Cheap Motel or security box in San Diego

[Pompal 09.]

I dont think there are many motels on the US side much lower-

 

[facilitativechange]

hotels near the border run around 25. chula vista is much safer at around 45. next time i am in town i plan to get a ymca day pass and leave a few things there while i visit tj before my flight leaves. day passes are 10. they have lockers.

 

[sherazade92700]

Burt2020's hotel travel tip number 14 has become the best hotel intruder indicator I use. Not only do I place bottles near the door when I'm in, I also place them as close to the door as I can when I'm going out, and in an arrangement I can remember. I recently stayed in a relatively high end suite at Hyatt Regency in Hong Kong. When I got back to my room, the order of the bottles had changed even though I had the "Do no Disturb" sign on my door. When I mentioned it to the Hotel Management, they were rattled, pleaded with me not to mention what I experienced with anyone, and credited my room charges.

I wonder how the cum boy at the Cascadas is going to react when the bottles fall over onto those dirty ceramic tile floors?

dirtemail

 

[Tapioca Is A Pipe Bomb!]

This has been a very informative thread for me. Lots of good advice from the veterans. In my situation, I'm flying in to San Diego from across the Pacific. Unlike most other airports, SAN does not have baggage lockers. I need a place to seforum.xxxe my stuff. A rental car costs almost as much as a cheap hotel and creates more logistics. I've been seforum.xxxing at the Best Western in Chula Vista for my entire stay, including all of my time in TJ. Ends up adding an extra $200 to my venture. It also means a MTS 992 bus ride from the airport with connection to the Blue Line during odd hours.

Any suggestions on a better or cheaper way to seforum.xxxe in SD, then travelling light to TJ? Other helpful tips would be:

- A $40/night hotel along the MTS 992 route from the airport and along the Blue Line route. This would put it in Downtown.
- A baggage locker place
- A better ground transportation plan

I'm planning to be in La Zona again in 3-weeks.

Happy hunting,
dirtemail

 

[Lynn Bodoni]

The following was posted by a good friend on another site; hopefully, he won't mind my posting it here. It contains some good advice for those staying in cheap hotels.

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Topic: Hotel Safety

Hotels offer the monger a refuge to rest, plan, clean and fuck. It should never become a safety hazard but this risk is always omnipresent; stateside, Mexico or anywhere else.

The purpose of my info is not to create a siege mentality; only a healthy and sober level of awareness. Having awareness and forgetting 90% of my advice will save your bacon one day. Keep in mind that some parts may seem like overkill as they were designed for asset controllers in different parts of the world more hostile than TJ, MX.

1. Sounds too easy, but ask your fellow mongers what's their fav hotel and why.

2. First time, try staying at a nicer motel away from the zona such as Zaragoza or one closer such as Hotel Nelson. This will help you steady your feet and feel the pulse of how the environment flows around you.

Burt's note: This was written before the Ticuan opened at 8th and Revolucion. It's now the best place to stay in TJ within walking distance of the Zona. It was also written before the Hotel del Santiago opened, which is the nicest hotel within the Zona.

3. Troll around and look at prospective hotels closer to the zona. Ask the clerk to show you a sample room.

4. As you go inside, make note of how many entrance/exit points are available. (the more rat holes, the more rats you're gonna have---2 legged rats).

5. Try to find a hotel that has a minimal amount of ingress points; perhaps a standard front door with security and limited access to the living quarters.

6. See if there are security cameras in place.

7. Parking should be well lit and secured with limited access.

8. if no security cams, the rooms should be semi or directly visible to the doorman or security staff

9. A front desk only access point is most preferred

10. Don't carry expensive goods with you in the open to your room.

11. Don't let the desk clerk know your business or how much cash you might have.

12. Dress humbly, put fancy clothes in a bag

13. If you are on a landing or ground floor with your window accessible to the dipshits walking by outside, make sure you have a rod or hotel procured lock for the windows. Don't make the mistake of leaving the window open for ventilation and going out for a quick 30 min break. When you cum back, you may find your shit ransacked.

14. Stacked bottles (2 or 3) in front of your door will wake the fuck out of you if someone tries to open your door. The commotion will scare them off as well.

15. If you have a trip bud in another room, invest in a pair of 2-way FRS radios you can buy for less than $30 for the pair. I use 'em on occasion to chat with buds in other rooms and in case i need help.

16. Watch out for taxi drivers. They're scoundrels. If you get the heeby jeebies and don't feel good about one, have him drop you off at a decoy hotel. When he leaves, you may walk to the one you're really staying at.

