As authorities detain a hostel owner in Vang Vieng, expert says the recent deaths are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’

Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub.

Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic party hub in the early 2000s. Enticed by boozy tubing experiences, throngs of twentysomething backpackers cemented its spot on south-east Asia’s famed backpacker trail.