Ashley King

This is Static: A Party Girl’s Memoir. Written by me — oh, wait, fuck!

Meg Wilcox

I mean, it was written by you (both laugh)

[Sound of crackling static fades in]

Ashley

This is Static: A Party Girl’s Memoir — hosted by me, Ashley King.

As you may recall, this podcast was over. But a lot has happened since you heard us last. So we thought we'd come back with a special bonus bonus episode with some very exciting updates!

[Static fades] 

As always, I'm here with my right hand man, lady, Meg Wilcox, my producer and whiz of all audio…

Meg

Hey, Ashley. 

Ashley

Hi, Meg. How's it going? 

Meg

It's going okay. It's weird to be back in studio, but I'm glad to be here with you. It's been… it's been a minute, I think is what the kids say?

Ashley

It's been a hot minute, Meg! But we're back because so much has happened since we released this podcast. And we thought our listeners would love to hear about what's been going on… so Meg, why don't you share with us?

Meg

I mean, I guess I think first of Static, the play, which this was all based on. I mean, a fantastic run, which I guess happened before we were working on the podcast, but it was actually nominated for some theatre awards here in Calgary and won one. So that was really exciting  — I mean, we were both at the at the awards and got to see Static being recognized and that was really cool.

Ashley

Very exciting! And I was wearing a very cute dress, might I add.

Meg

It was it was a gorgeous dress. White? (Ashley: white!) You were all in white.

Ashley

I was all in white. It kind of looked like it was my engagement party, but like it wasn't (both laugh)

Meg

And then I think about the podcast itself, the reception to the podcast has been phenomenal…. I think beyond what we were expecting. I mean, part of it was just seeing it on Apple's New & Noteworthy was really exciting — and it made the charts too!

Ashley

It did make the charts! I think every day I was looking at some of the big-name podcasts that were on the charts… being number one in Personal Journals here in Canada, as well as charting in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and being heard all around the world.

Meg

Yeah. And you know, that alone is really exciting — but the podcast won an International Women's Podcasting Award in June. We were runner up, so silver, for Comedy Gold. Not surprising — I submitted your monologue, your Australia monologue from episode one, because I honestly think that is… I mean, there's so many funny moments in this podcast, but if we think of, just like, extended several minutes of hilarity, that's one of my favorites.

And we won! We won runner up. And Jamie was in London at the BBC studios, and he was able to pick up the award on our behalf. And Jamie, you might not recognize the name, but Jamie played Carolina.

Ashley

Yeah. So it was so great that he was able to actually be out there because we couldn't fly out for it. And the fact that we are recognized in four categories at the International Women's Podcast Awards was pretty incredible.

Meg

Yeah, to be shortlisted and to know that… I think it was almost 700 submissions from around the world this year. It just it's great to know that people have listened to it and enjoyed it, connected with it on different levels. I know you've heard from many people as well who've listened to the series.

Ashley

Yeah, I heard from a lot of people around the world who listened to the podcast. We had some really great reviews on the podcast from people around the world, and everyone had really lovely things to say about it, whether they took something from it or just enjoyed listening to it.

Meg

Yeah, and in terms of other things, we've just been nominated for a Rosie Award, which is the Alberta Film and TV Awards, for Best Podcast. So we'll see in October how that all goes. But I think it's fair to say for both of us, it's just been really great to know that not only have we made this, but people are listening and they're paying attention and that feels really good. 

And for me, Ashley — as you know, but I don't think we've really talked about this on the podcast — this series has been what I'm doing for my thesis, for my PhD thesis in Media and Cultural Policy, mostly with a focus on podcasting. And so for me, it's kind of trippy… I've finished my thesis draft now, it's submitted to my supervisors… I'm waiting on all the feedback… But I know that way more people will have ever listened to this podcast than they will read my PhD thesis. And it's so nice for me to know that despite all the work, you know, that's going into it, there is an audience and it's getting out there, and it's something that people can take with them. Because I'm not going to recommend that anyone necessarily read all 100 plus pages of my thesis — I mean, I think it's great, but I know it's not for everyone.

Ashley

I lowkey want to read it! (laughs)

Meg

I've already read you parts of it! (Ashley: I know!) But I’m totally happy to share it.

