How Safe is Laos for Travelers?

(November 2009)

This is the next question I normally get from those interested to find out more about this potential travel destination.

Regardless of where you are around the world, you should always avoid poorly lit and/or deserted areas, particularly back alleys.

In Vientiane, I feel completely safe and at ease walking alone even after midnight. There is always a convenience store, a pub, a guest house, a food store, or an internet cafe that stays open well beyond the usual bedtime within a few steps away. There is the occasional ‘sir, you want massage’ or ‘sir, you want lady’ enquiry but the offer is always proposed in a courteous and unobtrusive manner.

One of the restaurant proprietors told me that normally, due to the low traffic volume and low crime rate, I would not see any police officers in the city. However, with the upcoming Commonwealth Games in December 2009 which is held in Laos for the first time, the authorities dispatched all the police officers to be stationed around the city to be trained in directing the traffic, answering tourist enquiries, etc. I thought that was funny.

With the exception of Vientiane and Singapore, no other ASEAN capitals gives me that ‘safe’ impression.