More than a million Brits are attracted to the balmy weather and lush tropical jungles of South-East Asia each year.
But the ‘toxic shot’ tragedy in Laos, which has claimed the lives of six backpackers, has also highlighted the hidden dangers lurking in this corner of ‘paradise’.
British lawyer Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, died after falling ill along with more than a dozen others in the popular backpacking town Vang Vieng.
Ms White was among a group of tourists who drank free shots on November 12, suspected to have been laced with methanol.
Australian Bianca Jones, 19, two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen have also died. At least 11 other people are thought to remain in hospital.
Fellow Australian Holly Bowles, 19, was the latest backpacker to die from suspected methanol poisoning on Friday.
The hostel owner at the centre of the alleged methanol poisonings has reportedly been detained by police.
And the Foreign Office has now issued urgent guidance to Brits visiting Laos, warning them not to consume replica alcohol brands that could contain hidden amounts of deadly methanol, or accept drinks from strangers.
But adulterated drinks are not the only perils lurking in SE Asia, where unwary British travellers have fallen victim to hidden dangers.
Simone White, 28, died in hospital after drinking alcohol suspected to have been laced with methanol in the backpacking hotspot Vang Vien
Bianca Jones, 19, has become the fourth person to die after consuming alleged ‘methanol-laced’ drinks in Vang Vieng, Laos
Simone White (left) and Bethany Clarke (right) both fell ill on holiday in Southeast Asia
Ms Jones and her best friend Holly Bowles (pictured) are two of 14 tourists who are believed to be victims of a mass methanol poisoning in the party town of Vang Vieng
Tourists kayaking in the party town of Vang Vieng in Laos
In March, backpacker Theo Bailey, 31, was found dead in a shallow ditch in Thailand’s notorious Koh Tao Island where several tourists have died in suspicious circumstances in recent years.
He and his girlfriend had enjoyed a pub crawl with other holidaymakers before he became separated from the group.
Theo’s body was discovered near Sairee Beach, a beauty spot where Brits Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were bludgeoned to death in September 2014 – the incident which gave rise to Koh Tao’s grim moniker Death Island.
Hannah from Norfolk and David were on a backpacking tour of SE Asia before Hannah started a master’s course.
But Hannah was raped and both the friends were murdered by two Burmese men who have been convicted of the crimes.
Two years later, Hannah’s mother Susan revealed how she begged her daughter not to go to Thailand, fearing for her safety.
Mrs Witheridge said: ‘The family had always been against Hannah going on the trip and tried to persuade her out of it.
‘None of the family was happy with her going there, but she had made her mind up.’
Simone had been staying at Nana’s Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng
Hannah Witheridge, who was found murdered on island of Koh Tao, Thailand in 2014
Parants Tony and Sue with sister Laura and her partner pictured at the funeral of Hannah Witheridge at St Marys Church, Hemsby, Norfolk, in 2014
In January this year, Hugo Mooney, 26, from Brighton was stabbed in the neck and almost bled to death when he told another tourist to stop harassing his female friend in a bar on Kho Pha Ngan, Thailand.
Luckily, a Canadian doctor was on hand to help stem the bleeding during the hour-long trip to hospital by truck.
Israeli Eliran Alias, who had attacked Hugo with a broken beer bottle, escaped with a fine of just $70.
In 2016, three Brits were swept over a 15m high waterfall to their deaths while taking part in a water slide ride in Vietnam.
Sisters Izzy Squire, 19, and Beth Anderson, 24, died with their friend Christian Sloan, 25, at the Datanla waterfalls in Lam Dong province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands in February 2016.
The young women from Sheffield, were seven weeks into a backpacking tour of Asia when they died. Their father, David Squire, later described their deaths as being ‘wholly preventable’.
At an inquest three years later, Coroner Chris Dorries heard how the friends wore life jackets and helmets as they slid head-first down a natural water slide before ending up in a 2-metre-deep pool.
But instead of leaving the pool, the trio were swept along by strong currents and disappeared over the next tier of the river complex. Mr Dorries heard that the trio had not been sufficiently warned about the river hazards.
