Tijuana
A microcosm of American empire building in Baja California - the part of Mexico they forgot to steal way back when. Apart from the main drag that lasts about 200 yards, filled with bars, strip clubs and pharmacies (children selling chewing gum on the streets optional), there is literally nothing there. Walk one block either side, and it's like stepping into the Third World, before returning to $1 bottles of Dos Equis in chintzy bars set up for American tourists, students, and people that can't afford a trip to Mexico City or Cancun. Still, it's the shortest border check on the planet - they don't bother checking, as they know you aren't smuggling anything into the country. It's returning to the US that has the usual body cavity searches...
"Let's got to Tijuana, where it's twenty cents for a shot of tequila!"
By OD Smith