postcard sized form on which I wrote my name, passport number, where I was going (Tijuana) and how long I planned to be. Joined a line of about 2 people, turned it in, and then walked on through. Total border crossing time was under 10 minutes.