A cluster of vibrantly colored hot air balloons floats above the Vang Vieng valley as the sun gradually sets behind the ragged summits of Mount Nam Xay.
Young visitors splash each other from their kayaks and giggle on the river below.
It’s easy to understand why so many tourists choose this small hamlet in the heart of Laos. The fun is copious and inexpensive, and the view is breathtaking.
However, six tourists died last week from suspected methanol poisoning, putting the town at the center of a global crisis.
It is thought that methanol, an industrial ingredient frequently found in illicit alcohol, may have been present in their alcoholic beverages.
Vang Vieng has gained notoriety for what is known as “tubing” among the masses of young Western tourists traveling along South East Asia’s backpacker path. I heard one person call it a water-borne pub crawl.
Groups of pals in bikinis and swimwear climb aboard enormous inner tubes that are typically used on trucks and drift downstream, occasionally stopping at taverns along the river where copious amounts of vodka are served before reentering the water.
Everyone is quite happy by the time they get in Vang Vieng.
Two 27-year-old ladies from Hertfordshire, UK, tell me, “I think we’re going to give the tubing a miss” (they did not want to provide their names).
“The vodka shots are included in the package, but at the moment, nobody wants to drink the local vodka.”
The two came here from Vietnam at a time when methanol poisoning deaths were making headlines across the globe.
One of them informs me, “We have free drinks in Vietnam, especially when you’re playing games in the evening.” And we simply never gave it any attention; you assume that whatever they are offering you is secure. We’ve had a lot of alcohol in the past, but we’re not going to risk it again, and many others share this sentiment.
“Buckets” are precisely what they seem like: tiny plastic pails loaded with inexpensive vodka and other alcoholic beverages. Long plastic straws are used by groups of friends to share the concoction.
The woman’s buddy remarks, “Now that this has happened, it really makes you think about it.” Why are the beverages free, you ask? We learned that free vodka and whisky shots were being given out for an hour every evening at the guesthouse connected to the killings. If that occurred in the UK, you would undoubtedly consider it suspicious, in my opinion.
According to both women, they are now only consuming beer in cans or bottles.
The backpacker scene has been rocked by the murders of six foreigners. The most susceptible travelers are young women. Two young Australians, Holly Bowles and her best friend Bianca Jones, and two young Danish ladies, Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, are among the deceased, along with Briton Simone White, 28.
James Louis Hutson, a 57-year-old American, was the only person who died who was male. Many people have been wondering on the traveler chat groups if methanol had been added to only women’s drinks. In actuality, it remains a mystery.
We do know that the Nana Backpackers hostel is where all of the victims slept. It has now been verified that on November 13, the American victim was discovered dead in his bedroom. The two Danish victims were sent to the nearby hospital after being discovered unconscious in their rooms the same morning.
The hostel in Nana is closed today, and the pool that was used for pool parties until a few days ago is deserted. The “JaiDees” bar, which is located next to the river and is only a short stroll away, has also been looted. Both establishments’ owners have adamantly denied serving any homemade or illicit booze.
There aren’t many indications along the river that the poisonings are deterring visitors from visiting Vang Vieng. The busiest travel period is late November. The skies are clear, the temperature is a comparatively mild 28C (82F), and the rainy season is over.
Hostel owners along the main street informed me that they were completely booked. Actually, the youthful tourists from Australia and Europe make up the minority. The majority come from China and Thailand, who are neighbors, with the latter traveling south on the recently completed high-speed rail line in Laos.
The rural settlement of Vang Vieng is still dusty. However, it’s booming. Local business owners drive by in range rovers and large black land cruisers. On Saturday night, while I was making my way back to my hotel, I was startled by the loud barking coming from a Lamborghini’s exhaust pipes as it drove down the only main street in Vang Vieng.
This was a quiet small village with rice fields all around it twenty years ago. Chinese and Thai currency are currently changing it. Luxurious new hotels with infinity pools and cocktail bars by the river are popping up all over.
However, the youthful Western travelers come for the laid-back vibe rather than the five-star experience.
I meet two recent Sussex University graduates at a nearby motorbike rental.
Despite what transpired, Ned from Somerset claims he has no plans to cancel. “People are definitely afraid,” he says, “but it doesn’t seem like anyone is fleeing.” Everyone is still enjoying themselves here.
I think it’s actually pretty safe now because all the bars are on edge and nobody wants to end up in jail, he continues. “But everyone is also saying the same thing, don’t drink the spirits, so people are being careful, there’s definitely that feeling in the air.”
Jack, his friend, is just as calm. “We’re still going to have fun and meet up with some friends, which is why we came here,” he explains. “After a week here, I can tell you that the people are really beautiful. In all of South East Asia, they are among the kindest people we have encountered. Therefore, whatever occurred, I don’t believe it was malicious.
Whether intentional or not, six people—five of them young women—have died.
Concerned parents with kids on the backpacker trail are frantically contacting, checking in on them, and attempting to talk them out of going to Vang Vieng as the shock waves from what happened here have spread to suburban homes from London to Melbourne.
ALSO READ:
Minimum Wage: According To NLC, There Is No Going Back On The Deadline
