Anybody on here taken a converted school bus into Mexico?

[ACamper-SKO]

Trying to hold my tongue here as this is a skoolie forum and not a political one. But...I've worked for the airlines for over 30 years and we just don't do those sort of things. At least not the US airlines, that's just ridiculous.

If a person has a plane ticket they can be still be detained by local authorities, local authorities can also tell airline booking attendants to put customers boarding passes “on hold”. I have heard of people not being allowed to leave Cancun at the airport due to unpaid bills. It is also common for hospitals to hold patents.

A quick search can find dozens of “patients”/victims that have been held in Mexico until their bills were paid.

Spokane woman says Mexican hospital held her hostage, extorted her family
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/oct/27/spokane-woman-says-mexican-hospital-held-her-hosta/

Atlanta couple say they are being 'held hostage' at a Mexican hospital
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ostage-Mexican-hospital-pay-medical-bill.html

UPDATE: Newborn held ‘hostage’ by Cancun hospital released, Martinsville family headed home
https://fox59.com/2017/07/19/mexica...e-as-medical-hostage-until-full-bill-is-paid/

Lafayette couple held by Cancún hospital
https://www.jconline.com/story/news...couple-held-cancn-hospital-40k-bill/88065644/

Couple stuck in Mexico over medical payment, 2 Works For You intervenes
https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-new...er-medical-payment-2-works-for-you-intervenes

Can Mexican Hospitals hold you hostage for not paying your bill?
https://healthisinternational.com/mexican-hospitals/

All take all the poison I can get as long as it comes in a tall margarita.

A lot of the "tainted alcohol" stories end in waking up robbed, raped, hospitalized with large bill or dead. Many don't feel like it is a joke.

Mexican resort served ‘tainted’ alcohol to 20-year-old American tourist before she drowned
https://www.foxnews.com/world/mexican-resort-tainted-alcohol-abbey-conner-death

Terrifying stories from tourists in Mexico continue a year after mysterious drowning
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news...saults-blackouts-tourists-continue/733401002/


It is funny how Americans always want to argue how safe Mexico is and Mexican never do. Personally I think it goes back to the stereotypical American attitude that everywhere is like America(or should be) and everywhere they go they act like Americas.

 

[kidharris]

A lot of the "tainted alcohol" stories end in waking up robbed, raped, hospitalized with large bill or dead. Many don't feel like it is a joke.

Mexican resort served ‘tainted’ alcohol to 20-year-old American tourist before she drowned
https://www.foxnews.com/world/mexican-resort-tainted-alcohol-abbey-conner-death

Terrifying stories from tourists in Mexico continue a year after mysterious drowning
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news...saults-blackouts-tourists-continue/733401002/

Interesting read. Also interesting is that the Wikipedia article on the huachicoleros, mentioned in your earlier post, notes that they originally started by selling diluted alcohol. Connection?

 

[wrenchtech]

This thread has really taken on a life of its own!

I’ve been held at gunpoint three times in my life. Now, we know that America is awash in guns, so it’s no surprise that this has happened. What kind of individuals did this awful thing to me? Agents of our government! In two of the three incidents I was just working as a truck driver doing the normal things that a truck driver might do. Not violating the law, not bothering anybody. in the third incident I was just a passenger in a car that got pulled over for being driven buy some hippie looking types. The officer who was pointing at 357 magnum colt Anaconda at me, made a point of telling me that it wouldn’t bother him at all to blow my brains out. As a long haul trucker, in the mid to late 1990s, I saw lots of folks pulled over on the side of the highway with their possessions piled outside of their car while officers conducted searches. I was embarrassed for what my country had become. I have traveled several times in Mexico without incident and I always found the hospitality of the people faultless. I think things have changed in the last twenty years, thanks to the illegal drug trade. The people of our country have an insatiable appetite for these prohibited substances while at the same time we have promoted the war on drugs and insisted that other countries enact and enforce similar laws. It seems to me to be a worldwide failure, part of which has resulted in the violence in Mexico. I live with the hope that we will either come to our senses or otherwise be prevented from carrying on as we have been.

 

[ACamper-SKO]

Interesting read. Also interesting is that the Wikipedia article on the huachicoleros, mentioned in your earlier post, notes that they originally started by selling diluted alcohol. Connection?

I do think there is a lot of low grade alcohol at the resorts especially those party all you can drink wristband night clubs. Huachicoleros ? No se ? Lower grade then a plastic gallon jug of the cheapest tequila ? yuck, no thanks, I'll stick to the Corona.

I think the “black outs” are date rape type drugs. Tourist are reporting taking one shot or drink and waking up 13 hours later. Many accounts it seems like there is a group in on it hotel staff, doctors etc and they try to play it off as another drunk tourist. Seems to be smaller schemes also were women are raped and have their wallets taken, many are were ashamed and didn't want to be accused of being a drunk gringa slut so they just kept quiet until they heard of other accounts.

