The Informed Traveler
The Informed Traveler
Tourist's Bad Behaviors & Alaya Resort Ubud, Bali
We've probably all witnessed it to some degree or at least seen it on social media; examples of bad behavior by tourists. Travelpulse Canada recently had a write up on it called Travel Fails: Lessons From 2025's Worst Behaved Travelers so on this week's show Travel Expert Onanta Forbes will join me to discuss some of those bad behaviors. Then, travel writer Debra Smith will stop by to share her recent visit to Bali and her stay at the Alaya Ubud Resort.
Well, hello and welcome to the Informed Traveler Podcast, a weekly travel podcast, where our goal is to help you become a more informed traveler. And I'm your host, Randy Sharman. We've probably all witnessed it to some degree, or at least seen it on social media, and that is examples of bad behavior by tourists. Well, Travel Pulse Canada recently had a write-up on it called Travel Fails Lessons from 2025's Worst Behaved Travelers. So in a few seconds, travel expert Onanda Forbes will join me to discuss some of those bad behaviors. And then travel writer Deborah Smith will stop by to share her recent visit to Bali and her stay at the Elia Ubud Resort. But first, let's kick things off chatting with travel expert Onanta Forbes, who joins us each week to discuss some of the travel news and travel trends. You can follow her adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and X at Onanta Forbes. OnantaForbes.com is her website. Hello, Onanta.
SPEAKER_01:Hi Randy. How's your week been?
SPEAKER_00:Very nice. Thank you. Yes. Um yeah, so um saw this uh interesting article, How to Be or How to Avoid Being a Bad Tourist. It's on travelpulse.ca. I'm sure we've seen uh lots of examples of bad behavior by tourists, and hopefully, at least I think I can say that um I'm a pretty good tourist. I don't really do any of the things that we're gonna talk about. Uh how about you?
SPEAKER_01:Uh well, definitely not some of the things that are listed here. Um, and it's interesting because last year we saw travel really strongly rebound, but also making a comeback as badly behaved tourists. And I'm sure you and the listeners have heard um CNN Travel even put together a roundup of worst behaved travelers of 2025, and it's like reality TV sometimes. Um, you know, like they're disrupting rescue routes on Mount Aetna, they're blocking airplane toilets on long haul haul flights. Why would you do that?
SPEAKER_00:I knew, right?
SPEAKER_01:Um, because you need those. You're vandalizing heritage sites. So um, you know, I guess it could be entertaining to read, but you don't really want to know that this is happening in the world. And um, a lot of places are, you know, with uh Canadians, they're very popular regions that Canadian travel to. Um, so in Italy alone, um tourists were photographed diving into Venice's Grand Canal, driving scooters up the um Spanish steppes and damaging priceless artwork in museums like the um New Fifi, I'm not sure if I said that right, galleries. Um, but you know, they come with fines and arrests and a whole lot of backlash from locals who are already feeling the pressure of over tourism. So I think I don't know why. Like I I just I listen to that and I hear that and I think um bad manners, like we we would never be brought up like that, I hope. What do you do actually?
