How safe is it to travel around South East Asia

Hi ! Please tell me where to search for information regarding travelling to
South East Asia.
In particular, I am concerned about security and safety issues for a young
female traveller, going around either alone or with another girl.
I shall be travelling to the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam,
Indonesia and Australia.
I have decent budget so shall stay in 3 star hotels if possible.
Most of the time, I shall be going around by myself or with my girl friend
(in Thailand only).
Anyone can help ?

Thanks
monica

On Sun, 6 Mar 2005 16:37:55 +0800, "Monica"
wrote:

Hi ! Please tell me where to search for information regarding travelling to
South East Asia.
In particular, I am concerned about security and safety issues for a young
female traveller, going around either alone or with another girl.
I shall be travelling to the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam,
Indonesia and Australia.
I have decent budget so shall stay in 3 star hotels if possible.
Most of the time, I shall be going around by myself or with my girl friend
(in Thailand only).
Anyone can help ?

Monica, you might want to consider staying in hostel type
accomodation, as there will be lots of other people around your age.
You will find yourself having a better time than if you are alone in
hotels most of the time.

Violent crime is quite rare in SE Asia. If you stay away from any of
the trouble zones, you should have no problems. I know quite a few
young women that have travelled independently around all the countries
you have mentioned.

Australia is different of course, being western. I don't know where
you are from, but the rules there are pretty much the same as any
other western country. Once again though, I would suggest hostels and
not hotels. They are just far more social and will lead to you hooking
up with people, and sharing stories which can lead to other things
that you might not have discovered otherwise.
--
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DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
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--

Thailand and Australia are very safe. Most of the problems people have
in Thailand relate to drug use, rented mopeds, or the combination of
the two - avoid them and you're unlikely to have any problem at all.

Vietnam has very little violent crime but has a lot of petty theft, so
wear a money belt and watch your stuff.

Land mines are a problem in Cambodia, so never venture off the path in
uncleared areas. Street crime is a problem in Phnom Penh.

In Phillipine beaches and rural areas you should be fine, but Manila is
a very high crime city, so make sure you know where you are going,
especially after dark. Stay well clear of the parts of the Southern
Phillipines that have conflict between the government and Muslim
rebels.

Most of Indonesia is fine for travellers, but there are some regional
conflicts scattered across Indonesia's many islands. If you're
planning on going somewhere off the beaten track, check the security
situation there first.

Monica wrote:
Hi ! Please tell me where to search for information regarding
travelling to
South East Asia.
In particular, I am concerned about security and safety issues for a
young
female traveller, going around either alone or with another girl.
I shall be travelling to the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietnam,
Indonesia and Australia.

Cambodia can be dicey in spots and Vietnam is still not really ready
for the average tourist. Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia are all no
problem. Australia is fine is you learn to read the signs that say "No
swimming, beware crocodiles" (tourists get eaten from time to time).

I have decent budget so shall stay in 3 star hotels if possible.
Most of the time, I shall be going around by myself or with my girl
friend
(in Thailand only).
Anyone can help ?

Thanks
monica

Tchiowa wrote:
Monica wrote:
Hi ! Please tell me where to search for information regarding travelling
to South East Asia. In particular, I am concerned about security and
safety issues for a young female traveller, going around either alone or
with another girl. I shall be travelling to the Philippines, Thailand,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia.

Cambodia can be dicey in spots and Vietnam is still not really ready
for the average tourist. Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia are all no
problem.

I find that the infrastructure in Vietnam is on par with that in Indonesia
(except for ATMs, which are much more common in the latter). And Vietnam is
worlds less scammy than Thailand - in Vietnam, when someone talks to you,
there is either a sales pitch coming right away, or they really want to
talk. In Thailand (not to say that this apples to all Thais, not by a long
shot) quite frequently you'll spend 10 or 15 minutes in a BS conversation
before it becomes clear that you're being worked for an angle. That I find
really annoying.

People in Vietnam are astonishingly friendly. That's the upside of not
having so many tourists yet. I'm sure I already told this story in the
newsgroup, but I'll tell it again because I've become an old fogey who
recycles stories:

Walking along a busy street one hot afternoon in Saigon, a guy on a
motorcycle struck up a conversation with me. We chatted about some stuff and
he asked me whether I'd like to go back to his home and meet his family. In
Thailand-wary mode, I declined, and we said our farewells. A little while
later, he found me farther down the street, and gave me a chilled coconut to
drink and then went on his way - when he gave it to me, he told me that when
he got home and told his wife about meeting me, and that he hadn't managed
to persuade me to accept their hospitality, she made him get right back on
his motorbike with the coconut so I at least had something to drink.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 35 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Malaysia, Israel, Palestine, Austria, Thailand

Girls and women shouldn't go alone unescorted, where ever they go.

It doesn't matter whether it's Australia, the Great Britain, Singapore,
the U.S.A., and so on.

The nastiest things could happened even at the so called 'safest'
place.

Australia is pretty much as 'safe' as the area in the South East Asia.



As for Australia being western.

Hmmm... Western...

Located at the southern hemisphere, located at the eastern hemisphere.

How could have it been western?!

Or is it 'western' as being part of Oceania (1984's type)?

In article .com,
wrote:

€ Girls and women shouldn't go alone unescorted, where ever they go.
€

How wonderfully, er, "quaint."

