After reading the unpopular opinions, we can understand why it may seem people don’t want to visit Laos, but after 2 weeks here, we are here to personally tell you how wrong these opinions are. In terms of the methanol poisonings, Laos, despite being on the high-risk list after the 2024 event, is not even in the top 10 countries in the world associated with mass methanol poisonings, with some surprisingly well-travelled countries being much higher on the list than Laos. We noticed when we went to Vang Vieng that there are posters teaching people the warning signs of methanol poisoning, as many casualties happen when the signs are not spotted early enough, and the Lao government specifically states to never accept any free alcohol or buy unsealed alcohol. Following these advisories will significantly decrease your chances of being affected, and, at the time of writing this blog, there have been no documented cases of methanol poisoning in Laos since the 2024 tragedy. On the United Nations development list, Laos is classified as a less developed country; they have a much lower GDP than many western countries, and they only achieved a water quality rating of 33.1 out of 100 on World Population Review. However, branding a country as ‘run down’ or ‘gritty’ because they lack the funding for western infrastructure, better transport, or proper water treatment facilities is simply unfair and ignorant. We have visited Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Pakbeng and endured the 2-day slow boat and have seen nothing that would indicate a rundown or gritty country; if anything, we have seen nothing but raw beauty with incredible French architecture dominating the cities.

Sure, in Laos, like most Asian countries, stomach bugs are a common issue. This is often due to eating contaminated uncooked vegetables, meat or fruit and drinking or even brushing your teeth with the tap water. It can also be due to a lack of soap or sanitiser in bathrooms, which creates a surface contamination risk for things like phones, handrails, doorknobs, money, books, etc. Some of the easiest ways to combat these are the following:

1. Don’t eat with your hands

2. Not touch your phone during meals

3. Sanitise/wash hands before touching any food

4. Only use bottled water

5. Only eat steaming hot food from reputable vendors, restaurants and cafes

Our personal experience in Laos is that after following these rules, neither of us has got sick. In our past travel experiences, travellers’ diarrhoea or stomach bugs will frequently come from personal hygiene issues rather than food poisoning. After travelling to 23 countries combined, we are yet to catch food poisoning abroad. Speculating that simply visiting a country will make you sick is simply untrue.