Mexico
Tacos, Tequila, and the Spirit of Desperado
TL;DR — Mexico in a Few Lines
What started as a business trip with Motorola Solutions turned into one of my most memorable travel chapters. Over three visits to Cancún, I explored ancient Chichén Itzá, mysterious cenotes, underground caves, and the vibrant nightlife of the Caribbean coast, while later discovering the cultural depth of Mexico City.
Mexico turned out to be far more than the Hollywood images I grew up with; it is a country of ancient civilizations, incredible food, music, and unforgettable energy. And in my case, it also became a reminder that sometimes work trips quietly open the door to the world.
The Lost Mumbaikar says:
Work pays the salary. Gratitude remembers the journey.
Confession
I must confess something here.
My Mexico story did not start as a backpacker’s dream.
It started as a business trip.
Back when I was working with Motorola Solutions, the company used to organize its annual regional conference in Mexico. I attended three times — 2018, 2019, and 2020.
And honestly, I must give credit where it is due.
Motorola indirectly helped me explore Central and South America.
From Dubai, flying to this part of the world is expensive and time-consuming. But if you are already flying to the United States for work, suddenly it becomes a gateway. I quietly started taking advantage of those transits, extending trips, adding detours, and slowly exploring the region.
By doing that, I eventually covered more than ten countries across Latin America.
Sometimes opportunity does not look like adventure at first.
Sometimes it looks like a conference invitation.
Hollywood’s Mexico vs Real Mexico
My fascination with Mexico started long before I ever landed there.
Growing up, Hollywood had already painted the picture in my head.
Films like Man on Fire, Desperado, and Spectre showed Mexico as a place of dust, danger, mariachi guitars, and dramatic gunfights.
The real Mexico is very different.
It is color, chaos, music, and warmth rolled into one unforgettable experience.
And yes, the tacos deserve their own passport.
I have visited Mexico three times, and Cancún became my base to explore the incredible Mayan world around it.
From there I travelled to the legendary Chichén Itzá, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. I also explored cenotes -underground natural pools formed when limestone caves collapse.
Swimming in a cenote feels surreal.
You descend into the earth, sunlight falls through a hole in the rock, and suddenly you are floating in crystal-clear blue water that has existed for thousands of years.
It feels less like swimming and more like entering another world.
Cancún is also one of North America’s biggest party destinations, where the night often ends only when the sun comes up.
A Facebook Comment That Became Reality
Long before these trips, I had an odd little habit.
I had been writing since my school days, later on college blogs, and eventually Facebook. When my serious travel started around 2012, my Facebook timeline slowly transformed into a travel diary.
Every year I was travelling to 8–10 countries, and my feed was filled more with travel photos than with everyday posts.
Whenever I saw a picture of a place I had already visited, I would comment:
“Nostalgic.”
But whenever I saw a place I had not yet visited, I had another strange comment.
I would write:
“Ok baby.”
It was my silent way of saying:
I haven’t visited you yet… but one day I will.
On February 27, 2017, I saw a picture of the Chichén Itzá pyramid on Facebook.
And I commented:
“Ok baby.”
One year later, in February 2018, I was standing in front of that exact pyramid.
When Chichén Itzá “Called”
Our conference that year was hosted in Cancún. We were staying at the spectacular Paradisus Cancún, a luxury beachfront resort where the conference lasted an entire week.
On the first day, Motorola organized a group excursion to nearby attractions.
Our bus was heading toward Chichén Itzá.
Suddenly my phone buzzed.
It was Facebook Memories.
The notification showed the exact picture I had commented on one year earlier — the pyramid of Chichén Itzá — with my comment:
“Ok baby.”
And at that exact moment, our bus was approaching the site.
I was stunned.
I showed it to my friends on the bus and they were equally shocked.
One of them even told the local Mayan guide, who smiled and said something that stayed with me.
He said:
“In Mayan culture, people believe you don’t go to Chichén Itzá.
The pyramid calls you when it is your time.”
