BBC
As the sun slowly sets behind the jagged peaks of Mount Nam Xay, a group of brightly colored hot air balloons drift across the Vang Vieng Valley.
In the river below, young tourists laugh and splash from their kayaks.
It's not hard to see what draws so many travelers to this small town in central Laos. The scenery is magnificent, the entertainment cheap and plentiful.
But the city found itself at the center of an international scandal after six tourists died last week from suspected methanol poisoning.
Their alcoholic beverages are believed to have contained methanol, an industrial chemical often used in moonshine.
For the crowds of young Western travelers on the Southeast Asian backpacker route, Vang Vieng has become famous for what is known as “tubing.” One of them described it to me as an aquatic pub crawl.
Groups of friends in swimsuits and bikinis climb aboard huge inner tubes that would normally be used on trucks and drift toward the current, stopping occasionally at riverside bars where shots of vodka are generously administered, before diving back into the water.
By the time they reach Vang Vieng, everyone is quite cheerful.
“I think we're going to leave the hits aside,” two 27-year-old women from Hertfordshire in the UK told me (they didn't want to give their names).
“Vodka shots are part of the package, but no one wants to drink the local vodka right now.”
The two men arrived here from Vietnam, just as news of deaths from methanol poisoning spread across the world.
“In Vietnam, we got free drinks, especially when we played games in the evening,” one of them told me. “And we just never thought about it, you just assume that what they give you is safe.” We've already drank buckets, but we won't take any more chances, and a lot of people here feel the same way.
“Buckets” are exactly what they sound like: small plastic buckets filled with cheap vodka and other alcoholic beverages. Groups of friends share the mixture through long plastic straws.
“Now that this has happened, it’s really sobering,” the woman’s friend said. “Are you wondering why the drinks are free? At the hostel associated with the deaths, we heard that they offered free shots of vodka and whiskey for an hour each evening. I think if this happened in the UK you would definitely think it's dodgy.
The end of November is peak tourist season for Vang Vieng
Both women said they are now content to drink beer from a bottle or can.
The deaths of six tourists have sent shockwaves through the backpacker scene. Young female travelers feel the most vulnerable. Among the dead are Briton Simone White, 28, two young Australians, Holly Bowles and her best friend Bianca Jones, as well as two young Danes, Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and Freja Vennervald Sorensen.
Only one of the dead, a 57-year-old American, James Louis Hutson, was a man. On traveler discussion groups, many wonder if only women's drinks have been fortified with methanol. The truth is that it's still a mystery.
What we do know is that all the victims stayed at the same place, the Nana Backpackers hostel. It is now confirmed that the American victim was found dead in his bedroom on November 13. The same morning, the two Danish victims were found unconscious in their bedroom and rushed to the local hospital.
Today, the Nana hostel is closed, the swimming pool which was still hosting pool parties a few days ago is empty. A few steps away by the river, a bar called “JaiDees” was also raided. The owners of both have forcefully denied serving illegal or homemade alcohol.
The Nana Backpackers hostel has been closed since the deaths
On the river, there is no indication that poisonings are stopping people from coming to Vang Vieng. The end of November is peak tourist season. The rainy season is over, the sky is clear and the temperature is relatively cool (28°C).
Along the main street, hostel owners told me they were full. Young travelers from Europe and Australia actually constitute a minority. By far the largest groups come from neighboring Thailand and China, the latter commuting south on Laos' new high-speed rail line, built by China.
Vang Vieng is still a rural and dusty town. But it's booming. Local business owners parade in big black Land Cruisers and Range Rovers. As I returned to my hotel Saturday evening, I was startled by the loud barking exhausts of a Lamborghini cruising along Vang Vieng's single main street.
Twenty years ago, it was a sleepy little town surrounded by rice fields. Today it is transformed by Thai and Chinese money. Chic new hotels are springing up with riverside cocktail bars and infinity pools.
But young Western backpackers aren't there for the five-star experience, they come for the friendly, anything-goes vibe.
At a local motorbike rental I meet two new graduates from the University of Sussex.
Ned from Somerset says he has no plans to cancel his plans because of what happened. “People are scared, for sure,” he says, “but I don't feel like anyone is leaving. Everyone is still there and having a good time.”
He adds: “But everyone also says the same thing, don't drink spirits, so people are careful, there's definitely that feeling in the air, but I think it's actually quite safe now because that all the bars are exhausted, no one wants to go to prison.”
His friend Jack is just as serene. “We came here to meet friends and have fun, and we always will,” he says. “I've been here for a week now and I can tell you that the people here are absolutely lovely. They're some of the nicest people we've met in all of Southeast Asia. So whatever happens , I don't think there's anything malicious about it.
Malicious or not, six people died, including five young women.
The shockwave of what happened here has spread around the world to suburban homes, from London to Melbourne, where worried parents with children on the backpacker route are frantically messaging, check their whereabouts and try to persuade them not to go to Vang Vieng. .