Ashley

I've never had a thesis written about me, so I'm like, this is kind of cool.

Meg

Well, you already had a medical journal article, and then now you've got all sorts of news coverage and then, yes, you'll now have a thesis. I'll print out a version for you. You can have like a nice little bound book that you can have, you know, your friends read to you when you want to fall asleep. It'll be great.

Ashley

(laughs) I love that.

Meg

And then, of course, just all the media attention that came up during the podcast… And so, I mean, Ash, you're the one who was doing most of that, fielding all the questions in the interviews. How did that feel?

Ashley

Yeah, the coverage was amazing. We had coverage here in Calgary, national coverage in Canada and international coverage. So it was pretty crazy how many people were reaching out. But it wasn't just because of the podcast that people are reaching out to me — unfortunately, there are some bigger things happening around the world. at the time that we released this podcast that made the podcast even more relevant to what was going on.

Meg

Yeah, you know, we've been working for months on this series and getting it ready to go. Had everything scheduled and it was week two, in November 2024, that I remember emailing Doctor Gee, letting him know the episode was coming out later in the week. And he wrote back saying that, you know, he couldn't wait to hear the final version, and that it was so sad and necessary given the latest news.

And I got that email relatively late. He's in New Zealand, so obviously we're in some different time zones and I hadn't heard the news yet, but I remember looking online and that's when we heard about Laos and those tourists who were poisoned by methanol. And that became a huge international story for the next weeks.

Ashley

Yeah. And as a result, I think a lot of journalists were just googling methanol poisoning, and the podcast was coming up and people were reaching out to interview me about methanol poisoning and my experience. And I was able to speak about that and bring attention to it, but also be able to mention, you know, if you want to learn more about methanol poisoning… We talked to an actual doctor who treated it on this podcast! So it, you know, it's a very sad reason that the podcast was being picked up by the news, but I think it was another medium that people could turn to to learn more about methanol poisoning at a time that was so needed when the world was wondering, what is methanol poisoning? After hearing about these deaths that took place in Laos.

Meg

And, you know, reading about what was happening in Laos, I couldn't help but think about what Doctor Gee had said in your interview — and this interview was recorded in July, right? But I remember him saying, you know, the challenge with methanol poisoning is about every 5 or 6 years, there's a big international incident that makes everyone pay attention and kind of remember that it exists, but otherwise it kind of flies under the radar and doesn't necessarily get media coverage because it'll be one person in one place or it doesn't get picked up with the same way. And I just found it so interesting that he called it and within a few months of him pointing out this trend, we saw this happening. Suddenly there was this coverage and it's great, there was this conversation. But then I think the question, you know, for you especially Ashley, was what comes next? What does this mean? Like, how can you help? How can you contribute in those ways?

Ashley

Yeah. It was really surreal when we went to publish the podcast and these deaths were taking place because as much as I preach, you know, methanol poisoning happens, I don't ever want to hear it happening. I don't want to hear about victims, because I know what it's like to be a victim. And I don't want these families to go through losing somebody or having somebody who's been poisoned by methanol and go through what my family has had to go through. You know, for my life, there's life before methanol poisoning and life after methanol poisoning. And now these family members and victims are all part of this club, and I don't want there to be any more members to this club.

Meg

It's a shitty club.

Ashley

It's a really shitty club. And so for me, I instantly was like, how can I help? Where can I be of service? Or who needs somebody to be there for them? Because that was a huge thing that when I lost my eyesight, I looked around the world online to try and find other people who are poisoned by methanol. And social media wasn't what it is today. And so I had a really hard time finding a community or just somebody else that could talk to me about methanol poisoning. And so when I saw that there were some survivors that had been poisoned in Laos, I instantly started doing some Googling to try and track them down. And I reached out to one of those survivors that had been poisoned in Laos and extended a hand of any help or any support that I could give, whenever they might be — if they would ever be — ready to speak about it. I was here if they needed anything, and as a result, I got connected with a very lovely individual named Bethany Clarke, who is a British citizen who currently lives in Australia, that was traveling through Laos with her best friend, Simone White. And unfortunately, Simone White — her best friend — lost her life to methanol poisoning. Bethany was also poisoned but thankfully has recovered and doesn't have any lasting effects of it.

