Thailand/Laos/Vietnam/Cambodia... is camera theft a big issue?

[lindsey holland]

I'm planning to visit Thailand, and hopefully a couple of neighbouring countries as well (Laos,

Cambodia and/or Vietnam). I'll visit the usual cities, temples, jungle and beach resorts, and

hopefully stray from the usual tracks (although not into any Cambodian minefields - I'm aware of

this being an issue).

 

Travel guides warn of camera theft being a problem on the street and in guesthouses. I'd really like

to take my 5D, L 70-200 IS, L 24-70 and L 16-40. I can't afford to have this stolen though!

 

I notice that previous Thailand-related posts don't mention any problems with theft. Is it a case of

being careful, as ever, but not unduly worried?

 

Also, any advice on what the climate is like in the north and south in November would be much

appreciated. Guidebooks are a little vague about November as it seems to fall between seasons.

 

Thanks!

[mariosforsos]

Boy, are you in luck or what? I just came back from three weeks in Vietnam where, not

only did I stay completely off the beaten track but I also went completely alone (meaning

without a tour guide or a group). With me I took my trust D200, with my three fast lenses

and my Manfrotto tripod. I think I went pretty much everywhere, I was put up in people's

houses for the night, slept in pretty much all types of hotels and went everywhere.

Seriously, camera issue was not a problem. To put it another way, there were simply so

many people walking around with various dSLRs (quite a few significantly more expensive

than mine) and I seriously did not see or hear anything going wrong!

 

It was the same when I went to Thailand and Malaysia a few years ago! I seriously don't

think you should worry. Of course, this should not mean "leave your camera unattended"

or anything, but I think you won't have any problems. However, mind you that I am about

1.85m and weigh around 190 pounds, quite a few of which is still muscle ;-))), so that might

have deterred anyone looking for a fight, but like I said, I did not hear a single story of

people having problems with their gear.

 

Weather is more likely to be a problem. November is not exactly the middle between

seasons. It may arithmetically appear to be, but the rainy season always tends to linger,

so chances are that November you'll be faced with quite a bit of rain. This means,

relatively normal temperatures (around 25+ celcius) but a humidity around the high 80s or

90s (percent that is). Prepare to sweat! On thing you should really pay close attention to:

if you do stay at any air-conditioned place, when you leave the room, take care of slowly

aclimatising your gear - even with precautions, I did come across two mornings when

humidity and heat were so high outside (even at 8am) leading to foggy lenses.

 

You're in for a treat - photographically speaking. It's an amazing trip - mind you however,

Vietnam (and Thailand, but to a lesser degree) are seriously large countries and it takes

ages to go from place to place! Allow yourself plenty of time...

 

You will be able to see some of my Vietnam photos on http://forceos.freehostia.com in

about a week's time (I only came back 3 days ago and am still processing!)

[Ian Taylor]

I lived in Cambodia for 6 years, starting in 1994. I've also lived in Bangkok, and just last week got back from Vietnam. I've never been robbed.

<p>

You have to pay attention though, especially in Saigon. (If you hear a 2-stroke motorcycle accelerating behind you, dive!)

<p>

My basic rule is - trust the locals, be wary of other travelers.

[Spearhead]

I had no problems in Vietnam, three weeks from the China border down to Saigon. Nobody even paid attention to the camera. I think you're taking way too much equipment though.

 

I did do some damage to my camera, but that was because it was so hot and humid in the jungle that it slid out of my hands. Still worked, and insurance covered the repairs when I got back.

 

You can get good travel insurance that will cover your gear overseas. Just google on travel insurance.

[starvy]

hi lindsey, insurance is recommended if you can afford it. it is best to keep your gear with you at all times. don't keep it out of the bag unless you intend to shoot. only take the lenses with you that you could not do without. travel light and make sure that you don't stick out like a sore thumb.

[Spearhead]

How would you suggest a Westerner travel in SE Asia and not stick out like a sore thumb? How did you do this when you were there?

