Mexico Off the Tourist Trail: An Aussie Expat’s Local Guide

Episode 16: Carm Gleeson - Mexico

This Week's Chat Join me as I sit down with Carm Gleeson, an Aussie expat living in Singapore, who shares her absolute favourite holiday destination: Mexico. We dive deep into what makes this place so special and why it's become her go-to escape.

What We Discuss

• Why Mexico is her favourite destination: How she ended up on the food tour
• Discovering Mexico: The story behind her first visit and what drew her back
• The Highlights:
  • Must-visit spots and hidden gems
  • Local cuisine and dining recommendations
  • Cultural experiences not to miss
  • Best time to visit and seasonal tips
• Practical Bits: Getting there, where to visit and tour recommendation
• Local Insights: What the guidebooks don't tell you

Key Takeaways

• Carm's top tip for first-time visitors to Mexico
• The one thing you absolutely mustn't miss
•  Frequently mistaken belief about Mexico

Mentioned in This Episode

• Food Recommendation: Mole
• Tour Recommendation: Premium Mexico City to Oaxaca
• Articles on Mexico: Discover the Culinary Gems of Mexico City in 2025: Unveiling the Top 5 Must-Try Restaurants!

Connect with Carm Gleeson

• Instagram: Carm Gleeson

Next Week I'll be chatting with Maria about their love affair with Zakynthos - you won't want to miss their stories about this beautiful Greek island.

Are you an expat with a favourite holiday destination you're passionate about? Drop me a line at podcast@trulyexpat.com - I'd love to hear your story!

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Truly Expat Travel Podcast, where I chat with expats about their favorite holiday destinations. Let's be honest. Expats are some of the best travelers around, always planning the next adventure, exploring hidden gems, and finding the best spots wherever they go. So who better to ask for travel inspiration? So welcome, calm. I'm so happy for you to be here. Let's dive in. Let's find out a little bit about yourself. What kind of traveler are you? I'm a bit of a lazy traveller.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Myself is everything. I love going to really vibrant places that are happening. And that's why Mexico is actually one of my favorites because if I had to describe it in Mongood, it'd be vibrant. It is just amazing. I I love it. So I've been twice. Yeah. One time I was lucky enough to spend three months traveling in and out of Mexico. I had a friend who lived in Polanco, which is like a very beautiful suburb in Mexico City.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

We did some amazing trips out, and we, you know, we went to other places like Cuba, Peru, Argentina, places like that. But every time we'd come back into Mexico, and then a couple of years later, a friend of mine's husband died, and she wanted to do a solo trip. But when she told me she was going to Mexico, I said, I'm coming. And then my daughter also said, No, I'm coming. So the three of us went and we did a food tour. So two completely different holidays in Mexico, but both were amazing. I I've and I get really upset because people always think that Mexico is, you know, dangerous and all this stuff. And yeah, in the Favelos, which is like in the mountains around the cities, yes, it is dangerous. And on the borders with America, yes, it's dangerous. But Mexico City is fantastic, and the places that I've been have all been fast fantastic, and I've always felt safe as well. So it's not you don't have to be on high alert. So yeah, it's a great, great place. Oh yeah, I love it. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Well, I guess that's why you've chosen it. So just a little background. I know Cam because she also lives in Singapore. So Cam came on a trip with me to Sri Lanka, which was a lot of fun, and we got to know each other really well. So I thought the best person to chat about come on here is Cam, because she's full of life, and I'd really like to hear her perspective of what Mexico is like. Because Mexico for me is a special part. I got I renewed my vows in Mexico. I don't know if I told you that. So I'm really keen to hear about what your thoughts are and why Mexico stole your heart. So how first of all, let's do the logistics. How easy is it to get there?

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Yeah, so it's pretty easy. I flew from Singapore and my friends flew from Australia. I flew, you know, Singapore, Los Angeles, Los Angeles into Mexico City. And I think from memory, it's like only three hours from Okay. Yeah. It's very easy. And from Singapore, Melbourne, it was pretty much similar.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Pretty similar.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Yeah, same.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Actually, you flew into Mexico City, is that where you started? Yeah. Okay. So what did your itinerary look like? So give us maybe a couple of days of what your itinerary looked like in Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

