Don't take Photo's at military facilities in Laos! - Caught on helmet cam

Status
Not open for further replies.
KTMphil

KTMphil

Senior member
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Location
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Bikes
2007 KTM 990 Adventure Suzuki DRZ 400
Travellingstrom was looking for the Mig fighters around the back of Phonsavan airport & while searching, accidentally found himself in a Laos military camp.

He had his helmet camera playing the whole time and managed to magically capture the whole incident. What seems to have pissed the Laos soldiers off was him taking photo's of their field guns, as you'll see in the video below, they make him delete all the field gun photo's from his camera, then detain him. Very interesting footage.



[video=youtube_share;CodhsgXUEpE]http://youtu.be/CodhsgXUEpE[/video]
 
There's a LOT more to this saga but it's up to Richard to share or not.

Amazing no-one was guarding the entrance.
Of course, the MIGs are visible without having to enter the base.
Maybe those Eucalypts made Richard feel 'at home' ?! :RE
 
Not good but thankfully at least they let him go. I would have been crappin my shorts!:?
 
Are these the sort of incidents that have caused the Laos Goverment to tighten the control motorcycle entering Laos!!
Would be very sad to see Laos end up like China :hmm
 
I don't know what to say to this, but it was very obvious, that they wanted him to leave, how much stubborn you have to be to not understand at this very moment, as interesting as this is, this is also a heavy insult, wrong or right doesn't matter here, the Laos authorities won't like it and put stricter rules out, because of something like this
 
Just a quick response here from mobile so I can't see who posted what

The bike I was riding was a rental from a local place so my deeds will have no effect on what happens at borders. They did not even see if I was a biker, I was just a tourist and could have bussed in or flown in for all they knew

As for being insulting, what a stupid response.

The base was not marked ( in English or with any international STOP or no go warning signs) nor was it gated or guarded. it was an honest mistake on my part and both sets of authorities, the military and civil police agreed that if I was actually intending any spying or damage then I probably would not have used the front gate.

They seemed more embarrassed than I was.

It would be interesting to see if the entrance is attended nowadays? :)

Cheers
TravellingStrom
 
mt60 said:
Are these the sort of incidents that have caused the Laos Goverment to tighten the control motorcycle entering Laos!!
Would be very sad to see Laos end up like China :hmm
Click to expand...

Nothing to do with it, it was a rental bike
 
esspressolungo said:
I don't know what to say to this, but it was very obvious, that they wanted him to leave, how much stubborn you have to be to not understand at this very moment, as interesting as this is, this is also a heavy insult, wrong or right doesn't matter here, the Laos authorities won't like it and put stricter rules out, because of something like this
Click to expand...

They did not want me to leave. They took my keys and made sure I stayed. Watch it again and open your eyes
 
I am sure that they did not want him to leave - normal procedure is that they "invite" you to come into their office to be questioned at length and if they are sure you just wandered in by accident, they will lecture you about the potential consequences, etc. Normally the gates are guarded - just a rope across the entrance to keep you out.

For your information, there is a thread on Restricted Areas in Laos (http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/laos-information/378-restricted-areas-laos.html) including army installations, etc. In case this or something similar happens to you, STAY CALM AND DO NOT GET ANGRY and explain that you did not realize that this was an area which was forbidden to be entered.
 
AS in this situation, the problem is that these military facilities are not well guarded. To someone new to Laos, that entrance looks just like a school or just an entrance to something else quite normal, so it's easy to innocently wander into these areas without knowing the consequences.
 
Lone Rider said:
I am sure that they did not want him to leave - normal procedure is that they "invite" you to come into their office to be questioned at length and if they are sure you just wandered in by accident, they will lecture you about the potential consequences, etc. Normally the gates are guarded - just a rope across the entrance to keep you out.

For your information, there is a thread on Restricted Areas in Laos (http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/laos-information/378-restricted-areas-laos.html) including army installations, etc. In case this or something similar happens to you, STAY CALM AND DO NOT GET ANGRY and explain that you did not realize that this was an area which was forbidden to be entered.
Click to expand...