[Ian Taylor]

You will be a sore thumb.

<p>

Embrace it.

[mike dixon]

<i> How would you suggest a Westerner travel in SE Asia and not stick out like a sore thumb?</i><P>

Easy. Only leave your hotel room or resort to go to the most-popular tourist attractions.

[Spearhead]

Hah, I hadn't thought of that, but it is the way to meld. Unfortunately, I never did that other than on a boat ride in the Delta, never got to the tunnels, the snake village, or wherever tourists go in Saigon.

[michaelging]

My response is not up to date, as I have not been to Asia in about 10 yrs. Before that I traveled all over Thailand, Viet Nam , Laos, Cambodia ,Korea,Japan and never had a problem . I did live in the Philippines for 2 yrs and did have cameras stolen, but that was from a area around the Air Force Base, I was stationed at , never in the countryside. As far as standing out , I am 6'6" and have blonde hair, so I always stood out in a crowd. This never hurt my photography and probably helped it .If you are worried about leaving your gear in a hotel room , I use a PACSAFE , Stainless Steel mesh bag when traveling in areas where theft can be a problem and never lost a camera. I put the cameras in a camera bag, wrap that in a coat and put it in the Pacsafe, which is locked to a welded bed frame. Photography in any country in Asia is wonderful. Have a great trip.

[martijn_houtman]

<p>

I'm totally with Ian here: trust the locals, distrust the other travellers. I've read it

many, many times, heard a lot of experiences with stuff getting stolen (no personal

experience, thankfully), but all of these stories involved other travellers.

</p>

<p>

As what Michael says, standing out probably helps out (6'7" and blonde, I win!). In

my experience, people are very pleased to get on a picture, and standing out in this

case helped me getting some really fun pictures.

</p>

<p>

I've done nearly the same trip as you're going to do (did not do Vietnam), and it was

one of the best trips in my life. Have a great one!

</p>

[lindsey holland]

Thanks for all of your responses - that's a big help.

 

As for standing out, on the one hand I won't because I'm 5 feet tall, and on the other I will because I'm even paler than most westerners!

 

The lenses will be split between myself and my husband, hence taking three - don't think I'd attempt to carry all that weight on my own.

 

Another couple of questions... for those of you who've already travelled around this area.

 

When I've travelled in Europe I've taken the 'figure it out when I get there' approach, usually hired a car, generally been on a very low budget. For this trip I'll obviously not be able to take the hire car route (although I'm still tempted by this for some of it). I'd also like to not have to rough it quite so much. So, the questions are, what's the best way to get around, to what extent would you recommend organised tours, and how readily available is reasonable/nice accomodation?

 

Thanks for any other ideas you have!

[mike dixon]

I spent three weeks traveling the length of Vietnam in early 2007 and four weeks traveling around northern and northeastern Thailand and northern Laos earlier this year.

 

Transportation in Thailand is excellent,extensive, and relatively cheap. Trains cover some of the major routes (though they're usually a bit slow); buses go everywhere (quite frequently for popular routes). In cities, you can hire a tuk-tuk to take you short distances, though you should be prepared to haggle. While you don't need to worry about the locals stealing your cameras, a lot of those trying to sell you something will attempt to overcharge. (In Vietnam, they'll often try to charge 10 to 50 times the local price!) There are also flights between many of the major destinations.

 

In Laos, there are no trains. There are buses on the major routes, pickup trucks with rows of seats in the back on the minor routes, and tuk-tuks and sidecar motorcycles in the cities. There also some boat routes along the major rivers, but these are primarily aimed at tourists. There really are no fast and convenient methods of travel in Laos unless you want to spend the money on a plane ticket.

 

Vietnam has one major train line from north to south--it's probably the best way to travel overland. There are also plenty of buses, but traveling that way is unpleasant--it's a constant series of accelerating, slamming on the brakes, swerving, and honking. There are also flights between major cities, but, aside from Saigon, airports are usually an hour or more from the city. In the cities, there are buses, some taxis and billions of motorcycle taxis.