17. When mongering, keep an eye out for criminals that might be tailing you. Usually they will make contact with you by asking for change or offering girls. They do this to size you up. Then they follow you until you reach your hotel. They will wait for you to leave since they know mongers go back to hotels to re-up their cash. They may also try a "home invasion" robbery or come back the next day and wait patiently for you to exit, loaded with cash. Bottom line, stay aware and trust your instincts if you somehow get deja vu that you recognize some puke that's outside your hotel.

18. When in your hotel, take a few minutes to examine your room for escape routes. This is in case of fire, you are robbed or the police come after you.

19. Examine the hotel's blueprint by walking; hell, you may meet a chica and get lucky. You want to see possible escape points in case of fire, criminal activity or other emergency. You will also recognize hazards you may have overlooked (ie. drug dealers, addicts, gang members, uneven flooring, pot holes, etc)

20. Keep your valuables in a safety lock of some type. DO NOT put money or passports under your mattress. The housemaid will steal your cash. I repeat---will steal your cash. Follow my advice on how to make a portable car safe---keep your money and ID in there.

Burt's notes:

See comments above about using a Pacsafe anti-theft steel mesh bag.

Making a portable car safe:
Go to a hunting/shooting store and purchase a portable gun safe. It's about the size of a shoe box. It's solid steel and has holes in the bottom. You won't need keys, they go off of biometric key pads or chronologically programmed key pads--requiring no key or battery. Buy 1/8" thick steel cable with rubber armor which you can purchase at Home Depot. Have the Home Depot dude cinch off both ends with loops and double steel crimp. Make sure the loops can fit through each other. Open the box, thread the cable through the holes in the box. Pull the cable out and lock it to a secure area in your trunk or in the cab. You can keep money, house keys, I.D or what not in here. The whole set up will cost you under $80 and is almost impenenetrable.

21. A small swiss army knife with tools is handy for taking apart the telephone for an improvised hidden safe.

22. Pre-load your pockets with the estimated amount of cash for the hotel fee. You don't want to start searching through your back pack, hidden money wallet, or pulling out wads of 100's. You give up your trump card and set yourself up if the desk clerk is a crook. Don't be flashy with 100s...try to have some 5's,10s and 20s handy.

23. May sound simple but always check your door when you leave to make sure it's locked.

24. Never loan your hotel keys to new mongers you just met who want to use your hotel to fuck a girl or shower up.

25. Never take a new monger you just met or a street hustler to your room.

26. Never keep drugs or contraband in your hotel. You're asking for trouble.

27. When you go out for a spin, leave some lights on in your room and leave the TV volume on, at a moderate but low level.

28. When you get to your car from the hotel or leaving your car to enter the hotel, you are most vulnerable to carjackers---keep an eye on any ped, bicyclist or motorist following you or loitering. If you see one, leave and cum back in a few minutes.

29. You are very vulnerable when you leave a hotel. Psychologically your mind is set on the pussy you're about to hit and the plans of pleasure you just manifested. Physically, your dick is doing the thinking and the sudden change of visual stimuli from
your 22" hotel T.V screen to a panoramic view of the street, bars and hookers will suck your attention away. When you exit the hotel, take a moment to pause, smoke a cigarette, get a drink, buy a snack and take a look around for a few minutes.

**Prevention is the key. It does you no good to get de-brained because you weren't aware of warning signals. The signals are always there, you just need to pick up on them. Crooks will see how vigilant you are. They want easy prey, not one that will give them a difficult time. Your vigilance will cause them to go prey on another poor sap that didn't read this.

 

[C C]

Thanks, this is helpful. For those interested, you can purchase a Pacsafe mesh bag for around $70 and a bicycle ulock+chain for around $30 on Amazon.

 

[Jesse J]

Then I suggest you buy a Pac Safe as well as a good bicycle cable and lock. Stuff your valuables in the Pac Safe and chain it to something not easily removed from the room.

The bed frame, rod in the closest, etc. I've chained it to the bed frame and pushed it under the bed where it isn't readily visible.

 

[Cam]

Your posts are useful even outside of hobbying. Thanks! I won't have a car.

 

[Yogi]

Below are posts a friend and I made on another site. I think the information will be useful, especially should you decided to leave your valuables in your car instead of in a cheap hotel room.

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An amigo posted about having his car being stolen. Another amigo has mentioned break-ins. A friend had his Ford Expedition stolen in Tijuana. And many others, no doubt, have their own tale of woe to tell.

