Tijuana, Mexico

So what if you forgot to book a trip to that southern Mexican
beach? Contrary to popular knowledge, Tijuana isn’t just a
place to score cheap valium; it’s also the place closest to
Los Angeles where you can bet with drunkards on a demented extreme
sport called jai alai.

Head to downtown Tijuana and look for the Jai Alai Fronton
Palace, which offers matches nightly. If you haven’t
witnessed the sport or seen it on MTV’s
“Jackass,” think of it as a version of racquetball
involving balls harder than golfballs hurling at participants at
about 170 mph and narrow three-and-a-half foot baskets that attach
to the players’ hand. Actual participation is limited to the
pros, but that hasn’t kept it from becoming one of the
biggest gambling activities in Mexico. Sure, it’s not as
exotic as Cabo, but it’s a lot more Mexican than Vegas. Which
is a good thing.

Compiled by Erin Glass, Andrew Lee, Sommer Mathis and Jake
Tracer, dB Magazine senior staff.