 

Tours can be very hit-or-miss; you'll need to research your options. You won't need a tour to get around to the major sites in any country. I did a couple of treks (one in Vietnam, another in Thailand) to hilltribe villages; it was essential to have a native guide for those.

 

Accommodations in northern and northeastern Thailand were an excellent value. Clean rooms in good locations with a private, hot-water bathrooms could be found for $10 or less, even in high season. The beach areas in the south would cost much more. Hotels in Laos cost more and were of lower quality. Laos is now very much a tourist destination, and in places like Luang Prabang, there's more demand than supply. Hotels in Vietnam were also a rather poor value, and I've heard costs there have gone up significantly in the year since I visited.

 

There's a lot of information on the web about travel in these areas. I'd recommend getting a guide book (like Lonely Planet or Rough Guide) to give you a better idea of what to expect. The prices, though, in the latest LP guide for Laos are very inaccurate--transportation is about 40% to 50% more and accommodations are about 50% to 150% more than what it says.

[nicholas_yu]

I find that camera theft is really just wrong time, wrong place situation. I've had stuff stolen in North America and been put in hospital in Europe(mugging for camera). But never in Asia (thailand, vietnam, cambodia, china specifically). And I have spent a whole lot more time in Asia then anywhere else.

 

Just keep your attention to your surroundings and trust your feelings. I think I felt more 'safe' in Western Countries, and let me guard down a little, and thats when it will happen. Of course, sometimes its just plain bad luck.

 

Have a good trip

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00PCmY

[mariosforsos]

I will agree with Mike on Thailand and Laos - it's pretty much like he said it. For Vietnam, I will give you an alternative: you can indeed hire a car (it will have to come with a driver as non-vietnamese are not allowed to drive in vietnam) and it will be very, very cheap! (I hired a car with driver for 10 days for around 40 euro a day - it included driver's meals, accommodation, all tolls and petrol) However, make sure you have some idea of where you want to go and you get the driver to agree that he will indeed take you to these places - most drivers there tend to drive so infuriatingly slow that it can utterly ruin your travels plans. If they agree however, they will speed up as necessary (for some reason, you need to make that fuss, otherwise they will assume that driving at 10 miles an hour is fine!!!).

I did the same thing in Laos and was quite fine - usually, contacting an average hotel (not a cheap or a very expensive one) will get you a very, very good deal (when researching my trip, the internet found me a company which quoted me around 1200 US dollars for the same trip in Vietnam as the deal I actually got through my hotel in Saigon!!!) - but I have heard other travellers which were not so lucky; their drivers were pretty crap or lazy or dirty or whatever...

 

Now, as far as tours are concerned, I'd definitely go with the smaller, daily tours in specific locations (i.e. the Angor Vat temples or the Mekong Delta, but not more organised or compact places, such as the northern Thailand temples or the Hue Imperial City in Vietnam) - they are usually pretty good and well worth the money. For others it varies...a good thorough internet search will give you tons of good info.

 

All in all, it's going to be an amazing trip! I've done it once (in stages) and would love to do it again sometime in the future...;-)

[tana_d.]

We (me, my husband, and three young children) went to Thailand and Cambodia for several weeks about a year ago. Common sense will prevent any theft problems - don't leave your camera unattended, be aware of it on your body when you're out.

 

As others have said, travel in Thailand is easy and inexpensive. Taxi's will take you anywhere you need to go, and tuk tuks in the city. Haggle with the tuk tuk drivers, but not the taxi's.

 

If you will be traveling to Cambodia from Thailand, I recommend arranging for a taxi and accommodations before hand. It's easy to get ripped off in Cambodia, in the form of bait and switch, or a driver taking you to a hotel and insisting you stay there.

