Flashermac Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to shooting attacks targeting vehicles traveling the “new road†northwest of Kasi in Luang Prabang Province at about 9:00p.m. on March 23, 2016. A charter bus and a pickup truck were both hit by automatic weapons fire on this heavily traveled route between the towns of Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, two of Laos’ most popular tourist destinations. One person was killed, and six wounded. Due to this incident, U.S. Embassy Vientiane has restricted official travel by Embassy staff on the “new road†between the Kasi junction and the Road 4 junction. Both roads connecting the towns of Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng are now subject to Embassy travel restrictions. This Travel Alert supersedes the March 7, 2016, Travel Alert concerning Road 13 and Xaisomboun province and it expires on June 30, 2016. The Embassy restricted official travel along Road 13 from Km 220 north of Kasi in Vientiane Province to Km 270 at the Phou Khoun junction in Luang Prabang Province following similar shooting attacks on vehicles in recent weeks. The Embassy also restricts official travel to Xaisomboun Province in its entirety because of the unpredictable nature of violence in the area and the lack of official information regarding possible motives or a Lao government response. The Embassy still permits its personnel to travel between Vientiane and Vang Vieng on Road 13, and to travel to the town of Luang Prabang by air. Travel by road from the town of Luang Prabang northward is also not affected by these restrictions. Nevertheless, U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Laos should take precautions, remain vigilant about their personal security, and be alert to local security developments. https://travel.state...avel-alert.html Seems like some folks are getting angry at the commie government selling the country to the Chinese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 There've been more than a few Chinese killed and injured recently. Some of what I know, is that even though the Lao are generally tolerant of the Chinese 'business' people, that come to make money in Laos (and some are subsidised by the Chinese Govt), quite a lot of Chinese treat the Lao as peasant slaves. Serfs if you will. I saw one example of this in a Chinese owned supermarket in Vientiane. The Chinese manager type, had lined up the Lao staff and was strutting up and down abusing the Lao at the top of his voice. The fact that he looked like a Chinese Colonel Klink, lent an amusing air to it all, and I did see some smirks on the faces of the staff. I hear that in the Northern parts, the Chinese have sometimes been found to beat and otherwise mistreat their Lao workers. Not a happy recipe. "lack of official information regarding possible motives or a Lao government response" this is par for the course, there is no bad news in Laos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 My Mrs and some of her friends went on a holiday to Sip Song Panna a few years ago. A former ethnic Thai (Tai Leu) principality, it has long been part of China. She said she could communicate with the people using her native Kham Muang (Northern Thai), except in the cities ... where they were all Han Chinese. Also, the indigenous folks had to be careful about speaking their own language when any Chinese were around. The Red Guards burned down the former palace and turning the wats into barns during the "cultural revolution". The PRC government has recently begun encouraging "intermarriage" with ethnic groups (Tibet, Xinjiang) to "solve" the problem of minorities. China's "solution" is to eliminate them by assimilation. Thus I wouldn't be surprised if they show they same attitude in Laos. p.s. Some Farangs who should have known better actually hailed this policy as a step forward. Yeah, the "step forward" used by every conqueror, as when the US government tried to stamp out the Native American languages and the Australian govmt did the same thing in Oz. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radioman Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 Some might say they're working on the assimilation in Thailand as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobydoo Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 coss would you travel by road from the capital to luang prabang now? i was planning just this and flying back to bkk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 No, whilst I'm not sure why the attacks are occurring, I'd give it a miss. The roads are a bugger anyway and for tourist purposes, flying from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is quick and easy. You don't need a car in Luang Prabang unless you visit the waterfalls just outside, but then there are busses etc for that. The Town Luang Prabang, is easily walkable in one or two hours. If I had a reason to drive that journey (relatives along the way), I'd take the North Eastern route out of Muang Kasi, rather than the North Western one referred to in the warning. Belay that, just looking at the map, I'd avoid the North Eastern route also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobydoo Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 local area site luang prabang ok then i'm figuring.....air asia now fly direct bkk lp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 These might the prophetic words, but IMHO it's highly unlikely, the powers that be, will let any problems arise in the tourist spots. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now