Meg

So Ash, you know, you're reading this in the news… you obviously identify personally… I'm kind of curious how you felt when you saw the news, but I'm also curious… what were those first conversations with Bethany like?

Ashley

I remember it being like two in the morning, and I had seen like a 40/40 or 60/60, interview with her. And I was like, I'm going to find this girl on Facebook. And I just sent her a blind message, being like, hey, Bethany, you don't know me, and there's no pressure to respond. But I've also been poisoned by methanol and I'm blind because of it now, so I know what it's like to be affected by this horrible incident that never should have happened. You know, if you need anyone to talk to, I'm here. And I'm sure she probably was a little bit hesitant, probably hearing from lots of different people around the world, whether it be condolences or media, but I just wanted to extend that offer if she felt compelled to take it.

And eventually she did. And, you know, it was slow messages here and there, going back and forth. But now, Bethany and I talk every single day. With the time difference of her in Australia, our messages come at random times, but I'm there for her and she's there for me. And it's weird to be able to relate to somebody and something that can feel so isolating, but she's doing a lot of great advocacy work in trying to get the word out there about methanol poisoning and making sure that her best friend Simone's memory doesn't go in vain. And she's really encouraged me to continue doing the advocacy work that I'm doing. And so we've kind of come together to do a little bit of that over the last couple of months.

Meg

And it turns out, I mean, aside from the whole methanol poisoning in common thing, again, not something you necessarily want in common, but you and Bethany also are connected through your time in Southampton?

Ashley

Yeah. Bethany and I both studied in Southampton, England, while I was on exchange during my undergrad and while she was there during undergrad. We didn't know each other, but it was just another weird connection that we had. And now we had methanol poisoning as a connection. But what I think is so important is that every story of methanol poisoning is different — from my experience to Bethany's experience — and I think the more stories that we share regarding methanol poisoning, the more versions of methanol poisoning people can be aware of and what to look out for when they're traveling. So I thought, what better than to take our conversations from text and jump on a call of Bethany so that she could explain her story and experience with methanol poisoning?

Here's my chat with Bethany Clarke, calling in remotely from Brisbane, Australia.

[theme music fades in]

Ashley

Hey Bethany!

Bethany Clarke

How are you?

Ashley

Good. How are you?

Bethany

I'm good, yeah. Thank you.

Ashley

Good. Oh, thank you so much for chatting with me. I've been waiting for so long to finally have this conversation with you. I'm really looking forward to it and I think there is all going to be a lot of really great things that are going to come out of this. And I think everyone needs to hear your story. Do you want to start off by telling me a little bit about who you are and why we're why we're here?

Bethany

Yeah, sure. So I'm Bethany Clarke, I'm the best friend of Simone White, who tragically passed away from methanol poisoning in Laos last November, so November 2024. I'm doing a lot of bits and pieces at the moment to try and spread awareness about what happened to her and what happened to the other five people who also died at the same time.

Ashley

And the work that you're doing is incredible, and we'll talk a little bit more about that later. But right off the bat, the things that you're posting on Instagram and TikTok just spreading the word, has been so fantastic. And I think a lot more people are starting to learn about methanol poisoning thanks to the advocacy that you've taken on.

I think what's really important for people to hear is your story around methanol poisoning and what you and your friends experienced. You know, people have been able to hear my story on the podcast, and our stories are similar, but they are different. And so I think it's important for folks to know how differently methanol poisoning can present and how different the outcomes can be. So why don't you take me back? What made you want to go to Laos? And, what happened?

Bethany

Yeah. So, I was actually living out in Australia during my working holiday visa at the time. I had got there in the April, and Simone and I planned trip in November, and the plan was to start off in Cambodia. We met there, and then we went on to Laos a few days later. And, once we got there, we met another friend who, happened to be traveling around Laos anyway, and we got to the hostel the evening before was all fine, no issues. And then the following day we went tubing and after the tubing we chose to have happy hour drinks in our hostel. And that's really where everything went wrong.

