The music is still playing and the alcohol is still flowing at the bars along one of the party streets in Vang Vieng. Inside a popular venue, a voice over the speaker announces a special offer on beers, as disco lights flicker on the floor. Small paper flags from nations across the world — from the UK to Gabon — hang from the ceiling.
Young people travel from all corners of the globe to party in the small town nestled in the Laos countryside, but Vang Vieng is under a global spotlight, following a suspected mass methanol poisoning that killed six foreign tourists: two teenagers from Australia, two Danish citizens, a Briton and an American.
The Laos government has promised justice and says it is investigating, but there are concerns about how thorough and transparent any inquiries would be in the country, a communist, one-party state that Reporters Without Borders has described as “an information ‘black hole’ from which little reliable information emerges.”
Photo: AFP
The tragedy has also prompted wider discussions about the risk of contaminated alcohol in Southeast Asian countries — and how young tourists stay safe while travelling.
Before the deaths earlier this month, most backpackers did not think much about what might be in the free shots that are often offered at hostels and bars in Vang Vieng and many other parts of the backpacker trail.
News spread quickly among backpackers, said Eliza Rolf, 21, from the UK. “In the hostel we were last in, all the friends that we made were very paranoid about what to drink.”
No one is drinking spirits anymore, they said.
At the Mad Monkey hostel, a sign at the bar urges guests to be aware of a serious incident of alcohol poisoning “at another hostel,” adding, “Please avoid this for your safety and drink reputable branded spirits.”
However, most backpackers said their hostels and bars have not mentioned the deaths, or said anything about how to stay safe.
One business owner said he believes the recent contaminated alcohol was an isolated incident. Another said the tragedy should bring wider change to make the town safer.
“We’re hoping that something like this will push the go button on the endeavor to regulate the supplies to the tourist market — things like backyard distilleries and so forth,” said one hotel owner, who asked to remain anonymous.
Homemade alcohol is fairly common in Laos and other countries in the region, but it can be highly dangerous if it is produced incorrectly, or if unscrupulous makers try to cut costs by adding methanol as a cheap alternative to ethanol.
State media said that eight people who worked at the Nana hostel where some of the tourists were staying, including its manager, have been detained for ing.
Reporting of the deaths in local media has been minimal, due to the lack of press freedom.
The police have released very little information about their inquiries. The lack of communication has not helped boost confidence in the process.
Vang Vieng, once famous for its raucous parties, has weathered various scandals over the years.
The town was in the past known for “tubing,” where backpackers float along the Nam Song river on the inner tube of a tractor tire, stopping off at bars along the way to enjoy buckets filled with cheap spirits, and throw themselves down giant slides and rope swings.
A spate of tourist deaths eventually forced a government crackdown and it imposed a temporary ban on tubing in 2012.
Today, the town attracts a much wider variety of tourists, and guests are drawn to more than just its party scene. In the crisp morning sunshine, tourists in kayaks splash along the waters of the river, the jagged mountains looming behind them. Stalls in the town offer excursions to the nearby blue lagoons and water caves, and hot air balloon trips above the surrounding rivers and rice paddies.
At night, hotel signs glow in multiple languages — Lao, English, Korean and Chinese — a sign of how the town is powered by tourists from around the world.
In the bars, most tourists are sticking to branded beer or soju.
Those who do buy cocktails are at times hesitant. A young tourist and his friend hand a jug of luminous blue liquid back to the bar staff, complaining it is too strong.
“What’s in it?” they asked. The bar staff pour in an extra can of soda, and take a sip to prove it is safe.
Later into the evening, a voice starts to warble over a microphone. On the streets outside, vendors sell sandwiches and smoothies to passersby, their stalls illuminated by lamps beneath umbrellas.
Dogs slumber on the roadside, watching out for snacks. Across town, music thumps from a bar busy with dancing revelers. For now, the party goes on in Vang Vieng — but with an added dose of caution.
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