I read that link and this base I inadvertently entered was not roped or otherwise guarded.

I would not be stupid and sneak under or through something that looks official and of course I was in no way fazed by the event.

I did stay very calm and never had any worries even when the let me go overnight, taking some camera items but leaving me with others.

I guess the most alarmed I got was when two chaps with rifles turned up and positioned themselves 20m away at 90 degrees to eachother. They had stern faces which said, run if you want, we don't mind. They sat with me in the army jeep on the way to the Security HQ. it was while entering the jeep that I managed to sneak the SD card from the camera and slip it into a pocket, then claiming the camera was broke

I had to return in the morning to answer questions because they were going to a pissup that evening and did not want the hassle.

Most had hangovers the next morning. I never in the end answered any official questions and they let me go with a smile with all my gear cameras and gps

Cheers
TS
 
If it was me, as soon as I noticed the field guns i would be turning around and getting out of there. I think it was wrong to take un-invited photos of weapons in a military installation, what were you thinking!?! Luckily the base personnel seemed to be very relaxed about the whole deal.
Glad you got out of it without too much hassle.
 
johnnysneds said:
If it was me, as soon as I noticed the field guns i would be turning around and getting out of there. I think it was wrong to take un-invited photos of weapons in a military installation, what were you thinking!?! Luckily the base personnel seemed to be very relaxed about the whole deal.
Glad you got out of it without too much hassle.
Click to expand...

You are correct, but at this stage I still did not know it was a military base, it was after I took the photo and saw the green ants coming that I realised. I was still looking for MIGs, the field guns were a side benefit
 
I'm pretty sure at the top of the gate is the symbol for the Laos Military?
That means it was "sign posted"
When we went past I looked & knew not to go in that archway.
 
Please remember that Laos is still a communist country, we often forget because they are pretty relaxed. If this happened in Vietnam (also communist) I doubt you would get away without major hassles. Just take it on face value as a warning to take a bit more care, don't blame any one , it brings it to the notice of people who might otherwise have done a similar thing without really thinking about it.
 
Pounce said:
I'm pretty sure at the top of the gate is the symbol for the Laos Military?
That means it was "sign posted"
When we went past I looked & knew not to go in that archway.
Click to expand...

Nothing I saw was recognised. How am I supposed to know the Laos sign for military base. A simple pole or chain would have told me it was a no go area
 
TravellingStrom said:
Nothing I saw was recognised. How am I supposed to know the Laos sign for military base. A simple pole or chain would have told me it was a no go area
Click to expand...


http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/laos-information/378-restricted-areas-laos.html

2nd to last post was from you on this 2012 topic!!!
One of the first few pictures show the military symbol on the thread!!
Your trip was cut short in China for very similar reasons, caused people behaving stupidly and doing their own thing :WTF

I would agree you are very luckyman, a Thai guy was salvaging steel here from part of the collapsed Friendship Bridge 2 here in Mukdahan, the Laos military arrested him 6 weeks ago and no one has heard from him since!!!
 
mt60 said:
http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/laos-information/378-restricted-areas-laos.html

2nd to last post was from you on this 2012 topic!!!
One of the first few pictures show the military symbol on the thread!!

Right, so I read that thread AFTER I had been there and done that,

Your trip was cut short in China for very similar reasons, caused people behaving stupidly and doing their own thing :WTF

True, but that was KNOWINGLY going against all instructions, what I did was UNknowingly, a slight difference but it makes all the difference

I would agree you are very luckyman, a Thai guy was salvaging steel here from part of the collapsed Friendship Bridge 2 here in Mukdahan, the Laos military arrested him 6 weeks ago and no one has heard from him since!!!

Totally different situation
Click to expand...

As noted above
 
I got stopped by the army when I went for a look at the Migs too. I was on a public road, beside an army base, but not doing anything with them. They came out and told me "no photos", which was fine by me and I rode off. I went back to the public entrance to the airport. There was a gate like the one Richard rode through but it had a guard. I asked the guard for access and was refused so we had a bit of a joke with each other and I left.

