The bus ride was supposed to last for 5 hours. It had already been 5 hours and 30 minutes, and it was not hard to see why. Traffic was barely moving. A sure sign that we were already in a capital city. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like Madrid. I wasn’t even planning on going there. As I’ve said, I’m not really a fan of modern cities. But I made a promise to visit several of the friends I’ve met while backpacking. Just my luck they all lived in Madrid lol. It would be great to catch up though. Three days should be enough to meet up with all of them, and I figured I could do a bit of sightseeing as well. I got off the bus at around 4 PM, and the station was full of people. The subway was packed as well. It was almost rush hour in a capital city, what else did I expect? i had to figure out how to get to the hostel since the Line 1 was under maintenance. Thank God for my knowledge of basic Spanish. Otherwise I would have been forced to take a cab lol.

After meeting up with some friends the next morning, I decided to join a walking tour. I wasn’t really keen on visiting any particular attraction, so i figured joining a tour would be good way of seeing what the city had to offer. The hostel was centrally located and near most of the famous attractions. We got to visit the Puerta del Sol, the Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace, the Opera House, the Cathedral, plus a couple of minor attractions along the way. It was fairly informative, and it would have been great if the guide wasn’t so obnoxious. If there was an award for being the most politically incorrect and tactless tour guide ever, he would have taken the award hands down. He started off by making homophobic jokes. A couple of people from the tour group left. Then he made racist jokes. A couple of latinos and middle eastern guys left. Then on the next hour he then shifted gears and told sexist and vulgar jokes. A couple of ladies left. He apparently noticed the number of people leaving, so he started calling them out. He said people shouldn’t be so sensitive in Spain, because it’s the way things go in Spain. He said it’s how Spanish people are and we should all just learn how to go along with it. I may not know a lot of Spanish folks, but I’ve known enough to know that he’s full of shit. Oh and to top it all off, he suggested a so called authentic, non touristy restaurant at the end of the tour. A place where locals eat— or so he says. looking at the door, it had a lot of those touristy award stickers from travel websites. Looking inside, the place was obviously catering to tourists. And cheap food? Who was he kidding? I’ve passed several restaurants with cheaper meals, no way was that place catering to locals. Clearly the guide was bullshitting us. 5 Euros— that’s all I gave him for a tip. I would have given less but i did not have any spare change lol.

I wouldn’t be able to have fun in Madrid if I kept thinking about how much i hate huge cities and crowded places. So the next day I decided to embrace it. Crowds are part of its charm. And the crowds are composed mostly of locals, so the city doesn’t look very touristy as long as you’re far from those tourist attractions. Eventually, you’d get used to the chaos. And one thing Madrid has going for it is the night life. Oh man, it puts even the likes of New York City to shame. Once the sun sets, the city is bustling with life. You know those crowds that start to appear by rush hour? They continue to crowd the streets until late at night. Past midnight the parties start. There’s this one club called Teatro Kapital that is 7 stories high. it was unbelievable that all floors were packed with people— on a weekday! i left the club at 5:40 AM because I had to wake up before noon, and the place was still full of people! I asked myself, don’t these people have to work the next day? No wonder they need to do siestas hah. Outside one lady tried to sell me tickets to the after party. I asked her, what after party? She told me that the club closes at around 6-7AM, so people go elsewhere to continue partying. She told me some after parties last until 2PM. Unbelievable.

Overall Madrid wasn’t bad. Truth is I liked it. It also helped that i met up with friends who were locals. I also made friends with expats who have been working in Madrid for about 2 years. Thanks to them, I got to eat at places were locals eat, I got to hang out at places where locals hung out. Avoiding tourist spots and going off the beaten path always puts any place in a different light. If not for those friends of mine, I would probably still think of Madrid as just another crowded urban jungle, and I wouldn’t have enjoyed my stay at all.

I’m gonna end this post with a couple of pictures showing a bit of the craziness of Madrid night life. I couldn’t share most of the pictures of course 😉