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Ladybbird · 22-11-24, 04:49

DARK Side of LAOS Backpacker Trail: Drug-Fueled Hedonism in a Communist Backwater

Drugs are sold at restaurants and 27 party-seeking tourists died in a year

Laos methanol poisoning victims were seen at mafia-run bar which openly sells hard-drugs to customers hours before being rushed to hospital

MailOnline 22 NOV 2024

For decades it was seen as Thailands smaller, sleepier - and safer - neighbour.

DEAD;

But Laos has become increasingly popular with tourists, including Western backpackers, and that popularity has come at a price.

Once famed for temples and processions of Buddhist monks, some of its larger towns are now firmly established on the backpacker trail, but are also experiencing record levels of crime and drug-related violence.

Vang Vieng in particular has become known as a gap year party town for teenagers and twenty-somethings seeking hedonism and adrenalin sports.

The former farming village is now at the centre of an investigation after five travellers died after drinking shots thought to have been laced with methanol, a cheaper form of alcohol that can cause severe poisoning or death.

It is Vang Vieng's second taste of notoriety. The town previously hit world headlines in 2011 for tourist deaths whiletubing', riding in an inflated tractor tyre inner tube down the Nam Song river.

Ramshackle bars sprang up along the banks of the river, each competing to lure backpackers with free shots of the local Lao-Lao rice whisky.

Enterprising bar owners set up rope swings, makeshift zip lines and rickety water slides for gap year revellers to play on and threw ropes to the tubers so they could be pulled in for drinks or happy milkshakes laced with hallucinogens.

The combination of cheap alcohol, a party atmosphere and river games proved wildly popular on the so-called Banana Pancake Trail, a well-trodden path around South East Asia for budget travellers.

The Lonely Planet guide described tubing as 'one of the rites of passage of the Indochina backpacking circuit'.

Vang Vieng - a four-hour bus journey from Laos' capital Vientiane - became so popular that at one stage backpackers outnumbered locals by around three to one.

But soon reports began to surface of travellers dying, either from drowning or drinking, or from diving from bars into the river and smashing their skulls on rocks.

Laos is a one-party Communist state, and strict controls on the media meant the deaths often went unreported.

Laos' Darkest Secrets: Tribal Sacrifices, Hidden Gold, and Wars' Aftermath

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV-cwBjseY8

22-11-24, 04:49	#1
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 50,580 Thanks: 28,767 Thanked 14,428 Times in 10,234 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	DARK Side of LAOS-Drug-Fueled Hedonism Sold in Mafia Bar KILL 27+ Tourists DARK Side of LAOS Backpacker Trail: Drug-Fueled Hedonism in a Communist Backwater Drugs are sold at restaurants and 27 party-seeking tourists died in a year *Laos methanol poisoning victims were seen at mafia-run bar which openly sells hard-drugs to customers hours before being rushed to hospital* MailOnline 22 NOV 2024 For decades it was seen as Thailands smaller, sleepier - and safer - neighbour. DEAD; But Laos has become increasingly popular with tourists, including Western backpackers, and that popularity has come at a price. Once famed for temples and processions of Buddhist monks, some of its larger towns are now firmly established on the backpacker trail, but are also experiencing record levels of crime and drug-related violence. Vang Vieng in particular has become known as a gap year party town for teenagers and twenty-somethings seeking hedonism and adrenalin sports. The former farming village is now at the centre of an investigation after five travellers died after drinking shots thought to have been laced with methanol, a cheaper form of alcohol that can cause severe poisoning or death. It is Vang Vieng's second taste of notoriety. The town previously hit world headlines in 2011 for tourist deaths whiletubing', riding in an inflated tractor tyre inner tube down the Nam Song river. Ramshackle bars sprang up along the banks of the river, each competing to lure backpackers with free shots of the local Lao-Lao rice whisky. Enterprising bar owners set up rope swings, makeshift zip lines and rickety water slides for gap year revellers to play on and threw ropes to the tubers so they could be pulled in for drinks or happy milkshakes laced with hallucinogens. The combination of cheap alcohol, a party atmosphere and river games proved wildly popular on the so-called Banana Pancake Trail, a well-trodden path around South East Asia for budget travellers. The Lonely Planet guide described tubing as 'one of the rites of passage of the Indochina backpacking circuit'. Vang Vieng - a four-hour bus journey from Laos' capital Vientiane - became so popular that at one stage backpackers outnumbered locals by around three to one. But soon reports began to surface of travellers dying, either from drowning or drinking, or from diving from bars into the river and smashing their skulls on rocks. Laos is a one-party Communist state, and strict controls on the media meant the deaths often went unreported. Laos' Darkest Secrets: Tribal Sacrifices, Hidden Gold, and Wars' Aftermath https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV-cwBjseY8

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