I got questioned at a couple of other places... coming out of a protected forest area and then on one of the major roads further south, where the guys made about half a page of notes on all the stamps in my passport. No major hassles though.

I did mistakenly ride into a naval base in Vietnam a couple of years ago. We followed another person (Vietnamese) and didn't know it was a navy base until some of the officer cadets there told us. No hassles though. Keep smiling, don't aggravate and go with the flow.
 
He's a missing Laotian
 
The sign over the entrance partly reads "gongtapyai ...... ", which I believe translates to 'Military Base'.

But, as Richard has said, the entrance, to a casual visitor, did not give the impression of having any restricted access to it on that particular day.
No 'STOP' signs. No guards. No barrier across the entrance. No Rotweiller.

Maybe the officers were also a bit embarrassed that the guard who is usually there wasn't there when Richard arrived.
Maybe there was a fair bit of 'face-saving' on their part.

Anyway, from what we saw, everyone handed a potentially 'sticky situation' calmly and reasonably and Richard eventually safely departed Laos.

He's an adventurer; of course he's going to investigate the unknown!

Alan ('Ngaltutjara') and I were there in November.
We noticed and photographed the aircraft from outside the base, riding the dirt public roads that surround it.
That, for us, was quite adequate.

But, to 'test the waters', we did ride to that gate.
A junior guard was there.
We asked if we could enter and were firmly but politely denied access.
By that time a more senior officer arrived, who gestured to us to execute a U-turn, which we did.
We had seen what we had wanted to see anyway.

Pics and co-ordinates on page 3 of our report.

http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/laos-ride-reports/2819-sabaidee-massage-boom-boom-3.html
 
Good evening gents.

As far as I can tell, the sign reads : Gong-pan Yai(/Nyai) Bpong-gan Agaat 643. Which translates to something like "Air defense Battalion 643"...

View attachment 14940

It's definitely a no-go area.

That Laos is so undeveloped is one of the best things about the place, but in some cases it could also be a little challenging and unpredictable - Like in this case.

I'd be wary of entering places with official looking signs. Especially if it is in an area where it is widely known there are military bases. And under no circumstances should one take photos of weapons in a military installation.

I would have thought that to be a rule of thumb for most people regardless of which country one is travelling in. Imagine if this had happened in Russia, USA, Iran, etc... :eek1

Luckily it all went well in the end. :)
 
At least in Malaysia, you can read the signs....

046-1.jpg
 
2wheels said:
But, as Richard has said, the entrance, to a casual visitor, did not give the impression of having any restricted access to it on that particular day.
No 'STOP' signs. No guards. No barrier across the entrance. No Rotweiller.
Click to expand...

Don't want to stir the pot any further but at this particular base this is a double gate with one used to Enter and the the other to let you go out. The part of the gate for entering has a gate which, when you watch the video, is closed for a large part with a small area open to let people in. I am quite sure that there was a guard sitting in the booth in the middle and he probably called the guys who came walking to stop Richard.
 
Lone Rider said:
Don't want to stir the pot any further but at this particular base this is a double gate with one used to Enter and the the other to let you go out. The part of the gate for entering has a gate which, when you watch the video, is closed for a large part with a small area open to let people in. I am quite sure that there was a guard sitting in the booth in the middle and he probably called the guys who came walking to stop Richard.
Click to expand...

You're not stirring the pot, you're in the wrong kitchen :) This is Laos, they drive on the left, the entry gate is WIDE OPEN and you can see from the video I looked in both windows

The exit gate is half closed, probably so you don't hitch up a field gun and nick it when the guards are away
 
Sorry TS - Laos drives on the right - something to do with the French. :RE

You did go in the exit side, avoiding the partially closed gate. The video does not show guards or lack of them.

You have been in too many countries.
 
yes Richard and maybe you dropped your Bike and Nose in to many Rivers and Streams during your Trip coming over from Europe i guess by the way.
 
Hmmm, I stand corrected, are you sure?

OK, It is so long ago now

I am so confused!! ??
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom