There is a very good chance that if you have any interest in Vang Vieng or are planning to travel to Southeast Asia you have heard about the recent methanol poisonings in Laos.
At the time of writing, sadly, six people had lost their lives to drinks containing lethal methanol. This has led to stories appearing across the internet on channels such as the BBC, CNN, The Guardian, and more lurid press like The Mirror and The Daily Mail.
As is often the case, certain facts have been misconstrued, some details sensationalised, and the blame cast about. What isn’t in doubt is that lives have been lost, and many people remain hospitalised due to laced drinks.
If you’re heading to Vang Vieng, or anywhere in Southeast Asia, you are probably quite wary about what is safe to drink. And how something like this could happen.
For several years, many bars in Vang Vieng gave out free buckets and shots. It happened on the river during the peak period before 2012, and before the town was cleaned up. It also happened in the open air bars on the island which have all but disappeared. And also places like the infamous Q Bar, Bucket Bar, and others in town would happily pass out free Tiger Whisky, and Tiger Vodka, to draw crowds in.
The bar scene was very competitive back then, but many hated the practice of giving away free drinks. Around 2012, free drinks generally disappeared. Until certain guesthouses started the practice up again. One of these, and perhaps the first, was Nana Backpacker Guesthouse.
Much to the anger of many legitimate bar and restaurant owners, Nana management decided to start giving out free alcohol for two hours a night, every night. This resulted in a reduction of customers going into venues in town. Or, when they did venture out, many were already intoxicated.
Speculation never helps anything, and there has been plenty of it. Fingers were pointed toward certain bars in Vang Vieng. But, ultimately, everything appears to have led back to Nana Backpacker Guesthouse.
All the victims of the methanol poisonings were staying in Nana. And while the owner of Nana in Vang Vieng tried to point out that not every guest got sick, and was also keen to tell everyone how the guests were fine before they went drinking in town, the police seem to have disagreed.
Nana Backpacker Guesthouse has, at the time of writing, been closed. The owners are being questioned by the police. And, the other bars that came under scrutiny are operating as usual. Presumably more details will emerge as time goes by.
One possibility which was on every restaurant and bar owner’s mind at the beginning was that there could be contaminated batches of alcohol in town - poorly made booze containing methanol. The reality then would be that possibly hundreds of people could be poisoned.
One bar owner told us that he was checking all his alcohol in case there was a problem. However, this does not appear to be the case.
A second possibility is that Tiger Vodka - the choice for cheap cocktails - was switched out for Lao Lao. This is the local brew and equivalent of moonshine, or poitín for any Irish readers.
Lao Lao is brewed in largely unregulated distilleries often in residential settings. It can be extremely potent, and is very cheap. And, if it wasn’t correctly distilled, it could contain methanol.
It is sometimes given out as free shots, but it would be difficult to disguise even in a cocktail. The smell and taste are not too refined, to say the least.
Therefore, a third possibility is that methanol was deliberately/accidently added to drinks. Likely, by putting it into a Tiger Vodka bottle for instance to make it look like a regular, albeit cheap, spirit. This was perhaps homebrewed on-site or bought in. Many people have suggested that Nana Guesthouse may have been distilling their own alcohol and the process used didn’t remove the methanol.
The day before this article was written, it was announced in The Guardian and other news outlets such as The Laotian Times that eight people had been detained from Nana Backpacker Guesthouse. Hopefully, the truth will come out sooner rather than later.
By and large, most travellers get through their visit to Vang Vieng and other hotspots such as Koh Samui without any significant problem. For many people, the worst that happens when too much alcohol is drunk is a headache the next day, or an embarrassing memory.
Yet, not surprisingly, many visitors to Vang Vieng are scared to touch certain drinks. One bar owner reported that he hadn’t sold a single cocktail in five days. Another tourist I met said he never drank beer but had now switched to Beerlao as he just didn’t want to take any chances.
Until the truth comes out about how the methanol ended up in drinks served to tourists in Vang Vieng, there will undoubtedly be concern about safe drinking. And, it would be irresponsible for us to say that there is nothing to worry about.
However, the vast majority of bar and restaurant owners are responsible and care about their customers. After all, this is their livelihood. Bottled beers and ciders are likely to be extremely safe as these are distributed by Beerlao which is partly owned by Carlsberg.
Imported spirits should also be fine. Fake alcohol usually has a lot of tell-tale signs such as poorly printed labels. However, understandably, many people are simply swerving spirits and strong alcohol all together.
With Beerlao available everywhere, and a huge choice of non-alcoholic options such as fresh fruit shakes and Lao iced coffee, there is no reason to avoid the nightlife.
What should have been an experience of a lifetime for some has turned into a nightmare for everyone involved and will affect Vang Vieng’s reputation once again. After the problems with tubing in the past, the town cleaned itself up. Now it is in the spotlight once more for the wrong reasons.
The truth is though that the majority have people travel through Southeast Asia and Laos without any major incident. And, Vang Vieng is by and large a safe destination with the most beautiful scenery and exciting activities such as Nam Song kayaking and rock climbing.
For more information on staying safe in Vang Vieng read our companion blog article.
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