The Most Overrated Places in Southeast Asia
I adore Southeast Asia — and I especially treasure my favorite places in this part of the world.
But not every place captured my fancy, though I found something to love about every place I visited.
Here are my picks for the most overrated places in Southeast Asia:
Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
Koh Phi Phi was the setting of the movie The Beach and featured the heartbreakingly beautiful Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi Leh. It’s no wonder that so many tourists flocked there, looking for their own private deserted beach.
That can happen on lots of islands in Thailand — but not on Koh Phi Phi.
The Phi Phi of today is overrun with tourists. The effects? Huge crowds, limited lodging, sky-high prices, and quaking infrastructure. The island smells like sewage and Maya Bay is filled with hundreds of people walking around, dumbfounded, wondering where that beautiful beach went.
Where to go instead: Koh Lanta, Thailand, is everything Koh Phi Phi is not: blissfully undertouristed, immense with plenty of space, filled with places to explore, and home to a welcoming Thai community. And cheaper — much cheaper!
Click here to read my posts about Koh Phi Phi.
Pai, Thailand
A tiny town in the mountains of northern Thailand became a hippie enclave, and turned into a small town filled with cafes serving mushroom shakes and yoga studios. So what held Pai back from being a chill backpacker paradise? The hippie community itself.
I have never been treated with such rudeness and hostility as I was treated by the local community in Pai (unless they were busking and I happened to be walking by. Then they were all smiles). Normally I wouldn’t mention something subjective like this — but it happened to me over and over, and was such a contrast from every other place on the continent!
I loved motorbiking in the stunningly beautiful countryside surrounding Pai. But as for the town itself, where I constantly felt unwelcome, I couldn’t wait to get away.
Where to go instead: Koh Chang, Thailand. Koh Chang, and Lonely Beach in particular, has such a friendly communities of hippies, expats, and people who just liked the island and stayed — and who will gladly invite you out to hear live music or recommend a tattoo studio.
Click here to read my posts about Pai.
Luang Prabang, Laos
I can see why some people adore Luang Prabang — it’s beautiful, it’s quiet, it’s cheap, and there are plenty of Western amenities (not to mention wine bars — practically a unicorn in this part of the world).
But to me, it felt incredibly fake — a Lao Disneyland that didn’t resemble anywhere else in Laos whatsoever, from the handicrafts locals never used to the skimpy fashion show outfits that most Lao girls wouldn’t dream of wearing in public, let alone in front of an audience.
Luang Prabang was custom-built for the middle-aged, fawning tourists who declared everything so authentic and adorable, and who were unlikely to set foot anywhere else in the country.
Where to go instead: Kampot, Cambodia. It’s another small, French-flavored riverside town, but it retains so much of its local flavor — without bending over backwards for affluent tourists. Yet. Go now before it’s too late.
Click here to read my posts about Luang Prabang.
Kuta, Bali
Kuta is most visited beach destination in Bali — but I have no idea what the appeal is. The beach is full of trash. The guesthouses are overpriced and falling apart. The nightlife is like a low-rent version of Cancun, and souvenir shops on every block sell homophobic stickers and t-shirts.
Where to go instead: Seminyak, Bali. Seminyak is just up the road from Kuta, but it’s so upscale — it’s home to nicer guesthouses and trendy Vegas-style nightlife, with prices to match. And the beach is much, much cleaner.
Click here to read my posts about Kuta.
Did I just diss your favorite place? Let’s hear it in the comments.
Not trying to plug my post but I don’t think I can recapture my expression of hippies in Pai better than I did.
http://www.watchscotttravel.com/pai-and-hippies/
Such a shame when places are destroyed by our over enthusiasm to exploit them. Still, I’m hoping to make it to Pai this year, if only for the bike riding!
the good thing with Pai is that it only takes a 5 min bike ride to get out of it. the countryside and riding the whole Mae Hong Son loop is delightful (I spent 2 weeks exploring the loop.) don’t miss the bat cave (Tham Lot) . dozens of exciting sights like hot springs, waterfalls, Shan temples, ethnic villages and all those mountains. Pai is just half a square kilometre of that province.
the same is true of Luang Prabang. just a few minutes by bike, or a short boat trip upriver, and it gets a lot more authentic. I loved the temples in LP though.
