Backpackers in Laos avoid being shot after being poisoned

As the sun slowly sets behind the rugged peaks of Nam Xay Mountain, a cluster of brightly colored hot air balloons drifts over the Vang Vieng valley.

In the river below, young tourists laugh and splash each other with their kayaks.

It’s not hard to see what draws so many travelers here to this small town in central Laos. The place is amazing, the fun is cheap and plentiful.

But the city has found itself at the center of an international scandal after six tourists died last week following suspected methanol poisoning.

It is believed that their alcoholic beverages may contain methanol, an industrial chemical commonly used in bootleg alcohol.

Among the crowds of young western tourists on their way to Southeast Asia, Vang Vieng has become famous for its so-called “tube.” One described it to me as a pub crawl found in water.

Groups of friends in swimsuits and bikinis climb onto large inner tubes that were often used in trucks and float down the river, occasionally pulling up to the riverbanks where shots of vodka are freely sipped, before returning to the water.

By the time they reached Vang Vieng, everyone was happy.

“I think we’re going to miss this pipe” two 27-year-old women from Hertfordshire in the UK told me (they didn’t want to give their names).

“Shots of vodka are part of the package, but nobody wants to drink local vodka right now.”

The two arrived here from Vietnam, just as news of deaths from methanol poisoning was spreading around the world.

“In Vietnam we got free drinks, especially if you play games in the evening,” one of them told me. “And we never thought about that, you just think that what they give you is safe. We’ve drunk buckets before, but we’re not going to risk it again, and a lot of people here feel the same way.”

“Buckets” are exactly what they sound like – small plastic buckets filled with cheap vodka and other alcohol. Groups of friends share the mixture in long plastic straws.

“Now that this has happened, it really makes you think about it,” said the woman’s friend. “Wondering why the drinks are free? At the death related hostel we heard they were knocking off free vodka and whiskey for an hour every evening. I think if that happened in the UK you would think it was a mistake. “

Both women said they now stick to drinking bottled or canned beer.

The deaths of six tourists sent waves of fire into the scene. Young female travelers feel more vulnerable. The dead unite Briton Simone White28, two young Australians, Holly Bowles and her best friend Bianca Jones, and two Danish girlsAnne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and Freja Vennervald Sorensen.

Only one of the dead, a 57-year-old American, James Louis Hutson, was a man. In the discussion forums of many travelers have been asking if only women’s drinks contain methanol. The truth is, it’s still a mystery.

What we do know is that all the victims were staying in the same place, the Nana Backpackers hostel. It has now been confirmed that the American victim was found dead in his room there on November 13. That same morning the two Danish victims were found unconscious in their rooms and taken to a local hospital.

Today, the Nana hostel is closed, the swimming pool, which has held pool events for a few days, is empty. A short walk along the river is a pub called “JaiDees”. The owners of both have vehemently refused to serve any illegal or homemade alcohol.

Outside the river there is a small sign that poison stops people coming to Vang Vieng. The end of November is peak tourist season. The rainy season is over, the skies are clear and the temperature is a relatively cool 28C (82F).

The owners of the big hostels told me that they are fully booked. Young travelers from Europe and Australia are actually a minority. The largest groups are from neighboring Thailand and China, the latter traveling south on the newly built Laos high-speed railway to China.

Vang Vieng is still a dusty rural town. But it is thriving. Local business owners drive by in large land cruisers and range rovers. On my way back to my hotel on Saturday night, I was surprised by the screeching of a Lamborghini’s exhaust pipes driving down Vang Vieng’s main road.

Twenty years ago this was a small town surrounded by rice fields. It is now converted into Thai and Chinese currency. New luxury hotels are popping up with riverside cocktail bars and infinity pools.

But young western backpackers are not here for a five-star experience, they come for the friendly atmosphere or whatever.

At the local motorbike rental I meet two new students from the University of Sussex.

Ned from Somerset says he has no intention of canceling plans because of what happened. He says: “Of course people are afraid, but I don’t see anyone leaving.”

He adds: “But everyone says the same thing, don’t drink alcohol, so people are aware, there is that feeling in the air, but I think it’s actually very safe because all the instruments are at the edges. nobody wants to go to jail”.

His friend Jack is not worried either. “We came here to meet some friends and have fun, and we’re still going to do that,” he said. they are very beautiful. They are some of the nicest people we have met in all of South East Asia, I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.

Malicious or not, six people died, five of them young women.

The shock waves from what happened here rippled around the world, reaching homes in cities from London to Melbourne, where worried parents with backpacking children frantically texted, checking where they were, and trying to persuade them not to go to Vang Vieng. .