So, they had this happy hour between 8 and 10 p.m., which is quite commonplace in Southeast Asia, so we didn't really think very much of it. So you could either have vodka or whiskey shots and, luckily, we actually got a picture of the of the shots, which was good because obviously, later on, we realized that we needed to provide evidence of what we consumed. So yeah, we started there with a couple of other people, having these drinks, and got to about 10:00 and I decided I'd basically had enough. I think it was either maybe then the methanol started to kick in and I felt really tired. It could have been that, or it could have been jetlag, but at the time, I put it down to jetlag because we had no reason to sort of suspect anything wrong. I actually dropped our other friend off to the bar that we'd been in the night before, which was a bar just opposite, so I dropped him off there to continue having drinks with Simone and another girl we’d also met. So I went to bed, they carried on having a couple more drinks, and then they came to bed at about midnight. And then in the morning we needed to wake up for a tour, so we planned to get up pretty early, so I think we would have been up around 7:30. We left to do this tour, which was the Blue Lagoon and a kayaking experience down the Nam Song, and that was… probably left at about 8 a.m. I got down to the Blue Lagoon and that's where we realized we had a problem, because none of us had much of an appetite, which again, is a symptom of methanol poisoning. We also just felt very, very fatigued. So — inability to really want to get up and move, and we had no drive to go swimming either, which was the whole point of doing the tour. And strangely, our other friend was able to swim, and I remember saying to Simone, Oh God, it's strange that he feels able to do this, but we're completely unable. So Simone and I were just sitting down the whole time we were at that Blue Lagoon, literally just drinking water. I don't even remember the conversation being about much. We were literally just talking about here and now. We have no sort of deep thinking that you're thinking, you know, to have a conversation, really. She just kept saying she felt really tired. Luckily, we were actually approached by a couple of tourists who wanted to take a picture with us. So I actually have a picture — it was the last picture that I have as I was sitting around a table smiling. Which, you know, 12 hours later, she'd gone into respiratory distress. So, you know, looking at that picture to how she was 12 hours later in that public hospital, honestly, just… it baffles me. 

But yeah, anyway, we then went on to do the kayaking experience, which again, sort of cemented my understanding that something had gone wrong because we were just laying on the back of these kayaks, unable to use our arms to paddle, unable to see, unable to sit up straight, you know, couldn't even stabilize my core to sit up. So we were just lying or the backs of these kayaks, just waiting for the tour to end really. We got to the end of that and obviously nobody around us really took any interest or concern. But we got back to the hostel where we were just laying around on sun loungers, waiting to get our bus later that afternoon. Simone actually asked me if we could order some food, which I was quite surprised about, and I was thinking, oh well, if you have an appetite then that's good. 

So I ordered the food, she ate it, then we got on our bus to Vientiane, which was the next destination that we needed to be in. And during that journey, our friend called out to me saying, you know, you need to get up, Simone’s being sick. I was sleeping, so I had to wake up, get off the bus, and yeah, Simone was being sick. I then got off the bus and fainted, hit my head — and then we all just clambered straight back on the bus. Again, nobody really asking us any questions, are you okay? Nothing. Nothing. I remember, and I remember our other friend saying to the driver, can you get us to a hospital? So that's what. Luckily, that's what he did. So he drove us to the nearest hospital in Vientiane, and once we got there, strangely, at the moment, I didn't have any interest in going in, because I didn't deem what had happened to me to be of any concern. I didn't seem to be thinking clearly, which again, is a symptom of methanol poisoning — not being able to think clearly, think rationally. A lot of the time you just want to sleep it off and you just want to rest. So yeah, we were just waiting outside this hospital and our other friend had gone in. Around an hour after we just sat there doing nothing, I said to her, look, I'm going to go in because I'm not feeling any better. I probably started to feel a bit nauseous, something I can't really remember. So I went in and Simone still just wanted to stay outside and she said, no, I'm just going to see what happens. I'm just going to rest for a bit longer.

So I went in, checked on our other friend who had started on an IV drip — and, by the way, I'm having to piece this all together afterwards. So this all didn't come to me straight away — So, yeah, he was on this drip, which he said was helping him. And initially I was very adamant that I didn't want to have any treatment there, because I wanted them to diagnose what was going on, and I wasn't prepared to have anyone stick anything in my hand without knowing what was wrong with us, basically. So they kept saying it's food poisoning. And we were saying, well, we all have different diets, none of us have got diarrhea. At that point, you know, I hadn't been sick — and I wasn't sick at all. And I don't think our other friend had been sick either, it was just Simone. They just had no idea what was wrong with us.