SPEAKER_00:Well, it makes it it makes me wonder like this is is this a generational thing? And I'm gonna answer my own question, yes. Because you don't see well, sometimes you see some pretty rude older people, but not doing those things, damaging things and and you know, um just doing stupid things. Like right.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah, it's it's it's um it it's it you know, I'm I'm kind of stuttered right now because I can't believe that it it is actually happening. Um and probably a lot of these people, I don't know if they're inebriated or not, like you can kind of see it in a rugby match or a soccer match in Europe, but maybe but not really. But I think it, you know, uh there when you when you're in a local, when you have the opportunity to go to somewhere away from your home, you should respect that. You should follow local norms. Um, for an example, in the UK, queuing um is sacred. Like you have to be, you do line up, you don't bump in, you know, ahead of somebody else, or um in Spain, you respect siesta hours when shops close middays. Um and that, you know, those little courtesies go a long way in helping you blend in and avoid unintentionally offending somebody. Uh, or you know, for an example, in Asia, um, where diversity, we love going there because it's part of the magic of going there, but etiquette can change dramatically from one destination to the next. And so in Bali or Kyoto or Phuket, um, locals are have been very vocal about quality of life issues tied to overcrowding and tourist behavior. So cultural sensitivity really matters here, and they're such gracious people. Like I really enjoy their kindness and the way they present themselves. And for example, for us, we should recognize when we go to a temple or a sacred site across Asia that we should be um, you know, considering how we dress. Like modest dress is often expected. So covering our shoulders and knees, removing our shoes, keeping uh voices low. Um, and you know, think about Angkor Wat, Thailand's Grand Uh Palace. These are living cultural spaces. So you're not supposed to photo the backdrops. I remember this one time. Um, as I age, it's harder to go on to the ground, um, you know, like uh sit on the ground. And you have to be careful that your feet don't face um the different um uh, you know, religious entities that are there. Um so it it it's it's very, you know, small gestures matter. Um so we we have to show respect. And in the Caribbean and Latin America, again, also hugely popular with Canadians, um, we have to consider different things. Like in some places, um you can't wear camouflage. Like that's considered actually, you know, could be against the law because that they cannot determine who is actually um police and who isn't if you're in you're all in camouflage, right? Um and in Latin America in many Latin American countries, um it's there's a more relaxed attitude towards time and a strong emphasis on friendly personal interaction. So it again, being patient, polite, flexible tends to open more doors and rushing to or demanding efficiency. Don't be that angry tourists that you know you need to know right now, because sometimes it just doesn't work.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I would like to think that a lot of the bad behaviors aren't intentional, but then you look at some of the examples and you go, well, like what were you thinking? Like, and they can get you in a lot of trouble in in certain areas, doing things that uh you know they can get you land you in jail, for example, or fines, like like you mentioned. So uh it's best to know the customs and norms of of the places you're going to and uh and be aware of all those things.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. And even um environmental respect is also critical. Like when you're going somewhere, like stick to the mark pass, follow the park rules, dispose of waste properly, like just don't fling it out of your window or drop it on the ground. Um, because these destinations often rely heavily on fragile ecosystems and tourism dollars to survive. So we don't want to destroy them. And and you're seeing that different places in the world, you can see that they're not allowing people like before back in the day when I was starting my travel, you used to be able to climb pyramids in Mexico. Now you can't in a lot of places. Um, and you want to see those places, like the places in Egypt and and um older civilizations. I think that's what draws you to them. So why would you want to um you know, treat them poorly so that you can't enjoy them to the fullest or you know, feel the the I the the beauty of them and the history of them because I think you know standing in front of the the um the the pyramids in Egypt are is awe-inspiring.
SPEAKER_00:Exactly. Um and and uh like uh you see this in everyday life as well. You don't have to travel very far to see bad behavior, like talking people I see this all the time in the stores, people talking on their phone, on the speaker phone. So you can hear the whole conversation throughout the whole store. Like, I don't need to hear this. Yes, and and then of course it let's talk about air travel too now, because that's we're really where you see it. It's uh like it, I don't think a day goes by where if someone isn't posting a video of uh a passenger on an airline losing their nut for for some reason.
SPEAKER_01:Right. And it it is um it it's it's quite disconcerting because at points you kind of have to think, is your safety or are they going to lash out at you and and such, because um disruptive passages do cause diversions, delay, and even arrest. I've been on a few flights where because a client or or a guest was not behaving properly or being aggressive to a female um guest and they're male, um they diverted to another uh city that wasn't part of the route, and um officers came on board and escorted you off. And that's pretty scary. Like that'll go, and nowadays, because social media is so prevalent, that could go back to your work.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, absolutely. Yes, easy examples of that too.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so you know, listen to safety briefings, store your bag properly, don't argue with that's the way it is, and um you know, go easy, maybe go easy on the alcohol. Um because courtesy in the air isn't optional. Like we're in a pretty enclosed environment that we do have to do all our part to make sure we all are in a safe environment. And this is a new term. Um, aisle lice. Have you heard of that?
