Singapore

Home to nearly 6 million people, this "city in a garden" is balancing its role as the economic center of SE Asia with a vision as a green sustainable city. A respite from the heat and humidity is the fantastical Cloud Forest at the Gardens by the Bay. Inside the unusual glass structure is the world's largest indoor waterfall and varieties of tropical flora from walkways above and below the treetops in a mountainous rainforest creation.

Playa del Carmen and Cozumel

Tulum Ruins

Yucatan Ceynotes

Uxmal

Campeche and Merida

Palenque Ancient Jungle Ruins

 

Dating to 200 BCE, Palenque, in the state of Chiapas, was at its strongest between 500-700 CE before eventually succumbing to conflicts one to two centuries later. Today, steamy Palenque is rising from the jungle as more ancient buildings are discovered. Where howler monkeys scream for territory in the dense tropical canopy, archaeologists estimate that only 10% of the original city has been revealed.

Oaxaca

Archeologists have found evidence of humans dating to 11,000 BCE, nomadic peoples to 5000 BCE, and agriculture established by 2000 BCE. Ruins at Monte Alban and Mitla sites reveal one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica as the center of the Zapotec 500 BCE to 1000 CE. Sophisticated building, writing, calendar and agricultural irrigation led to an elite society and growing urban population. The skull with the turquoise mosaic came from Monte Alban, a rare ritual object representing the lord of the underworld. 

Later the Mixtec, Aztecs and the Spanish invaders and missionaries all came to the area over time. Its colonial buildings combined with its ancient and Mexican history (two Presidents came from this area), innovative textiles and handicrafts, and gastronomy such as mole negro have led to its global popularity. Large friendly skeleton figures and colorful buildings decorate the old town not only on the popular Mexican holiday of "El Dia de los Muertos" but throughout the year.



Puebla

Puebla was founded in 1532 as a Spanish settlement and became an important part of what was then "New Spain". At over 7,000 ft in elevation, it occupied a strategic trading location between Mexico City and the Port of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico. The most important historic building is the Catedral de Puebla completed in 1649. 

Puebla had a role in printing and distributing Mexico's plan for independence from Spain which Mexico won in 1821 after 11 years of bloodshed. In 1836, rebellious Texas declared its independence from Mexico (after Mexico abolished slavery). Texas was admitted to USA ten years later, precipitating the US-Mexico War. The USA, intent on Manifest Destiny, won the war with Mexico which resulted in their ceding half their entire land territory to USA including state of California and the southwest. (This set the stage for US Civil War over whether the new territories would become slave states.) 

In 1862, the victorious Battle of Puebla against the French became a symbol for the Mexican resistance of foreign domination, and is celebrated today as Cinco de Mayo.

Today, industrialized Puebla is Mexico's fourth largest city and a Unesco World Heritage site with an exciting culinary scene.  The world's largest Volkswagen factory outside Germany is also located in the metropolitan area along with many auto suppliers.

Teotihuacán

Teotihuacán, an hour outside Mexico City, was one of the largest ancient cities in the pre-Hispanic Americas, with a population, at one point, of over 150,000 people. Most likely, the site was built in the first century CE and eventually included different indigenous groups who migrated here. 

The Pyramids of the Moon and Sun and other elite palaces and apartments rise from the high altitude plateau with the long Avenue of the Dead the main boulevard. 

By 650 CE the city was deserted perhaps due to drought, famine, ethnic division, and ultimately revolution. Did geographic forces like a volcano or earthquake precipitate changes? Many mysteries remain. 

Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City

 

The largest in Mexico and one of the best worldwide, the Anthropology museum has twelve galleries, organized by region with El Paraguas installation (the Umbrella) in the center courtyard. A visit here sets the stage for understanding the complex pre-Columbian civilizations throughout the Mexican region including the history of the various groups and roles of astrology, the calendar, mathematics and even human sacrifice. Above right is the massive Aztec sun stone carved in the early 1500s by the Mexica group before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.

Mexico City Centro Historico

A walking tour brought us up to speed on the founding of Mexico City ("CDMX") as the city-state of the Mexica's Tenochtitlan. Originally built on an expanded island in the middle of a lake, the city was quite grand with palaces and temples amidst a network of canals. In the Templo Mayor 13th century ruins next to the cathedral, there is evidence of human sacrifice in the mythology and practices of the Aztecs, a fierce warrior group. 

In the 1500s, Hernan Cortés and the Spanish conquerors, with the help of indigenous groups seeking power themselves, defeated the Aztecs and the city was razed. The lakebed was drained to build out the city, a decision that has consequences today for sinking ground and water shortages amidst antiquated plumbing. 

At an elevation of 7,349 ft, Mexico City is estimated to be sinking up to 20 inches a year in some places. The metropolitan cathedral, built by the Spanish on top of ancient Aztec ruins, and other buildings downtown are visibly uneven. Frequent earthquakes and a nearby active volcano create other geographic risks. 

Yet CDMX area is home to 22 million people. The downtown has been revitalized and its zocálo has hosted popular concerts and events as the downtown with its national palace, historic buildings, and wide boulevards handle a large volume of pedestrians.

Nearby is the Palacio des Belles Artes whose second floor exhibits many famous murals including Diego Rivera's "Man, Controller of the Universe". It was first commissioned for Rockefeller Center but when Diego Rivera refused to paint out Lenin's face for its capitalistic patron, it was destroyed and recommissioned in Mexico City.

Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo Home, Coyoacán

In the suburbs of Mexico City, Casa Azul, provides a uniquely personal insight into Frida and Diego, who purchased the house from the Kahlo family. No wonder it is a top attraction for art lovers in Mexico City.

One can visibly see the way Frida dealt with tragic health issues throughout her life. She frequently wore the traditional dress of her mother’s family from Oaxaca. Its distinctive style also hid her body brace due to polio at a young age. In her teens, she was in a bus accident that impaled her. With chronic pain, she said that art saved her and proved her resilience and fight. Toward the end of her life, she painted from her bed with the use of a mirror.

Despite personal challenges, she and Diego, an artistic prodigy, had a steamy relationship of love and affairs during the volatile era of global politics in Mexico City. 

Leon Trotsky and his wife moved to Mexico City in exile and resided temporarily with the Rivera's. Leon and Frida became close with shared devotion to Marxism amidst radical politics and passion for revolution. Frida painted "Two Fridas, a double self-portrait 1939, after she found out about Diego's affair with her sister with whom she was close. Leon Trotsky was assassinated by ice axe in his home just blocks from Casa Azul on the orders of Stalin in 1940. 

The neighborhood of Coyoacán is charming to walk around. Highly recommend La Casa de los Tacos on the main street in town for its freshly grilled tortillas with shrimp and guacamole.