Over the last 15 years or so Laos has earned a reputation among visitors as a remarkably safe place to travel, with little crime reported and few of the scams so often found in more tourist places such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. And while the vast majority of Laotians remain honest and welcoming, things aren't quite as idyllic as they once were. The main change has been in the rise of petty crime, such as theft and low-level scams, which are more annoying than actually dangerous.

That's not to say Laos is danger free. However, most dangers are easy enough to avoid.

Queues

The Lao follow the usual Southeast Asian method of queuing for services, which is to say they don't form a line at all but simply push and masse towards the point of distribution, whether at ticket counters, post-office windows or bus doors. It won't help to get angry and shout 'I was here first!' since first-come; first-served simply isn't the way things are done here. Rather it's 'first-seen, first-served'. Learn to play the game the Lao way, by pushing your money, passport, letters or whatever to the front of the crowd as best you can. Eventually you'll get through.

Road Travel

Better roads, better vehicles and fewer insur­gents mean road travel in Laos is quite safe, if not always comfortable. It's not yet possible to totally rule out the threat from armed bandits or insurgents, though it is miniscule. And while the scarcity of traffic in Laos means there are far, far fewer accidents than the daily horror on Vietnam's roads, accidents are still the major risk to travelers.

ACCIDENTS

After speedboats, and assuming you'll not be walking through any minefields, the law of averages suggests travelling by road is prob­ably the most dangerous activity in Laos. Hav­ing said that, there are relatively few reports of bus crashes and the like, and the lack of traffic and quality of roads makes collisions less likely too.

When riding in buses, you may be able to cut your risk of serious injuries if you choose an aisle seat towards the middle of the bus; these are generally more comfortable too. If you can't get an aisle seat, the right side is usu­ally safer as it cuts down the risks in the event your conveyance is side-swiped by oncoming traffic. It's worth carrying on your person the number of your embassy in Vientiane and the number of Aek Udorn Hospital (Tel: 0 4234 2555) in Udon Thani, Thailand, to call for help if necessary.

MOTORBIKES

As motorbikes become increasingly popu­lar among travelers so the number of acci­dents rises. Ambassadors in Vientiane were not aware of any fatalities when we passed, but it's only a matter of time. More likely is the chance of earning yourself a Lao ver­sion of the 'Thai tattoo' - that scar on the inner right calf caused by a run-in with a hot exhaust pipe.

Speedboats

The speedboats that careen along the Me­kong and Nam Our rivers in northern Laos are as dangerous as they are fast. We rec­ommend that you avoid all speedboat travel unless absolutely necessary.

Theft

While Lao are generally trustworthy peo­ple and theft is much less common than elsewhere in Southeast Asia, it has risen in recent years. Most of the reports we've heard involve opportunistic acts that, if you are aware of them, are fairly easily avoided.

Money or goods going missing from hotel rooms is becoming more common, so don't leave cash or other tempting items (such as women's cosmetics) out on show. If you ride a crowded bus, watch your luggage and don't keep money in your trouser pockets. If you ride a bicycle or motorcycle in Vien­tiane, don't place anything of value in the basket - thieving duos on motorbikes have been known to ride by and snatch bags from baskets. Also in Vientiane, we've had several reports of (usually) women having daypacks stolen after they've changed money near the BCEL bank on the riverfront - be especially careful around here.

Other reports involve theft on buses be­tween Vientiane and Luang Prabang, and on the slow boat between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang. Simple locks on your bags are usually enough to discourage the light-fingered.

UXO

Large areas of eastern Laos are contaminated by unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind by nearly 100 years of warfare. Despite heavy US bombing late in the Indochina War, the majority of UXO found today was left be­hind by ground battles and includes French, Chinese, American, Russian and Vietnamese materials, among them mortar shells, muni­tions, white phosphorus canisters, land mines and cluster bombs. US-made cluster bombs (known as bombi to the Lao) pose by far the greatest potential danger to people living in or travelling through these areas and account for most of the casualties. The Lao National UXO Programme (UXO Lao) reported 164 casualties in 2005, of which 54% were chil­dren and 36 people died. These statistics come only from the districts where UXO Lao is working; real figures are believed to be higher. Large bombs up to 500kg dropped by US aircraft also lie undetonated in some areas, but it's very rare that one of these is accidentally detonated.

According to surveys by UXO Lao and other non-government UXO clearance organizations, the provinces of Salavan, Savannakhet and Xieng Khuang fall into a category of most severely affected prov­inces, followed by Champasak, Hua Phan, Khammuan, Luang Prabang, Attapeu and Sekong.

Statistically speaking, the UXO risk for the average foreign visitor is low, but trav­elers should exercise caution when con­sidering off-road wilderness travel in the aforementioned provinces. Put simply, if you walk where other people have walked you should be OK. Never touch an object that may be UXO, no matter how old and defunct it may appear.