So we arrived like actually a couple of days before the tour started. So I I saw like I it sounds stupid, but I knew Sing Mexico well enough to show them like Queer Car Market, like all the little city things. And then we got on the tour and then met the people, and then she showed us that she was Mexican, so she showed us all the little bits that I didn't actually know about about Mexico City. You know, we did things like mezcal and can you explain what that is? Mezcal is a drink, which is made out of agave. It's not the same as and I cannot think of a name. Tequila, particularly particular, but it's it's made still made out of agave, but it's made differently. But and we got taught how to drink it, and yeah, so which is quite funny. I actually don't like it, but when you drink it properly, it's actually really drinkable and it's actually really smooth, not like that, you know, the lemon. So spill the secret, how do you drink what you do is you put it in your mouth. Yeah. You breathe in, put it in your mouth, breathe out, and then just slide down, and it's just beautiful. Really? Yeah, yeah. So that was really interesting because like I've always, you know, that you know, but nothing like that. So yeah, so we went actually to the museum, the tequila museum in the city, which was really good, and I recommend anyone to go there, it's really good. Yeah, um, yes, and we went to all the markets and you know, tried the specialty at each market, which you know, sometimes it could be, you know, mole, or sometimes it could, you know, you know, they all have a specialty. Yeah. What is mole? Explain. Mole is actually it's made out of like normally chilies, chocolate. Oh. Normally these little white tomatoes, but every region has their own mole. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, so you know, that like Oaxaca, they have a different mole to say. So, yeah, so each place has their own mole. So whatever's grown in that area basically goes into their mole, and they they come in different colours, like especially in Oaxaca, they have like four different colours. They have a green mole, a black mole, a red mole, and a yellow mole. And it's all to do with the chilies and yeah, but then they don't all have chocolate, but Oaxaca especially has chocolate because that's grows, they grow chocolate, like they grow in the area, and they also have coffee. Coffee and uh chocolate are their big things, so yeah. So this tour was yeah. So was the tour like a one-day tour, two-day tour? Oh no, 12 days. Oh wow, yeah. So we traveled by bus. So we were out Mexico City, right down the south, right to the beach to Oaxaca. Yeah. So which was beautiful, and it's funny because lots of Canadians have migrated there, not Americans, Canadians, yeah. It is beautiful, yeah. So it's like it's got nine bays and 36 beaches, I think it is. Wow. Nine bays and 36 beaches, and it's and behind it is all mountainous. So on the beach, it's like you know, three of the beaches are chock a block. But you we've got a boat, and we we actually left the tour by this stage, but we went went and caught a boat and we did some of the quiet beaches. Uh stunning, absolutely, and very clean.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Like, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Mexico is not a dirty city, uh, it's not a dirty place. It's uh it's yeah, it's not like Singapore, but it's yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's more like Australia, I suppose.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

And so there's two which do you get off every day and then they go through uh how does it work?

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Explain So we go to different areas. So we travel by bus. We do like three or four days depending on where we work. And yeah, we did cooking classes in each place. Yeah, so so actually was like one of the best chefs in each place took us. Oh wow. Yeah, and he'd take us to the market and you know, do the cooking with us and teach us how to yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

And and explain why that is a little more meaningful for you than it would be for me. I love to cook, but you are great at cooking.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

No, well I do yeah, like I I've done it for a job and so Sandy's a professional. So she yeah, we just like daughter who you know she's she's just a normal person. She's like a me. Yeah, yeah. So it was yeah, it's really good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

So how many cities or places did you end up going in along that?

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Some places we only stayed for a night, but we s our most we stayed at was we stayed Mexico City, Pueblo was the next, and then Huaxa, and then Tuco. Okay, and then the others were just like a day. Yeah, like just what was your favorite one? So I love Mexico City, but Hotoko but to be quite honest, they're all good for something. Like Peblo has got like heaps of beautiful pottery, and it's all their buildings are covered in tiles, like handmade. Oh beautiful. So that's beautiful. Like it's to be quite honest, it's not a favorite, but I no, there's not a favorite. I love them all, but and then Oaxaca's built in like a valley, so and we stayed up the top in like I think it's called Victoria Hotel, and it looked straight over Oaxaca, but again, it's like in a which is the same as Mexico City, they're in a bowl, you know. Uh okay, yeah, so yeah, so that and that's uh that that's sort of famous for dancing. Okay. So they have a festival every and all the like native people, they have beauty pageants and when they're walking through the parks, they're all practicing all their dancing and stuff. And that's what that's another thing because I love dancing as well. Not that I'm good at it, but I and they they were practicing and like even in Mexico City, if you go to the markets, there'd be someone dancing, and you could join in. They they encourage it, you know. They love you know, watching and like laughing, and that's it, that's the other thing. They are very beautiful people. Unfortunately, the language barrier is huge, unless like the first time I went, I went down to Playa del Carmen, and I mean they speak English here because it's basically just tourists, you know. But I mean, yeah, the language barrier. I wish I'd learned Spanish. A little bit of Spanish, yeah. The first time we I went actually, I stayed with a guy, very good friends of ours, that he is Spanish, he was born in Spain, and so and he's he moved to Sydney and then Canberra. So his mum used to make him go to Spanish lessons, and yeah, and yeah, so we had someone who could, you know, help support trains and everything. Oh wow. Yeah, so it was really good. What months did you go? First time I went from December to March. Yeah. And the next time we went from in January, I think January. No, it's not. The weather is beautiful, like it's like twow twenties. Nice, yeah, like cooler at night, but sunny, beautiful weather. Like that's their winter, but it's very nice. Yeah, quite mellow compared to other I mean we swam at Portuco. Like it was actually it was warmer down there, it's got warmer down at the beach. Yeah, we swam every day, yeah. And so would you say there was a standout experience that made that kind of I always say that the first time I went, yeah, I did this trip, and it was only like an hour out of Mexico City, and it was the migration of the monarch butterflies.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Oh my gosh, my friend has has done that and has loved it. You're the second person who said that it's the most amazing thing.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

