How we helped when this nomad got injured in Laos
We arrived in Vang Vieng, Laos excited to see what all the “In the Tubing” fuss was about, anxious to get in the river and get the tubing underway. We jumped in the river with our tubes and paddled to the first of dozens of bars where locals stand on the riverbanks with rope and floating objects to pull you to the bar and offer you free whiskey. The river is lined with rope swings dropping you into the water at nearly every bar. There is a sign posted at the bottom of the stairs leading to the rope swing stating, “Have some drinks before swinging” so extreme intoxication is encouraged and promoted. As I went off the swing by myself and as doubles, we were having a blast not seeing any danger involved except possibly getting a bruise from landing incorrectly in the water and smacking the surface.
At Bar III, I swung out doubles landing safely with Rob and Peter following after us. I was struggling swimming against the current while trying to hold my top that had loosened and Rob was closest to me swimming back to the riverbank. At this point, I cannot remember a thing and this information was pieced back together by everyone watching who retold the story to me. After Rob and Peter, two large fellows swung out doubles without looking before letting go and dropped on top of me in the river, colliding a knee and my skull in the water from 10 meters above. Rob turned back as I came up floating face down with blood gushing from my head and people began shouting, “Get the girl!!!”
People were screaming and jumping in to pull me out because I appeared dead in the water. Luckily, Rob was able to grab me, turn me over, and pull me to the side with the help of some other people who had jumped in. My head was split open and after about a minute or so, I started twitching and regained consciousness but was clearly unaware of what happened, confused, and afraid by being surrounded by so many people. Rob was the only person I trusted enough to let get close to me and he explained I was bleeding, seriously hurt, and needed to get to a hospital in a hurry. I agreed to go and he held my head together with a jacket to slow the bleeding while I held onto him.
Arriving at the very simple hospital in Vang Vieng, the nurse refused to stitch my head without payment. While I continued bleeding profusely, Rob argued until they agreed to sew me up after someone signed a promise to pay. They shaved the top of my head along the 5-inch gash and began to stitch me, however, the hospital had limited supplies and equipment and the pain medication available wasn’t strong enough. It was clear I could feel every stitch as they sewed my head by my screams, biting and clenching Rob with each stitch. How grateful I am to not remember any of this part. The water I had just come out of was extremely dirty and infection was going to be a risk along with undetected internal bleeding. My head already began to swell and it was clear that I was going to have a concussion. There wasn’t X-ray or CT scan machine available at the hospital for further testing so the nurses gave me antibiotics, iodine and pain medication (paracetemol) and sent me away with my friends.
The first thing I can remember is being back in my hotel room a couple hours later and having my friends staring at me uncertainly. When I tried to sit up the room began to swirl and I knew something was wrong but couldn’t remember a thing right before the accident until that moment. As they began to fill me in on the details of the past few hours, it felt like I was hearing a story about someone else. My head was so sore and heavy and when touched my head, I could feel the bandages covering the top of my head. After listening to the whole story, they helped me up to look in the mirror and I couldn’t believe the reflection staring back at me. There was a shaved strip on top of my head with iodine and blood soaked gauze sewn over the stitches and my forehead and eyes were swollen. My first reaction was horror from them shaving my hair but I was so dizzy I could barely stand up and had to lie back down immediately. My equilibrium was so out of balance that I could barely lift my head off the pillow without causing the room to spin around me. Everyone was so relieved I was alive because when I came floating up, they thought for sure I was dead. Clearly, I was upset by the injury but I don’t think I realized how serious it had been and was most concerned about my shaved head.
When I woke up in the morning, I was dying of thirst but every time I tried to sit up the room started to swim in front of me. Feeling my head, it was even more sore and swollen than it had been the night before. It all seemed like a really bad dream, but in fact there were still bandages on my head and it was a reality. In town later that day, it seemed like everyone I saw had additional details to share about witnessing the accident and it began to really hit me how serious the injury was and how lucky I was to be alive. It was frightening to hear so many people tell me they thought I was dead but put things into perspective about how quickly that could have happened had Rob not been able to pull me out before I was swept unconscious down the river.
Here it is 4 months later and my wound has healed and the concussion is long gone. It took a good 3.5 weeks before I could sit upright and not have a moment of dizziness. The hair has grown back in where they shaved it and sticks up in funny directions but I am pretty much back to normal. I ended up going to Vientiene, Laos to get a CT scan to ensure I didn’t have any internal bleeding and then took a few weeks in Luang Prabang, Laos to take it easy and rest my head, literally. The experience was quite the roller coaster ride of emotions, mostly fear and anxiety, especially dealing with the hospitals in a 3rd world country. Its frightening enough to be injured but to not be able to communicate with the doctors about your condition and treatment was a nightmare. Of course you can try to be as careful and cautious as possible, but sometimes accidents just happen that are out of your control when traveling and engaging in risky behavior. I went back to the Bar III rope swing a few days after the accident and watched people dropping into the water for about 30 minutes and saw at least 2 close calls. The place where people drop in the water is right above where they are pulling people over to the side and it could have easily happened again to someone else. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
People keep asking me if I would return to Vang Vieng and In the Tubing. Of course I would, but I would look at things a bit differently and be more cautious of not only my actions but also those people around me. There isn’t anyone looking out for you on that river so you need to be aware of the unsafe environment around you and intoxicated people who aren’t looking out for their own safety, let alone yours. People die out there every year and many more people get hurt than we know about because it’s not recorded. I agree it is a lot of fun but it is good to also be aware of the dangers involved and know that there is a greater risk for injury. We all want to have fun and enjoy new experiences when we are traveling the world but those good times can end quickly when accidents happen.
Important Travel Insurance Information
World Nomads travel insurance policies (as with most travel insurance policies) do not provide cover where you are deemed to have exposed yourself to a needless risk and where you have not taken reasonable care. Being intoxicated and/or under the influence of drugs will also mean travel insurance policies will not cover you. If you are unsure about cover for any activities you want to do while travelling you can always contact your insurer to discuss.
One of the biggest problems with alcohol is that it impairs judgment, let alone good judgment. Mix alcohol with the hedonism and excitement of travel, and add a dash of getting a good old egg-on from your travelling buddies and you have a recipe for potential disaster. Especially if it involves swinging from great heights off rope swings.
The Laos tubing experience is an attraction for many travellers, but it is also one of the craziest and most risky. We can't tell you how many people we have seen in the aftermath of that adventure with split heads, open gashes and worse.
We can't tell you what to do, but there are a few things we ask you to keep in mind when you are travelling. Is a drunken swing off a rope into foreign waters worth weeks in hospital, and potentially dying? You work and save hard for months and months to have an adventure experience, only to have it dashed from you after a stupid decision. Is it really worth it?
Everyone likes to take risks. It's what makes us feel alive, and it's that feeling that urges us to explore the world. But a good traveller knows the difference between a risk and an act of stupidity. A good traveller can enjoy themselves without having to needlessly risk their life.
We understand it's a totally different story when you are drunk and in the thick of a party. Things happen when you are drunk. We know that. But when you are on the road, you really need to ask, are you there to experience the world, or experience being wasted?
Like we said, we can't tell you what to do, everyone makes their own choices. But if your choices are considered, then you will have a safer and more enriching trip!
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