LAOS
Crime
& Safety
Laos is a relatively safe country for travellers, although certain
areas remain off-limits because of banditry and unexploded ordnance.
The recent economic woes have pushed crime rates up slightly in
Vientiane, but petty crime remains on a small scale. As a visitor,
however, you're an obvious target for thieves (who may include
your fellow travellers), so keep your wits about you.
If you do have anything stolen , you'll need to get the police
to write up a report for your insurance: bring along a Lao speaker
if you can. Police generally keep their distance from foreigners,
but in some larger Mekong River towns you may be stopped at night
and "fined". With patience, you should be able to resolve
most problems, and perhaps even bargain down the "fines",
easier to do if you always have your passport with you. Officials
at border crossings routinely levy small "fines"; there's
little you can do in such cases. To alleviate unnecessary suspicion
in remoter corners of Laos, it never hurts to check in with the
police, especially in small towns in the north and near the Vietnamese
border in the south.
Banditry
local warnings. During the past two decades, buses, motorcyclists
and private vehicles on certain highways have been held up, their
passengers robbed and, in some instances, killed. Check with local
guesthouse owners and bus drivers before setting out.
Security has improved greatly along Route 13 between Kasi and
Louang Phabang since the mid-1990s, but, as of 1998, many expats
were still discouraged by their employers from travelling on this
stretch. Bandits are still active east of Route 13 along Route
7, so travel between Muang Phoukhoun and Muang Soui is not advised;
at the time of writing, buses were not covering this section and
vehicles without military escorts were not permitted on the road.
If you plan on travelling by road to Phonsavan, the safest route
is via Nong Khiaw, along Routes 1, 6 and 7.
South of Route 7 lies the Xaisomboun Special Zone , a new administrative
district carved out of Xiang Khouang and Bolikhamxai provinces,
also considered unsafe. The eastern part of this district, where
Route 6 connects Muang Khoun with Pakxan, is another troubled
area that should be avoided. Caution should be exercised in the
far south along the Cambodian border as well, particularly the
section of the Mekong between the Lao island of Don Khon and the
Cambodian right bank.
Unexploded ordnance
The Second Indochina War left Laos with a legacy of bombs, landmines
and mortar shells that will haunt the country for decades to come,
despite the efforts of de-mining organizations. Round, tennis-ball
sized anti-personnel bomblets, known as bombi, are the most common
type of unexploded ordnance (UXO), and large bombs, ranging in
size from 100kg to 1000kg, also proliferate. Ten provinces have
one or more districts severely contaminated with UXO; listed in
order of impact they are: Savannakhet, Xiang Khouang, Salavan,
Khammouan, Xekong, Champasak, Saisomboun, Houa Phan, Attapu and
Louang Phabang. Another five provinces have at least one district
with significant contamination: Louang Namtha, Phongsali, Bolikhamxai,
Vientiane Province, Vientiane Prefecture.
Although most towns and tourist sites are free of UXO, 25 percent
of villages remain contaminated and accidents continue at a rate
of two hundred per year. As accidents often occur while people
are tending their fields, the risk faced by the average visitor
is relatively limited. Nonetheless, the number one rule is: don't
be a trailblazer. When in rural areas, always stay on well-worn
paths, even when passing through a village, and don't pick up
or kick at anything if you don't know what it is. Take special
care in areas known to be heavily contaminated, such as the districts
surrounding the former Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Drugs
Officially it's illegal to smoke ganja but some travellers carry
on discreetly. Opium use among tourists has increased dramatically
in recent years, despite a new law against possession, distribution
and trafficking. Opium is not as addictive as heroin, but withdrawal
is painful.
Emergency numbers
In Vientiane dial the following numbers: fire 190, ambulance 195,
police 191. There are no emergency numbers for the rest of the
country.
Medical
Care & Emergencies
You'll find pharmacies in the major cities. Pharmacists
in Vientiane and Louang Phabang are quite knowledgeable and have
a decent supply of medicines.
Health care in Laos is so poor as to be virtually nonexistent.
The nearest medical care of any competence is in neighbouring
Thailand, and if you find yourself afflicted by anything more
serious than travellers' diarrhoea, it's best to head for the
closest Thai border crossing and check into a hospital. A clinic
attached to the Australian embassy in Vientiane is mainly for
embassy personnel, but can be relied upon in extreme emergencies.
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