Tijuana, Mexico:  two-for-one taco specials, tequila shooters, burros painted like zebras, $5 supersized sombreros and an ugly drug war that’s keeping tourists away in droves. 
“You’re going to Tijuana? Are you insane?! You’ll be kidnapped and shot!”

Yes, I was headed for North America’s most notorious border town, solo, to do research for a travel guidebook. And I wasn’t scared. Ok, maybe a little. Recently, the streets of Tijuana have seen the ruthless Arellano-Félix drug cartel  battle the local police and Mexican army in shootouts the U.S. State Department says have sometimes “resembled small-unit combat”.

That’s the type of language typically found in travel alerts for Pakistan, not a city 18 miles south of the Shriners’ conference at the San Diego Convention Center. It’s enough to steer most people away from Baja California, and into the nearest Taco Bell drive-through for an authentic Mexican Crunchwrap Supreme.

Assorted neuroses aside, I’m not a Nervous Nellie traveler. I speak fluent Español, and except for that time two wild-eyed cretins on a remote Yucatán beach invited my girlfriend and I into their creepy-looking shack for lobster, I’ve never felt threatened or unsafe traveling in Mexico.

On a foggy Thursday morning I depart my downtown San Diego motel, drive south, park the car in a 24-hour lot near the San Ysidro border crossing  and hoof-it toward the imposing metal border wall. A revolving gate flings me into the belly of the ramshackle Tijuana beast.

The mid-morning sun flares through the fog and gloom. I shuffle past hucksters, hustlers, taxi drivers and cheap souvenir peddlers who put forth a sleepy-eyed, half-hearted effort to part me from my money. Once I cross the Tijuana River bridge and arrive in the Old Town area, there’s action.

“Amigo! One dollar Coronas! This way!”
“Jewelry for you lady? You need Viagra? I got it. Cheap, amigo.”

Ah yes, the Tijuana I remember well. It’s the “TJ” of Avenida Revolucion (or “La Revo” as the locals call it), the raucous, anything-goes main tourist drag that has lured generations of drunken frat boys, party girls, sailors, Marines, Mexican food lovers and bargain-hunting shoppers south of the border.  Depending on your mood, it can be a good time…or a fine time to stay in the good ol’ US of A.

TJ is not the “real” Mexico, nor is it a place anyone in their right mind would consider a vacation destination. But here, where First and Third Worlds collide, lies an interesting bicultural city. Gringos seek out taquerias and strike deals on traditional Mexican handicrafts, while Mexicans eat Big Macs and shop for cell phones at the modern Plaza Río Tijuana mall.

On this day, La Revo doesn’t feel scary or dangerous to me. In fact, the street has been spiffed up in recent years. The sidewalks are wide, paved and litter free. Wrought-iron park benches invite you to sit down and slip on that new pair of knock-off Nikes you just scored for $15. The city has even installed modern traffic signals and painted the crosswalks. There’s a highly visible police presence.

Here’s the rub. So many Americans have been scared off by Mexico’s drug violence that for the first few hours of the day it seems as if I’m the only tourist in town. Indeed, as of 2009 some estimates peg tourism down by as much as 90%. -- a devastating blow to the local economy.

Shops, restaurants, nightclubs and trinket vendors are desperate, and when you’re the only tourist walking the avenida, hawkers are in your face, constantly. A strip club huckster calls out from half-way down the block. A teenage vendor rushes across the street to sell me an Oakland Raiders blanket. If I don’t like “Los Raiders”, he also has Che Guevara and Bob Marley.
 
I find it a minor annoyance. However, I realize being the center of attention will make some people uneasy. Not in an impending danger kind of way. It’s that stranger-in-a-strange-land feeling some will find unsettling. A friend of mine is a very introverted traveler who likes to cruise under the radar.  I know for certain he wouldn’t enjoy strolling today’s TJ.
 
Here’s another question potential day-trippers must ask themselves: Even if I have a perfectly safe visit, will I be so nervous that I won’t enjoy myself? If the answer is yes, stick to Old Town San Diego, where you’ll find a bit of Old Mexico flavor, the same tacky souvenirs, and if you know where to look, a handful of good Mexican restaurants that take plastic and sport comforting AAA diamond ratings.

I settle in for lunch at a sidewalk table in front of the Spanish-tiled Chiki Jai restaurant, a Tijuana landmark across the street from the old Jai Alai Palace, which now hosts concerts and lucha libre matches . The place is empty, the bored waiter eager to please. Ahead of an outstanding grilled fish filet, he brings out my salad and a cold cerveza. We chat.

“Always this slow?” I ask.
“It is sad. We used to have many American tourists on weekends. Now, it is slow every day. I think the Mexican and American TV news have done very much to scare the people.”

I agree. The media hasn’t done enough to emphasize that the drug violence is not specifically aimed at tourists. Also not well publicized is the fact nearly all Americans who are victims of cartel violence have ties to the drug trade. Over the course of two days in TJ, I have similar conversations with taxi drivers, shopkeeps and restaurant workers, all of whom are friendly and bend over backwards to please one of the few gringo customers they’ll see that day.

Should you visit Tijuana? That’s entirely up to you. I’m in no way suggesting TJ is as safe as Mayberry, USA. Like you, I’ve read and heard all the border town travel horror stories, some of which, sadly, are true. And my TJ snapshot is simply that, a snapshot. As for me, I wouldn’t hesitate to visit again.  I know it’s cliché, but I felt safer walking the streets of Tijuana than I do in some of the sketchier neighborhoods of my native Los Angeles.  

Be advised that all U.S. citizens 16 years of age and over are now required to present a valid passport, passport card, or other approved form of identification when entering or leaving Mexico. Children under the age of 16 can cross the border with an original birth certificate or a certified copy. 

So, is a U.S./Mexico border city like Tijuana or Ciudad Juárez on your travel itinerary, or to be avoided at all cost?