During the course of my life I've had three cars stolen, all in the US: one near a military base and two near the Mexican border. I've also had two break-ins: one in TJ and one while parked in the US near the border.

Consequently I've learned a few things about protecting a car. Were it not for some of measures below I think the break-ins would have been thefts. It's now been years since I've had a car stolen and/or broken into; hopefully, somebody will benefit from what follows: lessons I've learned the hard way.

To Deter Car Theft

Install a Shifter Lock (Trabaplanca). Sadly, this device is only for cars with a shifter on the floor or a shifter in the console between bucket seats; it can't be installed on cars with column shifters (like I drive). A post is attached to the chaise of the car and a collar goes around the shifter locking the car into park (or first gear if the car has a standard transmission). It would take a cutting torch to get it off.

There is a shop that installs stereos, alarms, recharges air-conditioning, etc. located on Revolucion across from the Calimax at 10th and Revolucion that installs shifter locks (trabapalancas) for around $120.00. This is the best (aftermarket) anti-theft device I've ever seen.

Install Kill Switches. During my two break-ins the thieves disabled the alarm. It was the kill switches that stopped him from stealing the car.

I have two kill switches on my car: one in the trunk and the other connected to the power controls of driver's seat. I figure car thieves aren't likely to suspect a car has two kill switches and they're also unlikely to look for/find a well hidden kill switch in the trunk. (My theory worked during two break-ins when the thieves didn't steal my car.)

I prefer a kill switch in the cabin of the car that requires the driver to do something (like adjust the lumbar setting of the seat) to start the car because people get lazy and don't use a toggle switch. That's why the kill switch inside the cabin of my car is connected to the seat controls. I recommend against using a kill switch that "gives itself away" to outside observers—something like having to turn on the head lights to start the car.

The best kill switch I ever saw was connected to the cigarette lighter. You had to push in the cigarette lighter to start the car—it couldn't even be bypassed using a screwdriver to push in the socket. However, the shop that installed it closed and I haven't been able to find anybody else who installs this type of kill switch. It had the added advaneforum.xxxe that you could carry the cigarette light in your pocket as if it were another key. (I put a "No Smoking" sign about the cigarette lighter in the belief that it would stop a potential thief from "connecting the dots" if he observed a missing cigarette lighter.) If you install this type of kill switch I suggest you carry a spare cigarette lighter in your trunk as once when the lighter popped out it got lost rolling out the door and I couldn't start the car. (Should anybody find a place that installs this type of kill switch please let me know.)

Use Secure Parking Lots. Parking on the street is inviting trouble. My friend took his family for a mid-day walk through the Tijuana park blocks. Half an hour later his car (which had no theft deterrents other than a club) was gone. The moral of the story is use a paid lot with an attendant whenever possible—even in broad daylight when you're only going to be away from the car for a few minutes.

For those using the trolley and leaving their car in Park and Ride lots I advise being careful which lots you use. I'd avoid the lots close to San Ysidro. I've used the lots in Chula Vista on E Street and H Street without incident—which doesn't mean something can't happen. I've also parked on Chula Vista city streets near E Street and walked a few blocks to the trolley hoping there would be less risk parking in a residential neighborhood than in a Park and Ride lot.

Install a Car Alarm With a Kill Switch That Locks the Car's Doors. Frankly, I don't think car alarms do much good in preventing somebody from stealing a car. Nobody pays attention to their honking and car thieves (or at least the ones who broke into my car) are able to defeat them. If you get a car alarm it's best to install one that is connected to a kill switch.

Nevertheless, I do recommend installing a car alarm. A car alarm should have a flashing light and automatically lock the car doors. That way you can't accidently leave your car unlocked. IMHO that's about the only real defense against theft and break-ins that a car alarm provides, that and the visual deterrence the flashing light provides.

When installing a car alarm, pay attention to the key fob. The plastic ones with a little wire key ring tend to break easily. (It's almost a when, not an if.) I suggest buying an alarm with a metal key fob. (The shop mentioned above—like many others in TJ—sell them.)

Use a Club. The person who tried to steal my car (but couldn't due to the kill switches) was able to remove the club from my steering wheel.. (Spray the lock with Freon, then hit it with a hammer and the club falls apart.) Like the flashing light of a car alarm, a Club does provide some visual deterrence. So I use one, but I've learned from sad experience it's not enough to stop experienced car thieves from stealing a car.

An amigo points out in the advice I quote below, a brake lock is much better than a Club. It's a real deterrent to car theft and is on a par with the trabapalanca (shifter lock) I mentioned above. (IMHO, however, the shifter lock (trabaplanaca) is easier to use.)

