BASICS - The Rough Guide to Laos - page 77

Vientiane are low, be on your guard in darker streets outside the city centre, and along the
river - muggings have occurred. Motorbike-borne thieves ply the city streets and have been
known to snatch bags out of the front basket of other motorbikes that they pass.
If you do have anything stolen, you'll need to get the police to write up a report in order to
claim on your insurance: bring along a Lao speaker to simplify matters if you can. While po-
lice generally keep their distance from foreigners, they may try to exact “fines” from visitors
for alleged misdemeanours. With a lot of patience, you should be able to resolve most prob-
lems, and, if you keep your cool, you may find that you can bargain down such “fines”. It
helps to have your passport with you at all times - if you don't, police have greater incentive
to ask for money and may even try to bring you to the station. In some instances police may
puzzle over your passport for what seems like an awfully long time. Again, such situations
are best handled with an ample dose of patience. If your papers are in order, you shouldn't
have anything to worry about.
DRUGS
In recent years Laos has seen a steady rise of drug tourism. Ganja (marijuana) is widely
available in Laos, although it's illegal to smoke it. Tourists who buy and use ganja risk sub-
stantial “fines” if caught by police, who do not need a warrant to search you or your room.
As in Thailand, there have been many instances of locals selling foreigners marijuana and
then telling the police. The once-wild drugs scene in Vang Vieng has all but died out, but
mushrooms and weed are still offered at some backpacker bars in Si Phan Don - either
straight up or baked into a dizzying array of “happy” pizzas - but you should bear in mind
that travellers have been known to get sick, or robbed, after indulging.
In northern towns, tourists are sometimes approached by opium addicts who, in return for
cash, offer to take the visitors to a hut or some other private place, where opium pipes will
be prepared and smoked. Many Westerners feel the romanticism of doing this all-but-ex-
tinct drug is just as appealing as the promise of intoxication, but the opium prepared for
tourists is often not opium at all, but morphine -laden opium ash that has been mixed with
painkillers. The resulting “high” is, for many, several hours of nausea and vomiting. While
real opium is not as addictive as its derivative, heroin, withdrawal symptoms are similarly
painful. Visitors caught smoking opium (or even opium ash) face fines, jail time and de-
portation.
In addition, it's important to consider the local implications of using drugs in Laos. There
remains a serious problem with drug addiction in some rural communities, which local or-
ganizations are working hard to address, and using drugs while in the country can encour-
age local people to do the same, thus undoing a lot of hard work.