The following article was researched for the benefit of students, tourists, and San Diegans in general. But it is especially dedicated to women who have the masochistic urge to visit Tijuana without a male escort.

Both of us had bar-hopped in T.J. before, but never without one or more strong males in tow. So on this particular excursion we not only rated the tourist bars on Avenida Revolucion on their service, drinks, prices, and entertainment, but also on how we were treated as two women – alone.

First of all, always park your car on the United States side of the border. Use the parking lot closest to the border. The closest one may be the most expensive, but you'll thank us for this advice when you are walking back to your car in the eerie silence after nightfall.

Also, females should remember that Mexican border officials are not the silent type. They can match the best in muttering unintelligible insults/praise.

Single females should take a taxi to and from the border and downtown. Never walk across the bridge without a male.

Select a taxi driver that is older and that isn't yelling and jeering at you. The price is usually 75 cents per person or 50 cents per person if there are four or more in your party. Do not take a cab that charges more than that. It is also a good idea to make sure the back doors have handles.

Don't bother to wait for the bus. Those at the border that go to Revolucion leave only when they are full. Full means when the doors won't close.

Have your cab driver let you off somewhere along the tourist section of Revolucion. You'll know when you've reached the tourist section. There are signs in English that tell you so.

There is no need to tip your driver. He's overcharged you and he knows it.

Now that you are here you are ready for the bars. Here is how the tourist bars stacked up, starting with our favorites:

Rio Rita - has the best drinks for the lowest prices. The margaritas, the house specialty, were the best we had ever tasted. Mixed drinks are 75 cents and beer is 50 cents.

The service is excellent: uniformed, congenial waiters, frosted mugs, free snacks (tortilla chips), and even a receipt.

Decor is deep-sea modern, complete with fishnets and stuffed octopi.

Entertainment consisted of six mariachis who play bad but clean music.

Rio Rita doesn't pretend to be anything but a tourist bar. In fact, "Tourist Bar" appears directly under the ""Rio Rita Bar"" logo on the all-English cocktail menu printed on a flimsy Christmas card.

Seven out of the eight tables were occupied by Americans. Therefore, Rio Rita is the best place to get an American male escort -- even if you don't want one.

Three Seattle boys (who have driven down to T.J. many times and have never stopped in Los Angeles) joined us at our table, uninvited. They bought each of us a bouquet of 16 yellow roses, two margaritas apiece, and had one of those ultra-tourist, 5x8 black-and-white glossies taken of the five of us in an uncomfortable position. (Never pay over $2 for a tourist picture.)

The Rio Rita proved our theory that the "We work for Playgirl" line is always good for a few free drinks.

Rio Rita also had the least raunchy restrooms of all the ones we had the tenacity to check.

Aloha Club — the best bar to go to if you want to dance. But the drinks are the most expensive and very bad.

This was the only bar that asked for identification. You must be eighteen to get in and you must buy at least one drink. Very small, but very strong mixed drinks start at $1.25. (One particular bartender here did not know what bourbon was.) Beer is $1 until 5 p.m. After that it is not served.

Bartenders and Bouncers (the only ones we saw in all of T.J.) are dressed in suits and ties. The customers are all well-dressed and most of the crowd when we arrived consisted of locals.

The decor was "mid-sixties-discotheque" style complete with multicolored flashing strobe lights and black-light posters.

The music was American or English albums played quadrifonically. The acoustics here are excellent. We heard a lot of the American "biggie" bands — Deep Purple, Chicago, Rare Earth, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

This bar was packed by 7 p.m. but approaches were very few. Most patrons are here to dance and that's it. We were asked to dance a few times but after we declined, the "hopeful" quietly shuffled away.

No need to worry about uninvited males joining you. The booths are so small that the two of us overflowed into the aisle.

La Hacienda — This bar, which is on the southern outskirts of the tourist section, is the safest, quietest bar for single girls. This bar is your best bet if you just want a drink and absolutely no action or advances.

You enter it through the restaurant, which is very formal with white-coated waiters, cloth napkins, and candlelight.

The bar is in an adjoining room. It is plush and uncrowded. A fire crackles in the traditional-style adobe fireplace. The lights are soft and so is the American instrumental music playing in the background.

We each had a bottle of Carta Blanca beer, which was the best brand we tasted in Tijuana. (Tecate beer seems to be the strongest.) The beer was 75 cents and mixed drinks were $1.

After we were served, we were completely ignored by the bartender and the affluent-businessman-type patrons. This place was so tame that all of their attention was actually directed toward Shirley Temple who was singing ""Animal Crackers in my Soup"" in Spanish on the overhead television set.

The Capri — This "bar" is a replica of a Denny's, complete with bright lights, big booths and cheeseburgers.

This bar-restaurant is known as a tourist bar but the few patrons were all Mexican. It was exceptionally clean, but the food and drinks are mediocre. Prices are cheap though. Beer starts at 35 cents. All tequila drinks are 65 cents and other mixed drinks are 75 cents. There is no entertainment. The place is as exciting as the Yuma bus depot in the middle of the night.

The Long Bar — As we left this bar we tried but failed to understand why this bar is the most popular, most talked about bar of the tourist section.

This is a huge high-school-cafeteria size bar decorated like Gunsmoke's Dodge City Saloon.