Don't Assume Thieves Won't Steal Old Cars. Just because a car is old it doesn't mean car thieves won't steal it. Old car are sometimes stolen for parts. Also the platinum in an old catalytic converter is just as valuable as the platinum in a new catalytic converter—and lots of cars are stolen just to get the catalytic converter.



To Deter Car Break-ins

Don't Leave Anything Visible in Your Car. Hide all your valuables in the trunk of the car. Or leave them home, take them with you…or do anything else that prevents visible valuables from attacking thieves. (As quoted below, a good amigo of mine advises tinting your windows and covering the windshield with a sunshade to block visual access to the car's interior.)

Disable the Trunk Release. During one my car's break-ins although the thief was not able (thanks to my kill switches) to steal my car, but he did steal what was in the trunk of the car. So I disabled the trunk release and the trunk now can only be opened using a (separate) key. Same with the glove box. After I did this the next time somebody broke into my car he didn't steal what was in the trunk and glove box.

Use Dual Keys. I changed the locks on my car so there are two keys to the car: an ignition key and a truck key. The ignition key opens the doors and starts the car, while the trunk key opens the trunk and glove box. Sometimes when using a paid lot you have to leave the keys with the parking attendant, sometimes people have their car washed/detailed by hand, sometimes people have a mechanic work on their car, etc. Having a separate key for the trunk and glove box protects your valuables when you have to give somebody the ignition key.

If you install a car alarm that automatically locks the doors don't forget to put the alarm in valet mode before giving somebody the ignition key. Mechanics, etc. all too often leave the key in the ignition. Carrying a spare key in your pocket is only prudent unless you take my advice below about using a detachable key ring.

On 10th between Revolucion and Madero is a locksmith that will rekey a car lock for 200 pesos. I had him rekey the trunk and glove box in accordance with my above thoughts.

Use a Detachable Key Ring. It defeats the purpose of having a separate key for the trunk—to protect it's contents from being stolen by mechanics, parking lot attendants, etc.—if you're going to give somebody the key to the trunk. So use a key ring that allows you to easily detach the ignition key from the rest of your keys and only give the mechanic, car lot attendant, etc. the key to the ignition.

I've learned by sad experience that you can tell a mechanic, parking lot attendant, etc. that your car alarm automatically locks the car doors and some of them will still leave the key in the ignition resulting in it being locked inside the car. I've also learned that I sometimes forget to put the car in valet mode (as sometimes I forget the key punch sequence). So I hide a spare key to the ignition inside the truck of my car. Since I only give a mechanic, parking lot attendant, etc. the ignition key and always keep the keys to the trunk, my house, etc. with me I can open the trunk and get the spare ignition key should the ignition key I gave the mechanic, parking lot attendant, etc. be locked inside the car because somebody forget my warning that my car alarm automatically locks the doors.

Back in to Protect the Trunk's Contents. If you have something of value in the trunk--camera, laptop, etc.--when possible park the car so the trunk is against a wall, fence, etc. If somebody can't get behind your car you've made it harder for him to break into the trunk.

More Advice

Be On the Lookout For Muggers. When entering and exiting a car be on the lookout for muggers. Have your keys ready so you can quickly enter the car, especially when it's dark and/or the car is parked in a questionable area.

Store Your "Paperwork" in the Trunk. In this day of identity theft the less a person can learn about you the better. So put the registration, proof of insurance, etc. in a envelope and keep it in the trunk of your car so mechanics, car lot attendants, etc. can't steal your identity by looking at your "paperwork."

Register the Car to a Postal Annex Address. Sadly, mechanics, parking lot attendants, etc. have been known to drive a car to a person house and burglarize it. (If somebody says something they say you sent them to get something and they have your car to prove it! This is another reason to use a detachable key ring so another person never gets their hands on the keys to your trunk, house, etc.) Registering the car to a mail box, Postal Annex address, etc. is another step that can be taken to deter this type of theft.

Sadly, there are others ways than looking at your registration and proof of insurance that a person car learn who you are and/or where you live. Another protective step is to put the car in the name of a small business you create. (It's not expensive and many insurance companies—I've learned through first hand experience—won't raise your rates if it's an "at home hobby business."

If you get a Postal Annex type of address it doesn't hurt to use it on your driver's license. It's a protection against being blackmailed. (A topic covered in more detail my “Safeguarding Your Identity" post.)

I admit some of this may be overkill. Then again, if you're a monger whose marriage, career, etc. could be hurt by being "outed" where's the harm in being a little paranoid?