 

November is part of the rainy season. As far as sticking out like a sore thumb, I wouldn't worry about it. There are so many Europeans and Westerners everywhere you go, even off the beaten path, that the locals don't even bat an eye. We stayed in a condo outside of Bangkok, and our relatives took us to out of the way places, and still there were plenty of falangs ( caucasian foreigners) everywhere.

[jaxphotocat]

I have been to Thailand a few times and had not problems and Cambodia once and

had no problems.

 

I would suggest that you have your equipment insured. I just recently called who I

have my homeowners insurance and they said it is common that outside of the

home a homeowner's policy, after deductible, only insures about 10 percent of the

value. So I would find out what it costs to cover your equipment.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Mark

[bomobob]

Are you 5 feet tall, Asian, and fluent in Thai and Vietnamese? No? Then you're a sore thumb. You'll blend in like a Japanese tourist in Sweden. Doesn't matter.

 

I've spent loads of time all over SE Asia, and theft is no more or less of a problem than anywhere else. I almost always carry my gear with me, partly because I don't like leaving it anywhere, but also because I don't want to miss a shot. Most guesthouses and hotels are perfectly safe. I've never had an incident in 18 years of Asian travel. Nothing. Nada.

Insurance is a good idea in case something gets lost, dropped in the water, or stolen, but only if it makes you feel more at ease. I've never bothered.

 

I'd be more concerned about rain and dust than theft.

[glenn_holden]

Lindsey:

 

Spent 3 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia, in Feb this year and never had a problem with camera theft or felt there was any problem. Lots of folks in Vietnam and Cambodia have new digital cameras, including the better off locals. You might, however, get asked for a financial contribution if you take pictures of particular people at the more popular tourist sites. They didn't seem to bother the locals, but went after the tourists.

 

Mind you, I kept the cameras in a bag until I wanted to use them, and not walk around all day with a camera around my neck.

 

I took some plastic bags for the equipment, but in Feb. it wasn't overly dusty or rainy. I did take a Rocket blower though, and did blow out the cameras about every two days.

 

LGH

[tim_b]

I have lived in the region for some years and travelled extensively around. Thailand is one of the easiest countries in the world for travellers and you should not have any problems there. Do not arrange a tour for Thailand, it is a waste of time, more expensive than doing it by yourself and it's considerably more fun the other way around.

 

Do not take tuk tuks in Bangkok unless you speak Thai and know your way around. Most of them in tourist areas will charge you double or triple what the taxi costs. But maybe take one once, it's kinda fun.

 

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that Thailand is a regional air travel hub. You could save some time by taking a cheap flight from Bangkok to say Hanoi or Phnom Penh. Or the other way around.

 

Check out the available routes on

 

www.airasia.com (flies to Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma)

www.nokair.com (mostly domestic but flies to Hanoi)

www.bangkokair.com (not as cheap as the others but flies to Siem Reap and Luang Prabang)

 

Booking is easy on the internet and the airlines are reliable (Air Asia does suffer from flight delays, however)

 

A nice way to get to Laos is by train from Bangkok to the border in Nong Khai (Vientiane is about 15 km away and there are taxis across the bridge). You could stop in pleasant provincial towns along the way, if that's your thing.

 

Most of Thailand will be relatively dry in November.

[ablyth]

I think camera theft occurs in Phnom Penh, but only when you're not looking. I haven't heard of it happening, but have seen the cameras and lenses for sale in one of the markets there. The hotels in Siem Reap include a safe, otherwise, keep it around your neck, and you'll be fine.

[angkordave]

There are no real problems with security in any of those countries. The biggest risk is having gear stolen by "tourists" in cheap backpacker lodgings.

 

If you are in cities like Phnom Penh or Saigon where hotel burglary does happen occasionally; take a look at the security of your room windows.

 

Window grids are often used but these can give a false sense of security. It is common to have a shared balcony with doors next to windows. If the window is left unlatched or open, a hand can get through the window grid and open the door or take small items from a table under the window.

 

So the best advice is to keep valuables away from windows or take them out with you during the day; as room cleaners frequently leave the window open air the room.