So our other friend said, look, this is actually making me feel better, having this drip. So I agreed to have that. And then after awhile, Simone decided to come in and, she was exactly like me. She was very adamant she didn't want to have any treatment without knowing exactly what it was. But I said to her, well, you've been sick, so I think, you know, you should really get the IV at least, just to help you feel a bit better. So she reluctantly agreed to have that. And I remember, later on, I'd kind of given her some electrolytes and things because she just kept saying she wasn't feeling well. And I also checked her pulse using my watch, and it was 82 and I remember thinking, oh, that's not too bad. I'm not too concerned. Like a normal resting pulse is between 60 and 80, so it was a little bit high but, at the time I just thought, well, it's not too bad. And the symptoms that she was having weren't drastic, but very similar to a hangover.

So, she probably got there at about 6 p.m., let's say — I think it was around that time — and then around 8:00, half past eight, I remember David waking me up, this is our other friend. He said, Simone’s breathing's changed and he was concerned, so I got up and she was gasping for air. And that's when she was moved into a separate part of that hospital. And, if you just imagine this hospital, it's like a really, really deprived country, right? So the hospital itself was literally just one ward full of people, absolutely rammed. Simone had actually been put on a trolley, it wasn't even a proper part of the ward — she'd been moved to this very small three person ICU room where she was put on to oxygen. And, they said to me, you know, she's obviously agitated, so we had to restrain her. They used these restraints to hold everything down because the trouble was she was trying to put out her cannula. And yeah, I just remember trying to talk to her, and she just was looking straight through me — she couldn't focus on me. And yeah, she…

Sorry, sorry. Just trying to get my head straight. Yeah.

So she's in this bed, not able to concentrate on me. She couldn't talk to me, and… yeah, she was just staring straight through me. So, our other friend then said, well, I think we ought to go to a private hospital. Luckily, he was on his phone Googling things, and he came up with a name for this hospital, so he organized for the ambulance to come and collect us. But he had to make three phone calls, and they were very adamant about seeing insurance documents and things, which we couldn't provide, so I ended up having to get the phone over to the doctor who was looking after Simone, she had to sort of persuade this hospital to take us on.

So eventually they got to us about 10:30 pm.m, after about an hour and a half of trying to get him to come. And as they drove us straight to the hospital, during that journey, my friend said, look, do you think this could be methanol poisoning? And they said, well, it could be because we have seen it before. So as soon as we got there, you know… I was asleep that whole journey, I don't remember it, but I do remember David saying that once we were sort of getting out of the ambulance. And we got in there, they’re sort of saying to me, can you sign these documents on her behalf? And, you know, handing over the passports… and all I wanted to do was sleep, obviously, but, you know, you had to do all of this admin stuff. And yeah, apparently we got to that hospital about 11:20 p.m., so, yeah, quite a delay really for her, especially. So they rushed her straight into hemodialysis. And they basically said to me, look, we'll do everything we can for her. She's here a bit late, you know, she's obviously deteriorated quite a bit, so it would've been better if she'd got here earlier. But obviously we didn't know what it was so there wasn't a lot we could have done.

So yeah, the following day, we'd all been put into ICU and they said to me, she's doing better and we're just waiting for her to come out of sedation. So that information I then passed on to her mum via text because obviously, as far as I was aware, she was doing better. So, I just said, you know, we’re all in hospital with metabolic acidosis. She's doing better according to the doctors… and yeah, basically she never came out of sedation. And the neurosurgeon said to me, she's got some swelling on the left-hand side of her brain and we think that by releasing it that she would have a better outcome and it’s worth exploring that. But they said to me it's about 20 per cent chance that that's going to work.

