Women Safe Travelling Alone in SE Asia?
 

I will be travelling/backpacking alone as a woman around SE Asia (and I have never been before). Is this safe? Are there any areas in particular that I should stay away from? Or do you reccomend that I join a backpacking group like Intrepid? Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.

For Singapore you'll be fine but for Thailand, Cambodia and Laos I would definitely travel in a group. I recall reading from the newspaper about crimes against backpackers in Thailand so better to take caution.

As anywhere in the world, stay alert and aware of what is going on around you. Do your research first, know about common scams, etc. I live in the US and feel safer in SE Asia than at home.

I have lived and traveled in Asia for more than 15 years and would agree with Kathie’s statement that I feel safer in most countries here than I do when I go back to the US for visits. I do travel quite a bit on my own here (not by backpacking I will say, at least not for many years) and have never had any issues. I have also lived in Europe and would probably have more concerns with a woman travelling alone there than I would with her travelling in most places in Asia. However, SE Asia is a pretty large area, so it’s really hard to generalize. I would not, for instance, go to Papua New Guinea as a woman alone, but would not have any issue going to say Malaysia and a long list of other countries.

But you have to do your research, and also travel in an intelligent way. For example, taking a lot of night trains by yourself may not be a good choice, and in some cases, IMO it is fellow travelers in hostels that you may need to be aware of rather than the locals. You need to take normal precautions with wallet and valuables as you would anywhere (in these days of ATMs and credit cards of course you don’t need to carry a lot of cash), and also be careful in bars and clubs as you would anywhere. I would agree on being aware of common scams used by pickpockets and those aimed at travelers. I don’t think I would arrive in a place without at least one if not two hotel/hostel addresses (if not an actual reservation); as taking the recco of a local cab or rickshaw driver is not the way to go, IMO. But in these days of so many guidebooks to exotic places, and internet cafes and websites where you can e-mail hotels directly, it is very easy to have these in your pocket when you arrive.

For an itin for a first-time solo traveler, you may want to choose to stick to cities and more populated and popular countryside and beach areas rather than going off to remote areas. For example, I think most all of Bali is ideal for a solo traveler (any safety concerns there are not related to solo travelers), but other parts of Indonesia may not be such a good choice as they are too isolated. The Lonleyplanet books are generally a good source of info for solo/women travelers, and also read the country briefs at the US State Department's website at http://travel.state.go/ and see what they say about places on your proposed itin. They tend to be <i>extremely conservative</i>, so read a few, esp for places where you have been and know well to see if what they say matches what you know to be true. Also read the briefs put out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UK or Australia which may have different information, see http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/ and http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/.

I met several solo female backpackers in Laos and Cambodia last year and they were having a ball. If you are sensible, don't flash large wads of cash or wear expensive looking jewelry, be careful in bars and don't wander down dark alleys at night you should be fine. Dress reasonably conservatively, especially in moslem countries. The only local women you see in skimpy clothes in Laos and Cambodia are professional ladies of the night so if you dress similarly you are sending a message. (If that makes sense)

Rooms are so cheap in Laos and Cambodia that you don't need dormitory style accommodation. (Therefore you avoid the possibility of light fingered backpackers.) I was paying around 50,000 kip in Laos and about $15US in Cambodia. With the exception of the MayLyn guesthouse in Vang Vieng I always had my own facilities. At the MayLyn the beauty of my own small bungalow in a beautiful tropical garden made up for the omission. (40,000 kip a night)

When traveling by bus between tourist centers there are usually other westerners so you can gravitate towards them if you feel more comfortable. While I am male, I have met far more interesting people traveling solo that I ever did in a group.

I have female friends who were offered a little extra at the conclusion of a massage in Thailand but if you are not interested you can always say no.

Enjoy the experience and return home a stronger and more confident person.

Thank you sooo much for all of your great responses, that clearly took some time and thought so i really appreciate it. I am super excited about my trip but also a bit nervous, so any help I can get is great!

It may help if you gave a bit more information about your trip. What countries are you planning on visiting? Are you planning on just sightseeing or some trekking, diving, etc?

I am still in the planning process, but thinking about going to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Loas. I want to visits cities like Bangkok but also the off the beaten path areas (which I haven't learned enough about yet to name). I also want to got Singapore, but I'm not worried about it there. more so the smaller towns.

I'll be backpacking alone too for 1 month this summer. I was thinking about Laos, cambodia, burma and thailand. Do you recommend intrepid ?

Ines, I recommend independent travel.

Yes, thats true. I travel a lot coz of my job and I really don't see myself with a group of typical foreigners in cambodia eheheh
I went to vietnam last week and it really helped me to take the final decision to visit this countries.
I thought about visiting Dhaka Project in Bangladesh, fly from dhaka to mandalay (visit Bagan) followed by Laos ( Vientiane, Wat Phu ruins), Cambodia (phom phen and angkor temple) and finish the trip in bangkok.

Ines - I have traveled with Intrepid in Asia, and also traveled there alone (I'm female). Intrepid has good itineraries, variable leaders, well-traveled tour members. However, accommodation can be basic (probably better on the new Comfort level tours), and transport is often local. If it's just a matter of safety, as others have said, you should be fine on your own if you take sensible precautions. If you want to travel somewhere that's a bit problematic by public transport, you could consider Intrepid - or Gecko or Imaginative Traveller.

If you want to get off the beaten path in Laos head north to Luang NamTha and surrounding area. I consider it one of the most beautiful regions of Laos but its a bit basic accommodation wise. Trekking, kayaking and bike riding are available. You can pick up a trek on the spot with Green Discovery. It depends a bit on your age and level of fitness. I'm a fairly active 60 year old Australian farmer and had no problems with the trekking.

I would love to get off the beaten path but I'm 21 and i'll be all by myself... :x I don't think i'll head to those places. I saw green discovery fees and it's so much money for 1 day tour. In vietnam theres so many agencies, you can get tours for 5 euros... ! so... I don't think i'll book anything with those agencies, i'll check when i get there...

Silverwool, don't generalise, many young Lao ladies wear short shorts and tank tops these days, including my cousins, and i can definitely tell you they are not "ladies of the night" rofl. Certainly the sin is worn to work and for any formal government or religious business, but not generally otherwise.

Use your common sense as you would back home, as simple as that. The region is very safe for single woman if they dont go asking for trouble that is...!

kidwill
I read a book titled: Learning to Breath by Karen White.

It's about her solo travels throughout Asia. She is a well published photo-journalist and has traveled and lived in Asia for 20 plus years.

This is all great feedback--thank you. I have since decided to travel by myself for Vietnam. i will then use Intrepid for the trip from Bangkok up north to the hill tibes. After that I plan to come back down through bangkok and south to the beaches. For this part I am a bit undecided about whetehr to go alone or do Intrepid. I feel safe enough but I get the impression that to see the remote beaches it might be easier to be with an organized group. Or is it pretty easy to navigate alone?

All of Thailand is very easy to navigate alone. You don't need a tour group to get you to any of the southern islands, or to the north for that matter. If you want to visit real hilltribes, not on the tourist track, you will need to trek in for at least one overnight stay. Agents in Chiang Mai can arrange this for you alone if you'd like. I don't know whether Intrepid goes to the "tourist trap" hilltribes or whether it can arrange a real hilltribe homestay experience. DO a search here on hilltribes to see some of the comments about hilltribe visits.