The Mystery of the Mayans
The ancient Maya civilization remains one of the most fascinating cultures in the Americas. Standing inside the vast archaeological complex of Chichén Itzá, you quickly realize that this was not just a city — it was a civilization deeply connected to astronomy, religion, and the cosmos.
The most iconic structure is the pyramid El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulcán. It is not merely architecture; it is astronomy carved in stone. The pyramid has 365 steps, representing the days of the year. During the spring and autumn equinox, sunlight creates a remarkable illusion — shadows form the shape of a serpent descending the pyramid, symbolizing the feathered serpent god Kukulcán.
The Mayans were calculating solar cycles, eclipses, and planetary movements centuries before modern astronomy.
But the mysteries of Chichén Itzá do not stop at the pyramid.
The city also contains the largest ancient ball court in Mesoamerica, where the Mayans played a ritual game known as Pok-ta-Pok. Players struck a heavy rubber ball using their hips and elbows, attempting to send it through stone rings mounted high on the walls. This was not merely a sport — historians believe the game symbolized the cosmic battle between life and death. In some interpretations, members of the losing team — and sometimes even the winners — were offered as sacrifices to the gods.
For the Mayans, sport, religion, politics, and astronomy were deeply intertwined.
And yet, despite their advanced knowledge and monumental cities, many of the great Mayan urban centers were mysteriously abandoned around the 9th century. Historians still debate the reasons — prolonged drought, warfare, environmental stress, or political collapse.
Standing among the temples and silent stone courts of Chichén Itzá, surrounded by jungle and time, one thought keeps returning:
How much did they know that we still don’t fully understand? I will pen a blog explaining in more detailed way.
Cenotes and Underground Worlds
The next day we explored one of the region’s famous cenotes — natural limestone sinkholes filled with crystal-clear freshwater. The Yucatán Peninsula has more than 6,000 cenotes, formed when underground limestone caves collapse and reveal hidden water chambers.
For the ancient Maya civilization, these cenotes were sacred gateways to the underworld, known as Xibalba. Archaeologists have discovered gold, pottery, jade jewelry, and even human offerings in some of them, confirming their ritual importance thousands of years ago.
Floating in those quiet underground pools, surrounded by ancient rock formations and beams of sunlight cutting through openings above, you feel a strange connection to the past.
It is peaceful.
Almost spiritual.
One of the most famous cenotes near Cancún is the breathtaking Cenote Ik Kil, a deep circular sinkhole surrounded by hanging vines that looks almost like a natural cathedral carved by water over thousands of years.
Another unforgettable place nearby is Río Secreto, a vast network of limestone caves where you walk through ancient chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites formed over millions of years. Exploring it feels like stepping inside the geological memory of the Earth itself.
Then there is the surreal Las Coloradas, often called the Pink Beach of Mexico. The water turns bright pink due to microorganisms and salt concentration, creating landscapes that look almost unreal against the blue sky.
And of course, no visit to this region is complete without standing before the legendary pyramid of Chichén Itzá, where the Temple of Kukulcán rises like a stone calendar aligned with the movements of the sun.
What makes Cancún and the Yucatán Peninsula extraordinary is that everything exists within a few hours of each other:
- ancient Mayan cities
• underground cave systems
• hidden cenotes
• pink salt lagoons
• Caribbean beaches
Few places in the world combine nature, archaeology, and mystery so effortlessly. And I didn’t explore all of it in a single visit. As I mentioned earlier, I travelled to Mexico three times, and each trip became an opportunity to discover something new. Every year I would pick two or three places and explore them properly — Mayan ruins one year, cenotes and caves another, and the vibrant streets and culture of the cities on the next. Slowly, trip by trip, Mexico revealed itself rather than overwhelming me all at once.
Conference by Day, Cancún by Night
During the day, our conference sessions ran from morning until evening.
But once the sessions ended, Cancún transformed.
We would head to the famous Coco Bongo, a wild nightclub famous for acrobatic performances and music shows. Scenes from the film The Mask were inspired by the atmosphere there.
Most nights, though, we partied along Cancún Hotel Zone, especially around the legendary clubs on Boulevard Kukulcán.