So obviously I had to ring her mum back in the U.K. and get her consent to do the surgery — which she did, and she did all the forms and she sent it back. And she's already organized her flights to come out and see Simone — so luckily she got there just as Simone was being wheeled into theatre. Obviously, her head was shaved. Surgery took a couple of hours and they came out and said yes, it was successful, but she's had a bleed on that side of the brain because obviously, when you're doing brain surgery, these things can happen. Her platelets were slightly low anyway because they'd had to do a couple of transfusions even just to get her platelets up to the right level.

So they then said, we are going to do a scan and see how the other side of her brain is. And yeah, the other side of her brain showed that, you know, there was also a problem, there was also some swelling. So, they decided that really there was nothing that they could do — and if they did anything further, there would be a very, very, very small percentage chance that she'd be okay. And really, they were saying that she'd be blind or she'd have some kind of functional problems, so her mum decided the best thing was to wait for her to die, unfortunately. Because they’re Buddhist over there, they weren't happy with Sue turning off — her mum turning off — the ventilator. So they were actually saying to us initially, you're going to have to wait for her to die naturally. So we had to wait for her vital organs to shut down, so her heart and… obviously that could have taken weeks or months. So we were just waiting around probably for 4 or 5 days, and eventually the consulate got involved, and he agreed and spoke to the hospital and said to them, you know what can be done about this?

And they agreed that Sue could turn the ventilator off, which is what she ended up having to do. And it took her, I think, three attempts because they hadn't really explained how that process would work. So, she had to turn off the ventilator and there was a back-up ventilator and then she had to take out tube. So all in all, it took a very long time for her to actually turn it all off. And I was just outside watching on the monitors what was going on. But yeah, that's the story, really. And that day we, we managed to fly home, all three of us together. Because, I just — the last thing I wanted was for Sue to be stuck out there on her own, waiting for Simone to die. So yeah.

Ashley

I can't even imagine what that must have been like for Sue. Well, all of you — but for Sue to have to turn off the ventilator for her own daughter.

Bethany

Yeah. We had this really emotional moment where I said to her, you know, you brought her into this world, and now you're going to have to take her out. And that it was just a really horrible, horrible thing that she had to do, but it was just so necessary. The kindest thing that she could have done in that situation.

Ashley

Yeah. That is honestly, like, so heart wrenching to hear and, I thank you so much for sharing the story. I know you've mentioned it and you've told it and reshared it many times since it's happened. And I can only imagine the trauma doesn't become any less the more that you share it, so I appreciate you sharing that with me. You mentioned that you guys had heard of methanol poisoning when you were in the ambulance. What did you know about methanol poisoning prior to this incident?

Bethany

I have a feeling that I'd heard the words methanol poisoning before, but I didn't know anything about the symptoms. I didn't know about the severity of it, I didn't know that it was still happening. I just literally knew the words. I didn't know anything about it at all. So if somebody had said to me, six months before it happened, what do you know about it? I would have literally said, look, I just know those two words. I don't know the cause, well obviously the cause is methanol, but I don't know, sort of, where the origin is from. I don't know the symptoms… I mean, there are so many symptoms as well that, obviously, you know, mine differed Simone’s and differed to yours, oo, there's just so many that people need to be aware of. And, yeah, it's very unfortunate that in the U.K. and in a lot of other countries, there is no education at all about methanol poisoning. And although you learn about all this alcohol related issues and all the drugs, some bizarre reason, although everyone is traveling, that information isn't out in the open.

And I'm even getting messages, you know, now saying, I went to that hostel, you know, several years ago, it happened to me. And, yeah, it's just it's just shocking to me that this hasn't sort of come out more in the press over the years. But, obviously you're doing everything you can. And, Colin from Just Don’t Drink Spirits in Bali, he's doing a lot as well, even though he's actually not experienced it himself. And there's a few other people out there around the world who's sharing their stories. But yeah, it's just really frustrating that there are all the other people that this has happened to in that particular hostel, who, you know, that just never came out in the press.

Ashley

You're right in saying that it's not really in the news or in the press and I think what was so unfortunate was that it took six international travelers to be poisoned in one event for the rest of the world to kind of listen and pay attention to what's going on. And, you know, this happens all around the world and continues to happen, and people just genuinely don't know what it is. Or what I find — a lot of folks think that you've put yourself in a precarious situation, or that you've taken a risk with what you've drank or something like that. Like you did something bad to end up in that situation and that's just not the case. You know, you guys were taking advantage of a drink promotion that the hostel offered every night, that lots of other travelers were taking advantage of, and it could happen to anybody.