An Amigo’s Advice

What follows was written by a close friend an expert in the field of security. His entire post covers a variety of topics such as Making a Safe TLN, Hotel Safety, Running Solo, What To Do If Confronted By Robbers, etc. I'm going to append his advice regarding Keeping a Car Safe:


1. Tint your windows. Tint all your glass limo tint. I know some of you will worry about cops citing you stateside but the chances of you getting cited and ripped off by ratones is pretty much the same so you might as well tint 'em. Besides, it's a fix it ticket and you can peel the shit off and get the ticket signed off.


Burt's Note: New laws have been passed in TJ since this was written that may make you want to use a dark tint, but not limo tint. For what it's worth, I have limo tint on my car and haven't had any trouble with cops on either side of the border.


2. Place a quality sunshade across the front windshield. The whole point of tinting and window shades is to deny immediate visual access. Most street ratones are opportunists who are like feral animals. They need to seek out prey, make a decision, hit it, and then escape. If you deny them visual access, they will not linger around trying to look through the tint and get caught prowling.


3. Buy a brake lock...not a steering wheel club. The brake lock is a mother fucker to defeat and if the crooks manage to smash your window to rip your car, they'll just look for someone else's


4. Car alarm with a kill switch. Make sure this a dash mounted LED light indicator to show the dipshits you have a car alarm activated. Again, it's an added deterrent.


5. Go to a hunting/shooting store and purchase a portable gun safe. It's about the size of a shoe box. It's solid steel and has holes in the bottom. You won't need keys, they go off of biometric key pads or chronologically programmed key pads--requiring no key or battery. Buy 1/8" thick steel cable with rubber armor which you can purchase at Home Depot. Have the Home Depot dude cinch off both ends with loops and double steel crimp. Make sure the loops can fit through each other. Open the box, thread the cable through the holes in the box. Pull the cable out and lock it to a secure area in your trunk or in the cab. You can keep money, house keys, I.D or what not in here. The whole set up will cost you under $80 and is almost impenenetrable.


6. For laptops and larger items, buy a Pac Safe. It's a portable soft safe with steel mesh in a duck cotton bag. you can put a lot of shit in here. It locks to any stable platform and cannot be opened unless you have a combo a key to the lock.


7. Remove the standard screws on your license plate holders and replace them with metric allen screws or odd shaped screws not readily accessible in the zona. This will keep dirty cops or ratones from stealing your license plate.


8. Try to use pay parking and don't be a cheapskate.


9. Always park in lighted areas.


10. Don't park your car next to high profile vehicles like vans and SUVs. They offer cover to the car thief to fuck with your car.


11. Never give your keys to a "plainclothes" valet driver. There are kids who will pull scams on you, acting as your butler. escort you out of your car and offer to shut the door for you. When they shut it, they do a half-ass door slam or throw a rag to thwart a complete closure. When you give them their tip and walk away, the kids open your car and ransack it. If the valet is a fake, he drives off with your car.


Summary

Finally, nothing is fool proof. Nothing that I know of will, for example, prevent car thieves from using a tow truck to steal your car. However, if you follow the above advice you'll significantly improve the odds your car won't be stolen or broken into.

Buena surete!

 

[Pamela D(midget12_]

Why not leave your stuff in your car. Park the car in the US and heed the following. Your stuff will be safer than in a cheap hotel room.

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Go to a hunting/shooting store and purchase a portable gun safe. It's about the size of a shoe box. It's solid steel and has holes in the bottom. You won't need keys, they go off of biometric key pads or chronologically programmed key pads--requiring no key or battery. Buy 1/8" thick steel cable with rubber armor which you can purchase at Home Depot. Have the Home Depot dude cinch off both ends with loops and double steel crimp. Make sure the loops can fit through each other. Open the box, thread the cable through the holes in the box. Pull the cable out and lock it to a secure area in your trunk or in the cab. You can keep money, house keys, I.D or what not in here. The whole set up will cost you under $80 and is almost impenenetrable.


For laptops and larger items, buy a Pac Safe. It's a portable soft safe with steel mesh in a duck cotton bag. you can put a lot of shit in here. It locks to any stable platform and cannot be opened unless you have a combo a key to the lock.

 

[Happy Hunter]

I'm planning on making an overnight trip in TJ however I will have some valuables with me that I don't want to bring to TJ. I'm thinking of renting a cheap motel near the border, finding a rentable locker, or maybe even a safe deposit box. Do you guys have any experiences with prices of these services?

I imagine the motel is the cheapest, but the least safe and the safe deposit box the most expensive?