An Australian teenager has died after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos in what Australia’s prime minister on Thursday called every parent’s nightmare. An American and two Danish tourists also died, officials said, following reports that several people had been sickened in a Laotian town popular with backpackers.
I’ve been to Laos several times. Most of the foreigners living there know not to drink the cocktails. In a country where people earn a couple of dollars per day there’s just too much incentive to swap out the expensive imported spirits for the local version and pocket the difference.
Also, Beer Lao is really good.