Summer travel: Tourist destinations that should not be on your list

This, by no means, is a definitive list as each traveller will have their own never-visit-again spots in different parts of the world. Learning from your own mistakes is well and good, but it eats into your limited vacation time (which could be spent in a place better suited to you).

Here is a purely subjective list of popular but less-than-picture perfect places to avoid while planning your next holiday.

Pattaya (Thailand)

Let’s start with the most popular and notorious destination for Indian tourists. If clubs with names like Nasha, Jalwa and Jalsa and big neon signs advertising Russian strippers, mujra dance and “happy ending” massages don’t deter you, I don’t know what will. But there’s more.

The two roads running parallel to the main beach are lined with so many Indian restaurants complete with signboards in Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali and Tamil, and stalls selling “masala chai” that you would be forced to ask yourself if you have really left India.

At first sight, Pattaya looks to be the perfect example of a tolerant and harmonious city as men of every shape, size, age and colour walk around the city holding hands with Asian women. So much love? Alas, it isn’t love as we all know it. Also, chances of you running into a middle-aged neighbourhood uncle doing things he would pull you up for publicly back home are high.

Alternative: Bangkok. Shopping is better, and a much more vibrant food, drinks and café scene.

Pub Street (Siem Reap, Cambodia)

If Angkor Wat is what you want to see, you will have to go to Siem Reap. However, steer clear of Pub Street. Aggressive tuk-tuk drivers offering you “cheap” rides to your hotel can be easily dealt with but the constant flow of touts offering weed, “lady boom-boom” and massages can get on your nerves, especially in the congested, noisy, hot and sweaty Pub Street.

Yes, you do find draught beer for 50 cents, but it is rubbish and the restaurants serve average food at fine-dining prices.

Alternative: There are plenty of rooftop bars and restaurants along the riverfront just a short walk from Pub Street. What’s more, there is loads of delicious street food to try along the same stretch.

Beer Street (Hanoi, Vietnam)

Given the current heat wave sweeping several parts of South and Southeast Asia, nothing sounds more comforting than a beer street till you reach Beer Street in Hanoi.

Beer Street comes alive around sunset and that’s when vehicles are banned from entering the area. So, you need to walk there, but all you will find is a narrow street packed with people sitting on tiny stools drinking beer and eating hurriedly put together food at “tourist” prices that we would rail against in India.

Forget locals, even expats who have spent a couple of months in Hanoi would ask you to steer clear of Beer Street and head to less busy neighbourhoods where you aren’t at risk of losing your wallet, watch, phone and other belongings.

Alternative: Head to the Tay Ho neighbourhood. The bars are classier, and the restaurants, food and ambience, better.

Ubud (Bali, Indonesia)

Ubud is beautiful once you get away from the maddening traffic that includes far too many yoga influencers heading to go-to hotspots. Adding to the traffic jams is the menace of aggressive, thieving monkeys. It really isn’t worth it for the handful of pictures for your Instagram feed.

Bali is a big island and Ubud is far from almost everything, whether it is the crowded and avoidable beaches of Seminyak, the busy bars, restaurants and cafés of congested Canggu and the happening clubs with DJs and surfing spots of Uluwatu.

Alternative: Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Lombok.

Red Light District (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

You smell and tread on stale urine and vomit as you step out of the Amsterdam Central metro station. Despite this, the Red Light District remains one of the most crowded, congested and expensive spots in Amsterdam because of the neighbourhood’s two biggest attractions: lit-up windows showcasing scantily clad women practising the world’s oldest profession, and coffee (read marijuana) shops.

Add to that multiple groups of loud, drunk and stoned men on a stag-do or boys’ trip, making a nuisance of themselves. That’s one place anyone who has been to Amsterdam will avoid on subsequent trips. The locals try their best to avoid going anywhere close.

Alternative: Haarlem—you get the pleasant Dutch old town experience without the drunk, noisy crowds.

Mexico is a treasure trove for any traveller. You will find history, art, music, culture, food and drinks. But you won’t find any of those in the all-inclusive resorts of Cancun, and its overcrowded beaches. It has the biggest and the busiest airport in the Yucatan peninsula and some of the best and cheapest connections in the world. And that’s the only thing I would use Cancun for—flying in and out. Tulum has a great party scene, beautiful beaches and unique cenotes, yet it is a place you ought to avoid.

First, every town between Cancun to Tulum feels like an extension of the US complete with American chains such as Applebee’s. Second, and more importantly, Tulum is a place where a lot of tourists are conned or robbed by corrupt cops. From being “fined” for drinking on the beach to “walking suspiciously” late at night on an empty street, the reasons for the fines are as creative as they are silly.

I was stopped by armed cops to check if I was in possession of drugs. They went through my pockets, wallet and phone case. They didn’t find any, and I didn’t find my $200 cash by the time they were done.

Alternative: Head to Holbox for great beaches, and Merida and Valladolid for history, cenotes and food. Instead of Tulum, head further south to Bacalar and let the Lake of Seven Colours take your breath away.