Some women tried to report it and got threatened by the Mexican police and then when they tried to post about it on travel blogs their posts were deleted.
TripAdvisor removed Mexico resorts warnings- https://www.jsonline.com/story/news...juries-mexico-resorts-tourists-say/817172001/

A billion dollar industry trying to keep things unreported.

 

[kidharris]

This thread has really taken on a life of its own!

I’ve been held at gunpoint three times in my life. Now, we know that America is awash in guns, so it’s no surprise that this has happened. What kind of individuals did this awful thing to me? Agents of our government! In two of the three incidents I was just working as a truck driver doing the normal things that a truck driver might do. Not violating the law, not bothering anybody. in the third incident I was just a passenger in a car that got pulled over for being driven buy some hippie looking types. The officer who was pointing at 357 magnum colt Anaconda at me, made a point of telling me that it wouldn’t bother him at all to blow my brains out. As a long haul trucker, in the mid to late 1990s, I saw lots of folks pulled over on the side of the highway with their possessions piled outside of their car while officers conducted searches. I was embarrassed for what my country had become. I have traveled several times in Mexico without incident and I always found the hospitality of the people faultless. I think things have changed in the last twenty years, thanks to the illegal drug trade. The people of our country have an insatiable appetite for these prohibited substances while at the same time we have promoted the war on drugs and insisted that other countries enact and enforce similar laws. It seems to me to be a worldwide failure, part of which has resulted in the violence in Mexico. I live with the hope that we will either come to our senses or otherwise be prevented from carrying on as we have been.

I think Bob Dillon said it best "The times, they are a changin."


That said, I think that it has always been that way. At any given time there has been bad crap going on and some people thinking it was better in the good old days. And... the bad crap keeps a changing with the times. All people can really do is talk/warn//help/advise each other about how to avoid/fix it.


Laws usually don't work because they either can be circumvented, and/or create new problems, and/or only address the symptoms and not the cause, and/or seldom get taken off of the books so that there are so many laws that you are almost always at risk for being arrested/harassed/intimidated (this is going to cost you ?whatever?) for something if the powers that be want you. Not to mention that many laws are poorly written (loopholes), over reaching, or simply politically motivated to get rid of the opposition - can't vote if your in jail, restrict your ability to own certain items or do certain work because you are a felon (once a felon always a felon, ex felon is just a way to day felon).



We vote idiots into office and expect them to act smart. Then we give them pensions. I don't know if there is a solution



We are at the point now in the US that freedom is just a hollow word. Imprisonment is such a huge industry that corporate greed wants a cut.


Who really cares if you go to Mexico? A few close friends and the people that are going to make/lose money if you go or don't go (including the people looking for victims).



You know the risks, life is a series of choices...some die young, some die old...and people argue about which one of those is better too.


I am done with this thread.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Trying to hold my tongue here as this is a skoolie forum and not a political one. But...I've worked for the airlines for over 30 years and we just don't do those sort of things. At least not the US airlines, that's just ridiculous. All take all the poison I can get as long as it comes in a tall margarita. Anyhow, diesel in Sonora is about $4.10 a gallon as of two weeks ago. And I do drive at night in Mexico. I've heard of all sorts of stories and about the only on that I can personally vouch for is to keep a sharp eye out for livestock. A few years back a horse ran across the highway and we narrowly missed him. You can say the same thing for night driving here in the states in areas with a lot of deer and elk. And yes, the Dead are still around making millions of people happy.

Making millions of dollars is more like it.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Roxy and I were drugged at Beachside Tavern in New Smyrna FL. A couple years ago. We aren't even drinkers but we decided we'd have ONE. We both blacked out minutes after drinking half of it. Was a very scary and blurry 12 hours after that. Thankfully we were in a large group.

 

[ACamper-SKO]

I’ve been held at gunpoint three times in my life. Now, we know that America is awash in guns,

The US has plenty of problems we have corrupt police, crime, etc. The thread was supposed to be about Mexico. My discussion points are not -Merica is great- or not. My view point is from global living and traveling and the current state of Mexico.

Times and places change. Venezuela used to be one of the safest places to travel in Sth America Colombia was probably the most dangerous. Today Venezuela is probably the most dangerous place in Sth America and Colombia has become a popular tourist destination.

Mexico has changed over the last 10-20 years. I was trying to have a realistic discussion on the current state of Mexico. I brought plenty of facts and relevant discussion info to the tread. But the theme of the tread is basically the standard low grade US, aMerica drivel.
Same old song- "I always felt safe"(in the secured resort for 5 days)" "You just have to be cool like me" "America is just as bad"

I am sorry I wasted bandwidth on this thread.