Locals completely lined the bars but the more than 40 booths and tables were almost unanimously filled with Americans. "Long hairs in the long bar" we heard a local say. The booths are made of very well-worn wood and were completely covered with both ""Ramon con Maria"" and "Jesus loves you" graffiti.

Beer is good and cheap. A large pitcher is $1.25 and a large glass is 40 cents. Wine is 50 cents. The mixed drinks are small but strong and are 75 cents. Wine is 50 cents. The mixed drinks are small but strong and are 75 cents. Anything with scotch is 90 cents. The Mexican band was poor but it succeeded in getting both locals and tourists to sing, hoot, and clap. We were bothered several times by clinging, obnoxious, drunk Mexicans who tried everything from sitting in our laps to almost physically forcing us to leave the bar with them. Here we must commend the waiters and bartenders who were all mid-fifty-ish and very paternal. Every time things got a little too heavy for us to handle on our own, they would quietly, but furiously, escort the offenders to the door.

This is a rowdy place which is the best bargain and the most fun if you're with a large group of friends. Avoid it if you're female.

Chiki Jai — We had seen this bar-restaurant from the Jai Alai Palace listed as a tourist bar, but when we walked in every table was filled with Mexicans. We were the only tourists around.

It is too small and stuffy, but the food is good and the drinks passable. Beer is 75 cents and mixed drinks start at $1.

Guillermo's — It is because of this bar that we recommend that unescorted women stay in the tourist section of Revolucion.

It is located one-half block south of the Jai Alai Palace. It is a combination bar-restaurant. Both the bar and restaurant are in the same room which is plush, elegant, dimly lit and looks misleading safe.

At approximately 5:45 in the afternoon the place was deserted save for the two of us, the well dressed bartender and a sleeping drunk.

After gazing at the cocktail menu with the usual beers (75 cents) and mixed drinks ($1) we brazenly asked for the house specialty, which the bartender called "campari."

He seemed pleased and told us we could share one "on the house." "Campari" is a mixture of a lot of vermouth, a lot of cognac and very little soda and lemon juice. We each took a sip and our stomachs lurched. It was the worst drink we had ever tasted.

While the bartender watched we took tiny sips, smiled sickly and kept hissing "Your turn!" at each other under our breath.

With horror we noticed the bartender mixing another "Campari."

"No thanks," we cried weakly at him.

"Dis para me!" he replied and promptly came around the bar and joined us. While the bartender whispered sweet nothings in our ears, the four drunks attempted their usual flimsy passes at our legs.

This and the bartender's propositions made us resort to the old adage, "My father was supposed to meet us here at 6 (or whatever time it was ten minutes ago), have you seen him?"

"Oh, yes, senorita," one of the locals replied. "He said he would be back in two hours and for you senoritas to wait here."

No way. We hot-footed it out of there toward the familiar haunts of Revolucion, the pounding feet of four drunks and a bartender with a half-drunk glass of "campari" echoing in our ears.

Helpful Hints For Girls In TJ — compiled from experiences, especially for females but for the use of anyone hoping to avoid the unpleasant.

1. Take a male companion if at all possible.
2. Stay on Revolucion between 2nd and 7th streets. This is the tourist section.
3. Dress conservatively. On that same note try to be sophisticated and cold. Crude comments and propositions from the tourists/locals can be handled gracefully by pretending that you don't speak English/Spanish.
4. Take a taxi to and from the border and to the downtown area. Use discretion in choosing a driver. Make sure there are rear door handles. Also be sure that you are headed in the general direction of your destination.
5. Avoid the go-go bars at any costs. Women tourists are not welcome due to prostitution. Prostitutes and go-go girls will purposely antagonize you.
6. No unescorted women are on the streets after 6 p.m. The darker it gets the crustier the comments and stares become.
7. Avoid the restrooms. Most are filthy and in general disorderly.
8. In case of an emergency (a tight situation) keep this story in mind: ""Have you seen my father (or brother or uncle or fiance)? He's about 6'4"", 240 pounds, horn rimmed glasses and crew cut hair. He's an ex-marine and he and his war buddies were supposed to meet us here at 6:30 (or whatever time it will be in two minutes)."
9. Take about $12 minimum if you will be barhopping. Include $2 each way for taxi fare and incidentals.
10. Take your drivers license or other I.D. Also include a few phone numbers of friends in San Diego who will be home and have money and a car.
11. If your grumbling stomach forgets that earlier you had valiantly announced "I'll never eat down there!" choose one of the well-known, well-advertised tourist cafes. Woolworth's Grill is clean and passable. We found that La Cafe Especial has the best carne asada in town. You can also get a tasty, filling plate of tacos, frijoles, guacamole and tortilla chips for $85 cents. The service is good and the atmosphere is cool and quiet.
12. After You Cross The Border — The worst of your experience is yet to come when you reenter your homeland. We heard cruder remarks from the hoods in front of Jack in the Box than we heard in TJ, and these were in English. Remember you're not home free until you're in your car with the doors locked and headed north on Interstate 5.

Finally, girls, remember that generally it does not matter what you look like. The only significant thing is that you are a "rich" female American tourist.

Even in our oversized horn-rimmed glasses, baggy sweatshirts, blackened teeth, pigtails, and sneakers — several times we heard locals call after us in soft sincere voices, "Bye, bye beautiful girls."