I remember for 25 years ago when going on a dive trip in Vietnam, the skipper of the boat organised a drinking party in the water near the boat where all the young backpackers floated around the inflatable bar drinking alcohol, mostly spirits. I guess when you're young you do stupid things, now much older I prefer to drink well known beer brands from the bottle when in SE Asia.
Can only hope that these two young Aussie girls recover quickly
It’s unclear exactly where the women were given the alcoholic drinks laced with methanol.
The friends were staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel on November 11 where they were given free shots of Laos vodka.
They then went to Jaidee Bar and Restaurant, about an 11-minute walk away, which locals say has mafia connections and is notorious for methanol-laced cocktails and hard drugs.
7NEWS cameras went inside the nightspot where they found a printed menu offering marijuana, hash cookies, opium and magic mushrooms.
Reviews on TripAdvisor describe the venue as “intense” and paint it as a place well known for supplying a range of drugs to travellers.
“Don’t plan on doing a lot after a night here because you will be in a state the next day after a few items off the special menu,” one review said.
Another said: “Work your way through the menu, and you’re in for a very interesting holiday.”
Both Bowles and Jones did not leave their dorm room for 24 hours after returning from their night out and reported feeling unwell on November 13.
Three other travellers, one from the US and two from Denmark, died and at least a dozen people were reportedly hospitalised after also drinking the substance.
Publicity over the case of the stricken 19-year-olds has prompted tourists in the region to take extra precautions after the families of the Melbourne backpackers rushed to be by their sides.
French tourist Sourani Ranawana told 7NEWS she had changed accommodation after what happened to Bowles and Jones.
“I saw a message on HostelWorld to not go to the Nana’s Hostel because of the methanol,” she said.
Methanol tastes and smells like standard alcohol and is often used as a substitute in illegal alcoholic beverages, deputy director and head of Emergency Medicine at the University of Melbourne Professor George Braitberg said.
He said it would initially cause the same symptoms of drunkenness and could take eight to 18 hours before the toxic effects and possibly lead to multi-organ failure.
The chemical liquid contains a toxic metabolite known as formic acid, Braitberg said, which concentrates in the eyes “causing blurred vision and possible blindness”.
It then enters the brain leading to confusion, seizures and coma, before the acid builds up in the body causing respiratory failure, circulatory shock and kidney failure, he said.
The potential lethal dose can be different for everyone, just as the rate at which different people metabolise alcohol varies, but in general 1ml per kg of body weight is considered a possible fatal dose.
Hospital treatment such as intravenous fluids, dialysis and intensive care could help people recover, Braitberg said, with early action the key to survival.
