Southeast Asia

Cambodia: Flotilla of Beggars Troubles Officials in Chong Kneas

Date: April 23rd, 2008 |

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A visit to the floating village of Chong Kneas is a popular side trip from Siem Reap, the jumping off point for Angkor Wat, but its popularity has created perhaps predictable consequences. Local fishermen have found begging to be more lucrative than fishing and they now swarm around the tourist boats in vessels with outboard [read more]

Thailand: Muslim Insurgency Plagues Southern Provinces

Date: January 17th, 2008 |

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Four years after it began, a Muslim insurgency continues to plague Thailand’s southern provinces where little progress has been made to curb the violence. Suspected Islamists ambushed a military vehicle and killed eight soldiers Jan. 14, then the next day detonated a bomb hidden on a motorcycle in a busy marketplace in Yala, wounding at [read more]

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur Hotels 98 Percent Full

Date: August 15th, 2007 |

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Hotels in Kuala Lumpur have an enviable problem: 98-percent occupancy rates that are making it hard for visitors to find rooms. To avoid difficulties, the Tourism Ministry is encouraging tourists to stay in cities near the capital such as Shah Alam, Nilai and Seremban. The shortage will be particularly acute around the hosting of the [read more]

Singapore: Taxis Easy to Get but Often Delayed

Date: July 11th, 2007 |

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Complaints about poor taxi service in Singapore prompted a newspaper to poll 100 tourists to get their opinions and found that 74 considered getting a taxi “easy” while 36 reported average waits of 10 minutes or more. At peak periods waiting times ranged from 10 to 45 minutes, and there were complaints about the difficulty [read more]

Singapore: Government Recruiting Young Travelers

Date: May 23rd, 2007 |

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Singapore is encouraging young travelers to spend their vacations working in the city-state for up to six months with the hope that they will later want to emigrate. The government is trying to increase the population from 4.5 million to 6.5 million and would like to do so by recruiting skilled young workers, preferably undergraduates [read more]

Philippines: U.S. FAA Downgrades Airline Operations

Date: January 17th, 2008 |

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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded Philippine airline operations because they do not comply with International Civil Aviation Organization safety standards. The FAA moved Philippine carriers into category 2, which means they can still fly to the U.S. but only under heightened FAA surveillance. Philippine Airlines is the only carrier from the Philippines [read more]

Vietnam: Floods Wreak Havoc in Central Vietnam

Date: November 15th, 2007 |

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Floods in central Vietnam killed at least 29 people and trapped some 3,000 tourists in the city of Hue, 2,500 of them foreign visitors. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An was inundated, with some 150 historic houses submerged. Rains let up and floodwaters began to recede, but more rain was forecast. Health officials [read more]

Indonesia: Medan Puts Squeeze on Beggars and Tourists Who Give

Date: August 8th, 2007 |

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The North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan has drafted a law to levy heavy fines on tourists or others who give money to beggars. A charitable act could cost the giver the equivalent of $660 if the law is passed and enforced, and the beggar could face up to six weeks in jail. The law [read more]

Laos: Fighting in Vang Vieng

Date: May 30th, 2007 |

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The U.S. Embassy in Laos reported news of sporadic fighting between government forces and rebels in the area of Vang Vieng in northern Vientiane province, and warned against ground travel north from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. U.S. Embassy personnel are prohibited from taking personal journeys in the area on Route 13 and contiguous roads. [read more]

Philippines: Military Called to Curb Election Violence

Date: May 2nd, 2007 |

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Mid-term elections will be held May 14 for 12 senators, the entire House of Representatives and thousands of local officials. The run-up to the elections has been plagued by violence among political clans, with almost 30 people killed in recent weeks, including the mayor of the northern city of San Carlos. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo [read more]