Tourist areas you should avoid in Southeast Asia

SOUTHEAST Asia is the favourite playground of Aussies. But some places have been ruined by tourists. What are the places that should be avoided?

Vang Vieng, Laos, some people love it, while others say to avoid it.

SOUTHEAST ASIA is the favourite playground of Australians, with huge numbers of us travelling to Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos and the Philippines each year.

But if you’re a tourist who wants to avoid large groups of fellow tourists, you might want to know which destinations to steer clear of. One Quora user recently posed this question on the website: “I am doing the usual route of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and want to avoid places crowded with tourists where it is no doubt beautiful but everyone is just boozing. What tourist areas should be avoided in Southeast Asia?” Dozens of people wrote back, advising against travelling to parts of Thailand, Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines. PATTAYA, THAILAND One Quora user, who knows “a thing or two about tourism”, said Pattaya should be avoided. The Quora user described Pattaya a “filthy hellhole of neon and sex”. “I’m no prude, but there really aren’t any redeeming qualities to this place. The beach is dirty, and quite rundown by Thai standards. The food is horrible, with Thai cuisine taking a back seat to garbage fry-ups and rubbery seafood that is anything but local.” Pattaya has long had a reputation as a centre of sin, which in this context basically means sex, they continued. “The streets are crowded with bars advertising their services, which run the gamut in terms of the sex trade. Many of the girls advertising these services are in their teens, and they often look young enough that they should really be in school rather than indirectly or directly engaged in the sex trade.” VANG VIENG, LAOS Another Quora user recommended avoiding Vang Vieng in Laos. They said while it was very beautiful, the “tubers” have ruined the place. But this Quora user recommended avoiding the area because of this: “Tubing down the river is the thing to do in Vang Vieng, and Western tourists backpacking through Southeast Asia flock there in droves,” they wrote. “Now, tubing could be a really pleasant activity. It could be a nice, quiet day along the river. Instead, the riverside is packed with bars blasting top 40 hits, destroying whatever sense of serenity might have been created by the area’s natural splendour.” In recent months the Lao government has significantly cleaned up Vang Vieng and most of the bars along the river have been shut town. One Quora user defended Vang Vieng, saying their visit was the “highlight of their trip through Asia”. “Vang Vieng? Best place EVER! It is a kind of place where party is a party and no-one cares about safety,” one user writes. MANILA, PHILIPPINES One traveller, who has been to Manilla ten times, warned others against visiting the capital of the Philippines because it is a “very crowded, dirty and large city”. “The Philippines is a beautiful country with much to see, but Manila is unfortunately not one part of that.” “It’s only redeeming quality is that you can fly there internationally to go to the other islands or another part of Luzon. The Mall of Asia, near the airport might be an acceptable day trip, but that is about it,” they said. KUTA, BALI, INDONESIA One Quora user advised travellers to avoid Kuta due to the large amount of salespeople on the street. “When you’re walking on the street you’ll always hear ‘Boss, motorbike? Boss, taxi? Boss, water? Boss, ladies? Boss, viagra? Boss, this? Boss, that?’ Always!,” they wrote. Continue the conversation on Twitter @newscomauHQ | @LeahMcLennan