Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

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TheGrinchSR
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by TheGrinchSR »

Jerry Atrick wrote:
TheGrinchSR wrote:
phuketrichard wrote:what bullshit;
there many more places i would avoid in the states ( can u image a tourist going to Harlem or east l La) and europe
Parts of Amsterdam and Zurich at night

although i do agree about Manila a bit, :-)
Amsterdam is the only place on earth that I feel completely unsafe at any time of day. I was mugged outside a McD's at 9 a.m., on a bridge on a canal in the afternoon, and was steamed by a group in the late evening. Fortunately in the first instance a copper came along and broke it up before I lost my shirt, in the second an Indian gentleman drove the miscreant off with a stick and in the third a taxi happened by and I managed to pull my mates into it before things got really bad.... comparatively S E Asia is a doddle.
When did that happen? The 1970s or 80s? Doesn't seem like the Amsterdam I know. Worst thing that ever happened to myself in 20+ visits and all kinds of states was an altercation with a crackhead panhandler who tried to hustle me.
Across the course of repeated visits in the late 90s and 00s. I never let it put me off but Amsterdam is by far the dodgiest place I've been (apart from Lagos in Nigeria).
"If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever." - George Orwell
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by phuketrichard »

I worked out of Amsterdam in the mid 80's-early 90's
its the ONLY city i have ever been that repeatably had my car windows smashed and stuff stolen, ( were not talking luxury cars here)
Its a city with the worst dope problem ( even though its easy to obtain) and more street people with nothing, i have ever been and i have been lots of places
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by sigmoid »

Been to all of them and mostly agree but take Vang Vieng off this list. All the bars along river but two have been shut down and rope swings of death removed so no more dead tourists. I rented a mountain bike and crossed the bridge and found some of the most beautiful country side in SE Asia. Plus cheap food and lodging, even found a brothel out on the highway north of town. Love it there.
Yes, that's right. VV was cleaned up about 2 years ago already after an Australian diplomat's son became a casualty, or so I heard somewhere.

Here are a couple of articles from that time:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/travel/ ... 10992.html

http://www.eturbonews.com/30814/laos-cl ... vang-vieng

So, the place is a lot quieter now. There are still bars in town and some backpackers, but the place is going upmarket with a large hotel (five star?) being built near the river and Koreans and Chinese couples and families outnumbering the hippies/druggies/boozehounds.

Still, most of the problems of mass tourism are there lurking in the background and further development will likely ruin the place in a different way. The road there is still a mess so that will keep numbers manageable hopefully. And so far the govt there seem to be keeping the doors to Laos shut to the huge multinational corporations that destroy the uniqueness of a country.
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by Anchor Moy »

sigmoid wrote: And so far the govt there seem to be keeping the doors to Laos shut to the huge multinational corporations that destroy the uniqueness of a country.
Probably because they are asking extortionate amount of "commission" and unacceptable govt control. In theory, I'm totally against bakshish, but sometimes it has its uses. However, if there is enough money on offer, I'm sure the Laos govt will change their minds - just thinking of the Don Sahong dam located at 4000 Is for example : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Sahong_Dam
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by phuketrichard »

went to vv when it was full of drunk 18-22 year old English twats Hated IT

went back next year when they had all left Fantastic place

Walt Disney Company has 'no plans' for a Disneyland in Laos

Image


For residents in landlocked Laos — one of the world's least developed nations — it seemed too good to be true, and in the end it was.

The Walt Disney Company has confirmed it: the world's seventh Disneyland theme park will not - repeat, not - be built in the Communist nation after all.

The confusion stemmed from an article early this month in the Lao-government-run Vientiane Times which appeared to state that the next Disney theme park was to be built in a rural province of southern Laos.

"Excavation work to prepare land for construction of Disney Laos ... will begin next month" at Thakek, the newspaper stated on its inside cover.

Thakek is the capital of southern Khammouane province which is up to 10 hours by road from the capital Vientiane. In the rainy season the road is often washed away by floods.

The $US5 billion project was to include three phases, the newspaper said, "with the construction of Disney Laos to be part of the last phase" completed within 7-10 years. The newspaper outlined extensive details of the project, citing investors from Thailand, Malaysia and Laos.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-16/w ... os/7092358
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by Anchor Moy »

phuketrichard wrote:went to vv when it was full of drunk 18-22 year old English twats Hated IT

went back next year when they had all left Fantastic place

Walt Disney Company has 'no plans' for a Disneyland in Laos

Image


For residents in landlocked Laos — one of the world's least developed nations — it seemed too good to be true, and in the end it was.

The Walt Disney Company has confirmed it: the world's seventh Disneyland theme park will not - repeat, not - be built in the Communist nation after all.

The confusion stemmed from an article early this month in the Lao-government-run Vientiane Times which appeared to state that the next Disney theme park was to be built in a rural province of southern Laos.

"Excavation work to prepare land for construction of Disney Laos ... will begin next month" at Thakek, the newspaper stated on its inside cover.

Thakek is the capital of southern Khammouane province which is up to 10 hours by road from the capital Vientiane. In the rainy season the road is often washed away by floods.

The $US5 billion project was to include three phases, the newspaper said, "with the construction of Disney Laos to be part of the last phase" completed within 7-10 years. The newspaper outlined extensive details of the project, citing investors from Thailand, Malaysia and Laos.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-16/w ... os/7092358
Brilliant headline:
Walt Disney Company has 'no plans' for a Disneyland in Laos
Thakek is the capital of southern Khammouane province which is up to 10 hours by road from the capital Vientiane. In the rainy season the road is often washed away by floods.
That sort of says it all. :facepalm:
Thakek is situated here between Savannakhet and Vientiane : Image
Not a tourist area yet, so enjoy it while you can.
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sigmoid
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by sigmoid »

Thakek is situated here between Savannakhet and Vientiane. Not a tourist area yet, so enjoy it while you can.
Yes, you're right. Tha Kaek is not really on most people's radar, but it is sort of a tourist area already. There's a border crossing there and they have "the eerie and amazing Tham Konglor -- a 7.5 kilometre-long cave with a massive river running right through the middle of it". It's also on the main route from northern Vietnam on the road from Vinh.

Here's some info: http://www.travelfish.org/location/laos ... /tha_khaek

When I mentioned big multinational corporations, I forgot about this recently opened place:

Hard Rock Cafe Vientiane! Can you believe it! :lol:
http://www.hardrock.com/cafes/vientiane/

In addition, yes, Laos has many controversial mega-projects going on: the dam you mention, some other dams in the north, the Chinese high-speed railway, a couple casinos, who knows what else...

The roads and mountains are the saving grace. Much of the country is difficult to access overland. You can fly into Luang Pabang but it's at least somewhat protected as a World Heritage site.
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by Anchor Moy »

Back to SEA. What are the no-go places to be avoided in SEA ?
Apart from Koh Tao and of course Phuket in Thailand :stir: , certain areas in the Philippines come to mind - parts of Manila and Cebu city; and the US, UK, Australia and other governments present the whole island of Mindanao as a security risk to be avoided due to the separatist conflict. Anyone been there recently ?
This is the present UK govt warning on travel to the Philippines.
Image
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/philippines
One of the few no-go areas in SEA ?
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by phuketrichard »

PHUKET??? :beer3:
:plus1:

Manila is the ONLY place/city in Se asia i have had someone ( a kid) try and pick pocket me>
late at night always had to keep my wits about me more so than anywhere else
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: Tourist Areas You Should Avoid in Southeast Asia

Post by Anchor Moy »

phuketrichard wrote:PHUKET??? :beer3:
:plus1:
Just checking that you are paying attention. :hattip:
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