On Sun, 6 Mar 2005 16:37:55 +0800, "Monica"
wrote:

Hi ! Please tell me where to search for information regarding travelling
to
South East Asia.
In particular, I am concerned about security and safety issues for a
young
female traveller, going around either alone or with another girl.
I shall be travelling to the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam,
Indonesia and Australia.
I have decent budget so shall stay in 3 star hotels if possible.
Most of the time, I shall be going around by myself or with my girl
friend
(in Thailand only).
Anyone can help ?

Java is not an ideal place for a young Caucasian woman to travel alone...or
even with another female without confidence, resolve and pepper spray. There
are a few obnoxious young men.


.......Ken

thailand safe?, thats questionable for western tourists .
not a month goes by without a tourist being murdered for some reason .

************************************************** ************************

Briton stabbed to death in southern Thailand

A British man was stabbed to death in southern Thailand after he made
advances toward the assailant's girlfriend, police said Wednesday.

Richard Mark Collins, 35, from Hereford, England, was stabbed Tuesday
night by a Thai taxi driver in the tourist town of Krabi, said police
Lt. Col. Jakra Sawakol. Collins was stabbed twice and rushed to a
hospital, where he later died.

Police arrested Uthen Duangnoi, a 29-year-old taxi driver who said he
stabbed Collins out of anger after the victim made sexual advances
toward Uthen's girlfriend, Jakra said.

Collins' girlfriend, Panida Meedi, 24, said he had been working for
four years for Thai Heritage, one of several companies building a new
international airport on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Collins and Panida lived in Bangkok, but visited Krabi periodically and
were friends with Uthen and his girlfriend, she said.

"Richard went to their house, and I was informed that he was stabbed,"
Panida told The Associated Press. "I don't now how it happened."


Uthen has been detained on murder-related charges, police said. It was
unclear what possible penalty he faces as the exact charges were not
immediately known.

Krabi, a popular tourist spot along Thailand's southern coast, was
among six provinces badly hit by the deadly Asian tsunami on Dec. 26.

A spokesman for the British Embassy in Bangkok was not immediately
available for comment.

************************************************** *

BAIL CONTROVERSY : Court frees tourists' killer

KANCHANABURI: -- Police officer who admitted shooting 2 Britons
released in Kanchanaburi A policeman accused of gunning down two young
British backpackers has been given bail in Kanchanaburi province, where
witnesses are said to be living in fear.

Somchai Wisetsingh, 38, the police sergeant who admitted to killing
Adam Lloyd and Vanessa Arscott in September, has been released from
jail on bail of Bt1 million.

The bail was granted last Thursday by Judge Narong Suthamkoson in
Kanchanaburi but went unreported at the time, the province's chief
public prosecutor Pichet Kasetsin said yesterday.

Pichet said public prosecutors opposed bail for fear that Somchai's
release might affect witnesses and evidence.

"But we have to accept the judgement," Pichet said.

He said public prosecutors had finished assembling the case against
Somchai, who has petitioned public prosecutors for special
consideration in the case. In the petition Somchai claims Lloyd
attacked him first, he added.

He said Somchai's petition would be submitted to the director of the
State Attorney's Regional Office 7 for consideration today along with
the case against him.

"As soon as the director of the regional office makes a decision on
the case, we will charge Somchai in court," Pichet said.

Public prosecutors would then ask the court again to order Somchai
detained in custody to stop him interfering with witnesses and material
evidence, he said.

A source in the Kanchanaburi public prosecutor's office said Somchai
reasoned in his request for bail that he had never previously committed
a crime and promised not to run away.

The source said the judge instructed him to refrain from intimidating
witnesses.

Case officer Lt Colonel Chavalit Biakaew said: "That is Thai law. It
is out of the hands of the police. Anybody in Thailand is entitled to
bail. It's a matter for the courts to decide."

He said that witnesses had nothing to be afraid of.

Although there are some 16 witnesses to the killings almost all were
reluctant to sign statements against Sergeant Somchai.

During the investigation Police Colonel Vej Somboon admitted witnesses
would not come forward and sign statements saying: "This is because
the suspect is a policeman and they are afraid of retaliation because
they all live nearby."

Yesterday, one of the witnesses, who asked for anonymity, said: "This
is exactly what we were all afraid of. Now we are all scared. He must
know who we all are. We don't trust the police or the court here."

Somchai is accused of gunning down with his .38 first Adam Lloyd, 24,
and then running down Vanessa, 23, and finishing her off with bullets
to her neck and chest in September.

Somchai admitted the killings after he was captured following several
weeks on the run.

Although he has apologised indirectly to the family of Vanessa Arscott,
he has not apologised for the killing of Adam Lloyd, who he claimed hit
him several times, causing him to lose face.

The sergeant's release on bail is contentious, given he fled from the
scene and remained at large for over a month.

After the killings he was allowed to go home, pack his bags, go for
treatment to a hospital for facial injuries, visit his sister, and call
his colleagues to demand terms for his surrender.

He was later given shelter by "influential people" near the Burmese
border and surrendered by prior agreement, but only after protests by
British Embassy officials.

--The Nation 2004-11-10


--------------------

On 9 Mar 2005 06:38:16 -0800, wrote:

Girls and women shouldn't go alone unescorted, where ever they go.

....and they must wear their burka at all times...

It doesn't matter whether it's Australia, the Great Britain, Singapore,
the U.S.A., and so on.

The nastiest things could happened even at the so called 'safest'
place.

Australia is pretty much as 'safe' as the area in the South East Asia.



As for Australia being western.

Hmmm... Western...

Located at the southern hemisphere, located at the eastern hemisphere.

How could have it been western?!

Would you define Eastern and Western Europe using a compass?
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--