SPEAKER_00:I have, I see it all the time, and it drives me crazy.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So these are passengers who leap into the aisle the second the plane lands or hits the gates, or even though they're 10 rows ahead of them are still unloading. Um, and actually, yeah, and I don't know if it's culture that sometimes or it's just bad behavior, you're just not thinking. Like even merging in from you know one row to another to get out, it's like what's with that? Like, I don't get it.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I see this this and and people have to stand by the gate to get on the plane when they're not ready to take their ticket. You know what I mean? Like uh they're uh Zone five. Zone five, right? And you know, they're boarding zone one. Like, get out of the way. It just drives me nuts. And the aisle lights, it's not just one or two people, it's the vast majority of the aircraft. Like, I would bet 90% of the people stand up right away. So the aisle is just blocked, and they stand there for 15 minutes because the plane isn't ready to plane yet. Like, I sit there, I don't move, and so I get you know jostled. Sometimes you get almost get an elbow in the head because someone's standing there. It's like sit down.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, absolutely drives me nuts.
SPEAKER_00:So, yes, that's one of the biggest complaints that uh according to CNN travel is most uh complaint about air travel habit is is is doing that. So don't do it anymore.
SPEAKER_01:That's right. Absolutely. Well, too, and you kind of you don't want to get into that herd mentality where if one person does it, other people will do it just like you since. Um because then it's like that that makes no sense. But we all have to learn before you go. We have to, you know, um research local customs, dress codes, gestures, dining etiquette so you're not caught off guard. Um, respect personal and public space. Um, keep your voice down in sacred and transit areas and ask before photographing people. And we really noticed that when we were traveling through West Africa, like you would be on a um a four by four vehicle, open air, and you know, perhaps you don't think people in the markets are aware of what you're doing, but you they're still going around their life and their own personal world. So you have to be careful that you're not just taking them because they don't think you are, they know yet that you're doing it. Um but it's good to support local communities, like pay pay fair prices, shop and eat locally, and then we talked about it this before. Consider visiting lesser-known destinations to help Eve over tourism because there will be an environmental impact. And we talked about it. Um pack out your trash, leave no trace, and don't take shells or rocks or souvenirs from nature. And if you're staying in somebody, someone's home, just like a VRBO, um, a lot of those nowadays, treat it like your home, clean up after yourself, respect house rules. Um, so at the end of the day, just you know, you're a guest in somebody's country.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. Don't be a jerk.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, and it it's easy to yeah, it's easy to to point fingers, but sometimes you really have to think about what your own doing yourself.
SPEAKER_00:Um exactly.
SPEAKER_01:But uh but I think no one's perfect, no one's perfect, but you know, I always think I'm grateful I have the health and the opportunity and the resources to travel. So I am happy. I don't want to be, I don't want to be that person. And you don't want to also be blacklisted in a country like maybe you know, there's gonna be come a time where I bet you it's gonna be noted on your passport or your digital something that, oh, don't get this person, this person in. I don't know if that's true or not, but you kind of think with all the technology and AI that's out there, um, it might happen.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah. Uh it's called How to Avoid Being a Bad Tourist. You can find it on the Travel Pulse Canada website, travelpulse.ca. Just uh just be nice.
unknown:You know?
SPEAKER_01:That's right. Because you you know what? You're gonna end up having a far better experience yourself for yourself and for your family.
SPEAKER_00:And you don't want to you don't want to be one of those people that end up on social media.
SPEAKER_01:It can go viral.
SPEAKER_00:Onanda Forbes is a travel expert. You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and X at Onanta Forbes. Onanta Forbes.com is her website. Uh, always good to chat, Onanta. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Take care.