Bangkok police claimed that Luke Ramage, 31, from Co Durham had died of alcoholic poisoning in his hotel in 2018, despite the fact his room in the city’s red-light district of Patpong showed signs of damage and he had injuries.
Hugo Mooney, 26, from from Brighton, was stabbed in the neck and almost bled to death when he told another tourist to stop harassing his female friend in a bar on Kho Pha Ngan, Thailand
In March 2024, backpacker Theo Bailey, 31, (pictured with his girlfriend) was found dead in a shallow ditch in Thailand’s notorious Koh Tao Island where several tourists have died
Bangkok police claimed that Luke Ramage, 31, from Co Durham had died of alcoholic poisoning in his hotel in 2018, despite the fact his room in the city’s red-light district of Patpong showed signs of damage and he had injuries.
Backpacker Gavin Topley spent a nightmare week in a cockroach-infested Thai prison in 2016 after handwash leaked onto his passport and left a stain.
He tried to enter Vietnam but was refused entry and sent back to Bangkok — where he was detained in a grim airport immigration centre for six nights because his visa had expired.
Sometimes misfortune can strike in the most unlikely settings.
In 2016, Gareth Crowe was on a trek during a family holiday on Koh Samui, Thailand when he was trampled and gored by an elephant in front of his daughter.
Mr Crowe, 36, died when the animal turned on its handler who had dismounted to take photographs.
Mr Crowe and his daughter, Eilidh, 16, from the Scottish Isle of Islay, were thrown by the elephant which is then said to have trampled him and impaled him through the chest with its tusk.
Eilidh was admitted to hospital with minor injuries but is believed to have escaped with her life after the elephant ran off into the forest.
Mr Crowe, 36, was on holiday with his partner Catherine Hughes, 42, and their two children.
In 2012, Jack Cole from Bath had a narrow escape after being repeatedly stabbed by a mob as he saved his girlfriend April Cole from a sex attack by seven men.
The laughing youths grabbed 21-year-old April as the couple enjoyed a romantic stroll towards a boat pier in Ao Nang, in southern Thailand.
After jumping to April’s defence Jack was left to die in a pool of blood as the armed thugs fled.
Sometimes poorly maintained infrastructure can lead to tragedy. Backpacker Charlie Thomas, 20, died of electrocution in 2011 when he inadvertently touched a live socket while sheltering from a storm outside a shop in Phuket, Thailand.
Sociology student Charlie, from Sale in Greater Manchester, touched the socket as he pushed himself to his feet after sitting out the downpour.
Sisters Izzy Squire, 19, and Beth Anderson, 24, died with their friend Christian Sloan, 25, at the Datanla waterfalls in Lam Dong province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands in February 2016
Squire (left) and Beth Anderson with their friend Christian Sloan
In 2008, a 17-year-old Buddhist monk was arrested by police in Cambodia for raping a 39-year-old British tourist he was guiding to a remote mountain-top temple.
Thorn Sophoan confessed to the crime, according to Mey Chhengly, police chief of Battambang Province in Northwest Cambodia.
‘He has already been disrobed and thrown out of his temple. He had not been in the temple long,’ he said.
Travel expert Charlie McGrath said that the biggest danger for unsuspecting tourists in the area was the motorbikes and scooters rented by visitors, whether because of poor conditions and inexperienced riders.
‘In SE Asia, the number one threat is motorbike accidents, followed by partying, or even worse if the two are combined,’ said Mr McGrath, director of Objective Travel Safety, which hosts 1-day travel safety courses for gap-year students and hostile environment courses for journalists.
‘In Vang Vieng there were an awful lot of deaths from tubing in the rivers until the government there cracked down on safety.
‘The threat from methanol poisoning for tourists is more unusual, but clearly it can happen. Most young people are well aware of the dangers of drinks being spiked abroad, just as they are back in the UK.
‘It’s about taking precautions and checking things out – is there something suspicious about the drink you’ve been given? Better to stick to bottled beer and avoid shots.
‘Stay with your friends and if someone starts to feel unwell, seek help immediately.’
