Is it safe to travel?
 

Has anyone here decided to cancel their trips to South East Asia since the travel warnings post Bali? I've heard Vietnam is the safest country in the region because of its political neutrality from the West. This is where I'm going in January and I want to hear what you all think, or what you've heard about Vietnam as a safe place to travel. Thanks to you all. Grogan Eziel

i traveled to the philippines last summer and didn't have any security problems (but I did live there for most of my life when i was younger, so maybe i won't count) despite the al-qaeda ties to several muslim groups there...<BR><BR>i believe that for the most part, it is safe to travel to se asia but, of course, it's a matter of being at the right place at the right time (or the more wicked opposite)...which is prob'ly why you posted this...<BR><BR>my insight: whereever and whenever you go, there will always be a threat to your personal security. if you are not comfortable with travelling at this time, then travel somewhere else or some other time.

I am also watching the news carefully in regards to our planned trip to Thailand. For some reason, the US is always behind in its posting of problems in other countries. See the warnings from UK, Canada and Australia travel advisory websites(also Denmark just posted a warning about Phuket this week).<BR><BR><BR>

I don't think any place is going to be completely &quot;safe&quot; and it probably never was, but it's not my impression that places like Vietnam or Thailand have become a LOT more dangerous than the general environment in which we travel now. I haven't read the warnings being posted by other countries (and we all probably should). Intuitively, it would seem like the southern reaches of Thailand would have a closer proximity to the religious connections associated with the current problems. Of course, one significant incident can change the landscape very quickly and dramatically with these things.

We had a year of these warnings didn't we! We are always told it is a warning but we never hear any more details. The Australians issued warnings this week but when asked to clarify they admitted it was 'nothing specific'. I'm not changing my plans.

Don't worry about Thailand,I think it is safe country.....!!!

MDtravelhealth.com is a nice website summarizing travel advisory and travel health issues by country. You can also register online with the U.S. embassy in Thailand--giving dates of travel, where you are going and contact information.