SPEAKER_00:This is the Informed Traveler Podcast. I'm Randy Sharman. Just want to remind you of our website, theinformedraveler.org. That's where you can find our contact page if you have any questions or comments about the podcast. You can also email me too with any questions you might have or show segment ideas. My email address is Randy at theinformed traveler.org. And you can check out our social media pages too at facebook.com slash informed traveler, Instagram at informed traveler, or on X at informed Traveler. That's where you'll find a number of videos and reels from our adventures throughout the year and audio clips from our past shows. Plus, you can sign up for our monthly newsletter too. It's released at the beginning of every month. Our January issue is available now. Just go to our website, theinformedtraveler.org, click on the newsletter button, and it'll take you right there. Or better yet, you can subscribe to it and have it arrive in your inbox each month. Well, one of our regular guests who we like to chat with is travel writer Deborah Smith. She was recently in Bali, staying at the Alia Ubad Resort. So Deborah joins us now to share her experience and give us some insight on traveling to Bali. You can read about it on her website, where2Lady.com. Hi, Deborah. Hi, Grandi. Good to talk with you again. Uh, tell me about uh your trip to Bali. It sounds amazing, and we'll get into the uh Alia Resort uh Ubud.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, that's great. Yeah, it was an amazing trip. I'd never been to Bali before, and uh I was very excited to go. Um, I flew with uh China Airlines, which is I'm sure you know was actually um Taiwan's airline, but they call it China Airlines. Yeah, it was uh it was very interesting. It was long, it's a long trip over there. I'm from here, I'm not kidding, but uh but it was great, really good service, and uh yeah, really enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I've never been to Bali, so let's just uh walk through you know um where you started in Bali and then uh where the Alia Resort uh Ubad is actually located.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, okay. Well, I think one of the first things that people need to know is that Bali is only one island in Indonesia, and I think a lot of people get confused sometimes and they think Bali is its own country, but it it's actually again just one of many, many islands that make up Indonesia. And um, so Ubad is um uh a town that's about 20, about almost 30 kilometers from the airport, which is where we landed in Denpasar Airport. And um, yeah, so it's uh Bali's very it the island itself is great because there's just so much to see and do there, and this hotel is in a great location.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I am looking on your website, whereetolady.com, uh beautiful Bali Hotels, part one. I'm assuming there's gonna be uh part two, but there will be more. But the the photos uh really look amazing. Let's talk a little bit about just the the the hotel or resort itself, uh the area around it, and uh the the overall impression that you got uh when you walk through the lobby.
SPEAKER_03:Right. Well, I guess that's one of the wonderful things about uh the uh climate there is that you know Bali is for the most part a beautiful place to visit almost any time of the year. So when you go into the lobby, it's an open-air lobby. It's uh there's a wall behind reception, but the rest of it's open to nature, which is really lovely. And uh when you come in, I think the first impression you get is just one of warmth and welcoming. They'll uh they greet you with uh uh a cool towel, which is really nice if you've been out in the hot sun, and uh a really nice, refreshing, custom drink that they make uh when you arrive with mango, which is I'm just turning into a mango nut. I just love mango everything now. And um, yeah, so you know that's a really nice way to be greeted when you arrive. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Mm-hmm. Well, you mentioned uh in your write-up too, the 106 rooms. So we're not talking uh a huge resort, but uh large enough to accommodate uh a number of people, right?
SPEAKER_03:Yes, it's a really interesting place. It's um it's right on the main street. So when you come in off the lobby, you're you know, there's still a lot of hub behind you. There's you know, all kinds of scooters going back and forth. I think the this a scooter for every person in Bali. And um you know, so it's it's it seems a bit rushed. But then you get in and it's a long narrow building that actually stretches back and you start as soon as you walk into the hallways and start walking along it's just like entering a different world. It's so calm and peaceful and serene. You walk along the hallways um which are also open air and they're all filled with plants and statues and fountains and it's just a lovely way to enter the hotel. There's an atrium it's three stories high so uh that's also full of plants and once you get to the rooms this is the kicker is that the hotel actually backs onto rice fields. So yes so when you walk into your room it's not like you're opening a balcony door and you're looking over you know we we've all been there you're looking over the parking lot no or a construction site or something. No that's not gonna happen. It's just it's just absolutely beautiful beautiful green space and quiet and calm and I think that that really sums up what that hotel is all about.
SPEAKER_00:Well the fresh air uh and and the smells from all the plants and flowers must be very refreshing I would think oh yes the a the air is amazing it's just absolutely lovely. Yeah so was this part of a formal tour um uh and um or were you did you just do it on your own?
SPEAKER_03:No it was I did go as as part of a uh a tour um but you know there's many many um ways to I I don't think you need to be on a tour to go to Bali to be honest with you um there's there's so much to see and it's easy to get around um uh driving is great and actually if you have a car um the hotel offers free parking which is awesome but but if you want to take tours you know I mean there's so many things to see within say half an hour you could be at um you've probably seen pictures of the Dessa swings I don't I don't know if you have or not but um that's an it totally Instagramable site I would say um where you go and you're on the edge of a cliff overlooking the A and the river and you swing out they tie you in to these swings bamboo swings you know you take a leap of faith and they push you out there and it's just it's amazing.
SPEAKER_00:It's just uh it's wonderful. And I quite like that but you know you never know.
SPEAKER_03:Well you know once you see like a whole bunch of other people doing it you kind of oh yeah okay oh you do this so so it's very it's really a nice place and then it it's only interestingly a five minute walk from a sacred monkey forest oh cool which is really cool yeah it's a huge green space it's fantastically landscaped there's a temple there well there's temples everywhere in Bali I mean but but there's weather as well and um it's dedicated to these macaque monkeys and there's thousands of them um everywhere they're well fed and they're well behaved and so you can just wander around and observe them as they do their monkey thing going through the jungle. It's really fun. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So getting back to the resort now uh again there's some uh images on your uh uh article and the on your website where2lady.com the rooms look amazing and they look rather large like I've I like you you mentioned there's one that's 50 square meters i i've had apartments that are smaller than that exactly exactly that's the thing uh i mean it's almost like um a magic trick i mean you you go into this very small lobby and then but then you get to your room and they are gigantic um uh i mean even just the the the basic room which is a deluxe they call their they only have three room categories um so the first one is uh 50 square meters so you know like it's it's huge and well yeah exactly like i said i've had apartments that are smaller than that exactly and when you get into the suites they were running around uh um a hundred um one thousand one hundred and forty square feet which is you know that's really generous and a quarter of that interestingly is taken up by bathroom space like bathtub and shower and um double sinks and mirrors and yeah beautiful just beautiful we need to talk about the food uh anything that uh that you enjoyed particularly um well you know they have uh they do both an international menu and they would do uh what they would call more a typical uh Balinese uh menu um I'm not really a foodie so I don't get into it that much but the food is very good and the atmosphere is wonderful because you're sitting out at night and again with their um with their main dining room which is a reserve it also has a tall ceiling and uh it's a very long room and it's also open to the air and so you know like that's just a lovely way to be spending an evening dining and having a glass of wine and candles flickering and it's beautiful.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And so what other uh attractions did you see? We talked about the the sacred monkey forest and and things like that.
SPEAKER_03:So if you step out the door uh you know well if you step out the door you're right in the middle of downtown but so you know you've got shops you've got restaurants um you you know uh that's just if you want to do some shopping or if you just want to wander along the street it's just fascinating to be there. Um there's a lot of places that do um various uh services now there is a spa on site the De La Spa I didn't unfortunately have time to actually go myself but people rave about it and pretty much everywhere you go in Bali you know you'd be guaranteed to get a massage at a good price that will be spectacular um so um yeah that uh but I mean just as I say just you're very close even to the beach you're only half an hour away if you want to go like right out to the to enjoy very nice beach time yeah so what surprised you the most like what uh weren't you expecting or what were you expecting that uh that didn't happen uh any anything jump out at you I really love their emphasis on uh theirs their um the religious aspects of it I guess there they um one of the things that they do at the hotel that I found was really interesting is they actually have um uh a workshop where you can create your own daily offering. They're called a kanang sari and every day in every Balinese um business and home they have daily offerings. I believe it's at least once a day and sometimes twice a day. And these are small gifts that they create to uh the uh the deities that they honor and um they're made of flowers and fruit and there's they're small and they're just presented really beautifully on little plates and they're always placed in the northeast corner of of an establishment or if you have a a family home it's always in the northeast corner of the home. And um I just found that that the Balinese culture really embraces um their uh their sense of spirituality and that just comes through um in the way that people are very calm there they're very kind um they're very welcoming and uh yeah it I just found that throughout the country and I wasn't I wasn't really expecting that to be it was very nice yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Anything else you want to add?
SPEAKER_03:Um well it's just uh I was really impressed with the Alayah Resort because they do cleave to those uh to their values their cultural values and the the people at work there are just amazing they're just a wonderful kind bunch of people that will willing to help you I mean go over and above I mean you know you're used to good service at a good hotel but this is sort of it's genuine you know and really caring and I and I've I found that yeah very appealing.
SPEAKER_00:Very nice well people can read about it beautiful Bali Hotels part one uh Aleya Resort Ubud uh Deborah Smith is the author and you can find it on her website where2.com uh really appreciate your time Deborah thank you so much oh thank you Randy is our show for this week if you have comments or questions we'd love to hear from you if you have a show ideas and let alone as well my email is Randy at the informedtraveler.org and if you like what you heard tell a friend you can check out our website too at the informed traveler dot or g in the meantime thanks for listening to travel safe and being informed traveler