Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Violence
Violence against foreigners is pretty rare and is not something you should waste much time worrying about,
but if you do get into a flare-up with some locals, swallow your pride and back down. You are the outsider.
You don't know how many friends they have nearby, how many weapons they are carrying or how many
years they have studied kickboxing.
Websites
Travel advisories are government-run websites that update nationals on the latest security situation in any
given country, including the countries of the Mekong region. They are useful for checking out dangerous
countries or during dangerous events, but these official sites tend to be pretty conservative to cover them-
selves, stressing dangers where many would feel they don't always exist.
Australia
(
www.dfat.gov.au/travel
)
Canada
(
www.voyage.gc.ca
)
New Zealand
(
www.safetravel.govt.nz
)
UK
(
www.fco.gov.uk/travel
)
USA
(
www.travel.state.gov
)
YABA DABA DO? YABA DABA DON'T!
Watch out for
yaba,
the 'crazy' drug from Thailand, known as
yama
in Cambodia, and also, rather
ominously, as the Hindu god of death. Known as ice or crystal meth back home, it's not just any old
diet pill from the pharmacist, but homemade meta-amphetamines produced in labs in Myanmar
(Burma), Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and elsewhere. The pills are often laced with toxic substances,
such as mercury, lithium or whatever else the maker can find.
Yaba
is a dirty drug and more addictive
than users would like to admit, provoking powerful hallucinations, sleep deprivation and psychosis.
Steer clear of the stuff unless you plan on an indefinite extension to your trip to the Mekong region.
Telephone
For country-specific information on landlines, phone cards, mobile phone networks and international dial-
ling codes, see the individual country directories.
The following rules apply to the entire region:
»
Calls over the internet using Skype or another voice-over-internet protocol (VOIP) are the way forward,
and there is plenty of infrastructure in place - both 3G and wi-fi - to make it happen.
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