I first went to Ko Phi Phi exactly ten years ago. never wanted to return after the tsunami, but had to. shouldn’t have. on Lanta, be careful when picking a beach. many have rocks at low tide making swimming impossible, but of course guesthouse websites won’t go out of their way to advertise this. also, Ramadan is coming up soon and it is not easy to find restaurants open if you go off the main stretch of road during that holiday.
Interesting list. I’ve heard the same things about Bali and and Koh Phi Phi. Buyer beware I guess…
It seems that Luang Prabang has changed a bit.
Thanks for sharing! Love that you provide “where to go instead” suggestions. we’ve also heard a lot about how some of the places like Bali and Koh Phi Phi were overrated. Good to know the alternatives!
Gosh, all this girl ever does is complain! Just stay home, then. Its much cooler then any of these places ever will be. (In your head, anyways.)
I’ve always found that anywhere listed in a guidebook is worth avoiding, or at least finding another island. Koh Phangan (where the full moon party is held) is a great example. I was attempting to go to one of the other islands, but missed the ferry and ended up in koh phangan instead. Not being a fan of drunken backpackers, I found a tiny spot on a beach on the north of the island – as far from the full moon party as possible. it was 2 weeks of quiet and peaceful bliss with only about 5 other travellers on the beach. I did a dive course and had one on one instruction for the entire time. Where else can you find that?
Great idea, Zoe — that’s one thing people don’t know about — Koh Phangan outside Had Rin is totally different from Had Rin. That works on larger islands like Koh Lanta — Koh Phi Phi is so tiny, there’s nowhere else to go.
We’re heading to SE Asia soon, so I appreciate this list… and that you included alternatives! Travelers have to learn about cool destinations from someone, but popular travel guides aren’t always the best option. I much prefer small independent travel bloggers.
Really interesting list. I’m knee-deep in about a thousand SE Asia travel blogs at the moment and it’s quite intriguing to see what people have to say about all of these places (Kuta and Ko Phi Phi seem to suck, universally
. Although I do have a question, when you say you were treated rudely by the local community in Pai, do you mean the long-term Western expats there, or the Thais? If the former, why do you think that was?
Ooh, I should have clarified that — by that, I meant the Western community who lives in Pai on a long-term (months or years) basis. I think it’s just natural insularity. We see that insularity and snobbiness in lots of places — this just happened to be one of them.
Not to mention that Kuta is also really really crowded… OK, maybe not the beach, but the surrounding areas are.
Haven’t been to Seminyak though, might try that next time
Wow, this couldn’t be any more accurate. Just got back from SEA, have hit 3 of 4 of these spots, and you are 100% right. Pai is particularly unfortunate, as biking in the countryside there is incredible, but yeah the community ruined itself. Ton of amazing sights/beaches away from Kuta, and Luang Prabang is definitely diff. than anywhere else in Laos. Great article!
Sadly, I have to agree about Luang Prabang. I fell in love with it back in 2002, but after revisiting it, I just posted a piece to my own blog titled “Losing Luang Prabang”.
Most of the places you listed are the ones I have read so much about and how wonderful they are i guess either everyone experience was different or people just wanted to believe they were great. I really like that instead of just giving a list you gave options of places to go instead.
They are great places — all of them. But overrated. Koh Phi Phi is a LOT of fun and a great party place, but it’s not the pristine island paradise that it claims to be.
I really enjoyed this article. I’ve personally done two large scale backpacking trips in SE Asia & I’ve visited all the places that you’ve mentioned – both over & under rated. I agree with many of your observations. The worst offender IMO is Phuket/Ko Phi Phi. It’s off the charts touristy and has lost any kind of charm it likely once had. I’m wondering if you’ve been to Battambang? I found it charming & ended up staying much longer than I originally planned – it’s one of more unsung destinations I’ve traveled to in recent times.
Great piece, and would definitely agree about Pai now. We first visited it in 2001 and now again in feb/11, and boy, has it changed. Now, it has ‘attitude’, whereas before it was just a characteristic little town. We visited Luang Prabang in 2003, like it then. but it seems that Laos is definitely on the ‘backpacker trail’ now, and everyone seems to be headed there, so we won’t be, especially Vang Vieng–i’ve heard how much that place has changed! sadly, this seems to happen to a lot of places that become popular, and the local people become complacent and even a bit jaded. Thailand in general seems to have become like that in the 8yrs since we last visited, but luckily, its still a great country.