It only happens in December, January. Yeah. And it seriously was mind-blowing. Like and it also happens every year, you know. Yeah, they know how you know it's they don't live that long. Yeah, see a lot of them dead on the ground, but yeah, amazing. So you have to get there very early in the morning. You think, what what are we looking at? And the first bit of sun hits a tree, and it's just the sound and the flight of the it is just Is it the whole month or just a certain few days? No, no, the whole that two months.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Oh, two months, wow.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

From December to January, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

Okay, wow. It's so weird that you said that because honestly, I'd never heard of it before, and she was talking about this is her dream, so she's now going somewhere else in the world to see another migration of butterflies because she loved it so much.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

Yeah, that's that's and also like chichen it's uh and all that. I loved all, and that's really funny to because you know people always think Europe's so old, but this is actually older than older, yeah. Yeah, so yeah, that's like that's where our calendar comes from, Mexico. So yeah, yeah, so very intricate. I I find it really interesting, but not only that, I find them vibrant. So you can always go out, and even if you're in a restaurant, it's not a boring, it's always like yeah, and like happening. And I actually feel really sad for people who say I'm never going to Mexico, it's so yeah, so dangerous. And I go, please, you know, do yourself a favor, you will love it. It is a really great place, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

I think people just hear things off the news or whatever, or you know, and or the past of what it was like in the past, right? And assume that it's still like that. But it yeah, it's I mean, I love Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

I have an obsession with Mexico, so I I do too, because if I always say if I had, you know, they said to me you've got a year to live, where would you go? I'd go back to like we were lucky enough to be there over like Christmas period. So you can imagine all the little models that got like all the decorations and I'd love to go the day of the dead. So would I. Yeah, it's on my bucket list.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Yeah, so yeah. So every trip is a surprise. What was something that you was un unexpected and undiscovered when you about the place that you went to? Think it's how modern it was.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Oh like as in the like you know, you can hear all this negative stuff, but Mexico City is a really modern city. Like yeah, so in like uh insert, like there's areas called like Roma, Contessa, there's there's a like a little pocket, Koikan, Khoikan, but all really modern like buildings like but you know, like the architect their interior design is so much better than anyone else's. Like you go in shop and it's like, oh my god, how cool is this? It's cool. That's what it is, it's a very cool place.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Yeah. So that sort of shocked me because I just thought it'd be all decrepit and yeah, yeah. So I flew in the first time from Jakarta thinking it was sort of Jakarta than it wasn't like that.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

So yes. I think so. Do you think what you're saying that compared to the rest of Mexico, Mexico City's much more of a no, no, probably no, every area has that cool vibe, I think I've been to, you know.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

You could have probably played our carmen, which was probably a bit ho-hum as far as you know, they just rely on the beaches and stuff. So I think that was a bit ho-hum compared to the rest of it, to be closer. Yeah, like they just loved doing their shops up beautifully. And like I went into this shop, it was actually a cafe, but it was actually a library and a bookshop. And they had the most amazing like staircases that go up, just like special.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Like they do their shops up really specially. If someone comes to you and said, Okay, what is the one food I have to try while I'm there? What would you say that would be? You have to try mole.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

Oh, if you don't like it. So in Peblo, they actually eat a lot of insects. Okay, I've eaten insects. Yeah, so they have insect pizza. Oh, do they Yeah like they have it basically in it everything? You know what? When you're there, yeah, try it. Anything that's you don't that you don't normally eat, yeah, try it. You know, yeah. I mean, you know, you've got to also try the desserts.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. I think people tend to think Mexican is like tech specs.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

No, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

But I think it's nothing like that, right? Like I think people assume that Mexico is your nachos and your burritos, but it's it's nothing like it's very different.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Yeah. It's like they don't have burritos, but they do have ta tacos, of course, is really good like a soft shell though, right? Not a they still have a yeah, it's soft shell, yeah. Just some of the hard shells.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Yeah, no, they if you go to a market, they'll have hard and soft, they'll be making so they make them there. So yeah, you can have, you know, hard or soft shells, but mostly if you're going to a it's a restaurant. Yeah. What are they called on actually? I should have looked this up. You know, the where they have they have to serve, it's actually a bar that have to serve food. Oh, okay. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

