Laotian Tourist Town Tragedies

"Obviously it's like a famous backpacker place."

"You go from Thailand Luang Prabang and then to Vang Vieng and then  you keep going."

"I've just heard good things about it and it's where most people go."

Frida Svedberg, Swedish tourist in Laos

 

"[Canadians should] exercise a high degree of caution, never leave your food or drinks unattended or in the care of strangers [and be wary of accepting food or drinks from strangers as] they may contain drugs that could put you at risk of sexual assault and robbery."

"[Watch out for food and drinks like] happy pizzas [and] special shakes [that may contain unspecified amounts of opium or] other unknown substances."

Canada travel advisory

Nana Backpackers hostel, Vang Vieng, AP

Vang Vieng in Laos, one of South-east Asia's poorest nations, is a one-party communist state. It is also a go-to place for fun, easy living, outdoor adventure, companionship, and food and drink destination for young people in their late teens and twenties. It teems with young people from all over Europe, North America and Asia looking for a good time. All these tourists are a source of revenue for the village, its environs and Laos in general.

There was a time that the town was celebrated as a venue for partying when young backpackers thronged there. At night the town is full of visitors along its main neighbourhood bursting with bars, restaurants and food stalls. Daytime activities focus on the nearby river thronged with kayaking tourists, expressing exhilaration in their dalliance with nature, making friends with other tourists and anticipating a night on the town after dark.

 

Around the years 2005-06 Vang Vieng became popular among European backpackers for whom exposure to the serenity of nature surrounding the area with available opportunities of tubing along the river -- tourists seated on a tube, floating along the Nam Song River would stop to party impetuously along its banks where a variety of bars invited their presence. 

 

Backpackers roam the main street of Vang Vieng, Laos November 22, 2024. Associated Press

 

The combination of cheap liquor, illegal drugs and river sports drew people into a free atmosphere of exuberance and rowdiness. On occasion that exuberance linked with alcohol and drugs could become deadly. People drowned, or after leaping into the river on a rope swing, would suffer a fatal blow to the head in accidents from which there would be no recovery.

There was a record of 27 deaths linked to river activities in 2011, when the government felt obliged to react by passing a number of mandatory safety regulations to stem the tide of deaths, and with them bad international publicity and a reduction in the number of tourists, impacting deleteriously on the country's tourism industry.

Since that time Vang Vieng has seen a return of tourism in greater numbers, but tourists not necessarily of the backpacking set they were previously accustomed to. While  young western backpackers still arrive, there are plentiful visits now by Chinese and South Koreans, looking to enjoy a wider range of activities.

Over 600,000 tourists visited Vang Vieng in 2023. Expectations were that even greater numbers would arrive in 2024. Sometimes methanol is added to mixed drinks at disreputable bars. Methanol is a cheaper alternative to ethanol but severe poisoning or death can result from imbibing it. Inadvertently this byproduct of poorly distilled homebrew liquor could have been used to make liquor go a little further.

Foreign tourists boating along the NamSong River, Laos, November 22, 2024. AP

Earlier this week, news of two Australian teens becoming critically ill following a night out drinking in Vang Vieng went into circulation. Hospitalized in Thai medical facilities neither survived, and methanol poisoning was confirmed in one case. A woman from Britain also died. As did an American and two Danes, while their exact causes of death have not yet been revealed. It is as yet unclear how many tourists have been affected, although a New Zealander has also become a victim.

Despite the concerns of perplexed and worried tourists and the dark memories stirred of the town's past of reckless partying, the situation does not appear to have affected the many tourists circulating in and around the town, crowding its downtown bars and restaurants as usual, come night.

Foreign tourists enjoying activities in Vang Vieng, AP