Imagine this routine:
Party until 4 AM.
Sleep three hours.
Attend conference sessions at 9 AM.
When your hard work gets rewarded professionally, and evenings end with Mexican tequila and loud music, life feels pretty good.
Mexico Is Not Just Cancún
In 2019, I finally explored Mexico City.
Hollywood often portrays the city as dangerous, but the real Mexico City feels very different — alive, historic, and full of energy.
The massive Day of the Dead parade scene in Spectre was so striking that Mexico later created a real annual parade inspired by the movie. Sometimes cinema imitates reality — and sometimes reality decides to imitate cinema.
Walking through the historic center, around the great square of Zócalo, you feel the layers of history everywhere. Colonial buildings stand beside ancient ruins, street musicians play in the corners, and the smell of fresh tacos drifts through the air.
It is a city where Aztec history, Spanish colonial past, and modern Latin life all exist in the same frame.
And that is when the contrast becomes clear.
Cancún feels like a resort paradise.
But Mexico City feels like the beating heart of a civilization.
A Reminder That Reality Exists
Cancún is usually very safe for tourists, but Mexico, like any large country, also lives with its complexities.
On March 5, 2018, gunmen entered a hospital in Cancún and killed a suspected cartel member and his wife. News spread quickly, and that evening we noticed police everywhere — barricades, patrol cars, officers on many streets. For a moment, it made us uneasy.
But later that night, we stepped out anyway.
The streets were alive. Restaurants were full. Music spilled out of clubs. Locals carried on as if nothing unusual had happened.
We soon realized something — this level of police presence is often routine in major tourist cities, especially in places where tourism is so important.
And that is Cancún’s strange balance.
Behind the headlines, life continues.
Behind the police barricades, the Caribbean breeze, tacos, and tequila still define the night.
Three Trips and One Memory
I travelled to Mexico three times before the pandemic, and each trip created a different memory. I explored many places around Cancún, and those annual conferences during my time with Motorola Solutions opened the door to something much bigger.
From Dubai, Latin America is far and expensive to reach. But those Cancún conferences gave me the opportunity to explore not just Mexico, but also several countries across North, Central, and South America. For that, I remain truly grateful.
Professionally, those were strong years for me. I was doing well, even receiving President’s Club recognition. Days were spent discussing business strategies and technology. Nights were very different — tequila, music, and the electric nightlife of Cancún, walking into clubs like characters from a scene in Desperado.
In 2021, I left Motorola, and I later heard the conferences there had stopped. But those years remain unforgettable.
Because sometimes a job becomes more than work, it becomes a chapter of life. Good companies build careers. The best ones quietly open the world for you.
Why I Want to Return
I have visited Cancún three times, and yet I still feel like going back.
Because very few places in the world combine so many experiences in one destination.
- Ancient Mayan historyhidden in the jungle
• Turquoise Caribbean beachesthat look almost unreal
• Underground cenotes and caves that feel like another world
• Street tacos and Mexican food that stay in your memory long after the trip
• And a nightlife that reminds you how alive travel can feel
What really stays with you is the feeling that this place has layers. Nature, history, culture, and people all existing together.
And looking back at those trips, I also feel a quiet sense of gratitude.
Sometimes work takes you somewhere.
But if you are curious enough, travel begins where work ends. Work pays the salary. Gratitude remembers the journey.
Your turn
- Have you ever travelled somewhere for work and unexpectedly discovered a place you fell in love with?
- Is there a place in the world you once saw in a movie or photographand silently told yourself, “One day I will go there”?
- Have you ever experienced a moment while travelling where you felt like the place was calling you, not the other way around?
- If you had to choose, what would draw you more to Mexico — ancient Mayan history, Caribbean beaches, or the legendary food and nightlife?
- Do you prefer to explore a country deeply over multiple visits, or see as much as possible in a single trip?
- Have you ever looked back at a work trip and realized it quietly became one of your most memorable journeys?
- What is one destination in the world that still waits on your “Ok baby, I will come one day” list?
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