And the tacos are always so good in the fell in love with ceviche. Oh my god, yes. I just I dream of that. Like no one quite does it. I know there's a lot of other nationalities that do it, but no one does it like the Mexicans.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

I agree. I agree 100%. And and also, this is the other thing. It's so cheap. Yeah. It's so cheap. Like, once you get there, yeah, eating like for ten dollars. Like, oh, this is without a word of a lie. One time we went out for tacos, me and four three friends, yeah, we ate tacos, I think we had four each, and we were allowed to put all the salads in, so it was help yourself salads, the oldest taco place in Mexico. Oh, the original. Yeah, and I had a Coke, my friend had a Coke, and her husband had a juice, yeah, and Tone didn't have anything. It cost us nine dollars. Oh my god. It's just like yeah, they like it's you can eat really cheaply there. Yeah, good food, right? Yeah, and but even at a really nice restaurant, you're still paying like a hundred dollars.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Yeah, which is nothing compared to compared to I guess I'm comparing it to Singapore where you go. Or Australia. Yeah, it's so expensive. Did you have a cultural experience or interactions with locals that made this trip even more special?

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Yes, yes. I did it when I was in Mexico City the first time, we did a lot of walking tours. I love walking tours. Yeah, and that was great. You got to meet, you know, them that's this is the thing. They're very cool. Yeah, they're cooler than me. Like, and yes, you just think, ah, this is like are they happy? What makes them cool? Are they happy? Are they friendly? Relaxed, it's just like I always think, why are they trying to get anywhere else but here?

SPEAKER_00 21:27

Yeah. It I think that's why so many people move to and retire in Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

I would, I would. If I wasn't so far away from the kids, I would definitely move there. I yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

I always watch that. What's that? International househunters are they moved to Mexico? I'm always like, I want to move to Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

Well, I have to learn the language first.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Yeah, it's a bit of a I'm hopeless with languages, so I won't be going there anytime soon. So, what's the one thing you wish you had known before you went? And was there a challenger or a travel hack that you figured along the way?

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Yeah, actually, this is probably the biggest thing is you can't go anywhere in Central or South America without a return flight. So we got caught out a few times. And I wish So me and my husband are very casual people. Like we we don't really like to organise that much. And so when we went off to Peru, yeah, well, we had to then buy an outward ticket. But we didn't want to go back to Mexico at that time. So we bought one. I forget where it was. We never used it. Waste of money, you know. But you have to have an outward flight for everywhere. So different to other parts of the world, but yeah, everywhere you go you have to have an a return. A return flight.

unknown 22:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

That's interesting. Yeah. A flight to yeah. That's a good tip. Yeah. So that was caught us out.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Yeah. So if you could give one tip or advice about the destination, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Go and immerse yourself in the food and whatever that place that you've decided to go to, whether it be Mexico City or Coyacan or or Pueblo or Oaxaca, just immerse yourself in what that place because every place offers something different.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

Would you say, do you recommend for your first trip to Mexico to be a tour on your own with a group?

SPEAKER_01 23:40

Yeah. And that's lucky because we had friends, so they were like our tour guides, but yeah, definitely a tour. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

And that food tour sounds amazing. Did you say 12 days? Yeah. Okay. I'll get I'll get those details off you and I'll put them in the show notes. So if anyone's interested in booking something like that, then they can have a look. But yeah, that sounds amazing.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

It was actually from an Australian company cooked. It was just Intrepid. Oh, okay, yeah. Yeah, Intrepid. Yeah. Yeah, it was really good. And I do like when you go to the places that you have someone from that country, you know. Been on uh into other places and I've had an Australian, like in Italy, I've had an Australian guide. Were you not on Katiki?

SPEAKER_00 24:25

Did you do Kantiki in the day? They were all always Aussie guides.

SPEAKER_01 24:29

Yeah, no, wasn't Contequi, but you know, like just on day tours. I mean, I just like to have who who lives there.

SPEAKER_00 24:37

Yeah, I totally get it. Because I think I I'm a mis I'm a massive history buff. So I just love the history of the area. So when someone can tell me something that not just the history of the area, but their own take on something that they've done, that it just makes that that little bit special. And I'm a big as much as I'm not a cook or a chef or a I do like to eat. And so the food tour is right up my alley. There's a lot of eating. Oh, that would be perfect. Eating and drinking, they're my two favorites. Oh, yeah, drinking. So thank you, Carm. It's been so nice to catch up with you. It's like just chatting to a friend rather than getting you on for an interview. So again, thank you so much. All right, see you, Paula.

unknown 25:28

Bye.

SPEAKER_00 25:29

So join us again next week on Truly Expat Travel Podcast, where I have another exciting destination in a world that's too big to be left unexplored. Chaffinet