Bethany

Yeah. I mean, I remember looking at that sign saying, it is a sign that said 8 to 10 happy hour free whiskey, free vodka. I remember looking at it and thinking, you know, if you're offering that every night, like, what are the chances of you having any issues with that? You know, it's just… I just wish I'd used my intuition. And that's the other thing that's come out of this whole situation. There were a couple of occasions that day that really, I should have just listened to my gut. And you know, we did the tubing, and there were kind of like shacks that you stopped off at for drinks and, obviously at the time, I wasn't really aware of methanol poisoning, but I was aware that you could get, sort of, bad batches that you that might give you a bad hangover. That was kind of my knowledge of methanol poisoning, but I guess it's not really enough information to put you off. So anyway, these shacks, I actually remember saying to the other two, do you think this alcohol would be okay? So obviously the seed was kind of planted in my head, but I hadn't thought about it enough and I hadn't worked out what was making me feel that way about this particular country. So yeah, it's very frustrating that even though that had come into my head, I still haven't been able to piece everything together to kind of come to a conclusion on what we should and shouldn't be doing there. So yeah.

Ashley

Intuition is a funny thing, because I too had a very strong intuition the month that I was in Bali — prior to me being poisoned — that something was ominous, something was wrong, that I should get out of Bali, that, you know, something bad was going to happen to me. And I'd never had that feeling in my life and I've yet to ever have that feeling since. But it it's incredible how like, you know, hindsight's 20/20. Looking back on it, you know, if nothing bad had happened, I'm sure we'd both not even be thinking about, you know, the intuition that we were feeling prior to the poisoning. But it is kind of funny, looking back, that, you know, something deep down inside of you was kind of telling you to run.

Bethany

Yeah. And I think that's what they say, isn't it? That sometimes your intellect isn't as good as your intuition. And in this situation, I think my other thing that I would want to say to people is just listen to your intuition, try not to ignore it because it's there for a reason. And I just wish in this situation I'd listened to it. But the other thing that was strange that happened was that when I was in the airport with Simone flying on to Laos, we actually called the hostel and tried to get an upgrade from a two-person room to a three-person room because our other friend was joining us last minute. And it was a very strange conversation that Simone had with them. So she actually handed the phone over to me and said, well, can you try and speak to them, because I'm actually getting nowhere. So, I took the phone and had exactly the same conversation, getting nowhere, they were just repeating the same three sentences over and over again.

So I ended up saying to her, this is a bit of a red flag, shall we just book a hotel? And because our other friend had already booked the hostel, we then obviously had to revert back to the hostel. Which was obviously so frustrating when you look back, you know. But obviously we had no idea that this kind of thing was going on and, yeah, we would just have had no idea that this sort of thing would have happened to her. And who knows, we could have ended up at that hostel anyway. If they were offering free drinks, we may have stayed somewhere else and then decided to go there for free drinks. So I try to not do that should if, would if, you know… it’s just exhausting when you try and think of every situation that you could have kind of done something differently.

Ashley

Yeah. And you know, you'll never know that if you did something differently, if it would have changed or like, you said, if you would have ended up at the hostel anyways.

Bethany

Yeah, exactly.

Ashley

So you've listened to the podcast and, we've exchanged our stories and I've, you know, you've learned about what's happened to me. I'm wondering, you know, with the podcast… I wanted to share, you know, this play that I had written and share my story about methanol poisoning, but I didn't realize the reach that I would have, with other folks who maybe have been poisoned by methanol. So I think the podcast is something that you can relate to more than the average person.

You know, I always thought it would be something that would warn people about methanol poisoning, and I didn't really think about the folks who have been poisoned by methanol that might be able to relate to my podcast. What has it been like for you being able to, relate to other people who have been poisoned by methanol or, kind of finding a little bit of a community because, I know from the work that you've been doing, you've been in touch with a lot more families and victims of methanol poisoning.

Bethany

Yeah, obviously, it's really hard to hear everybody else's stories, but I suppose it sort of puts my own personal experience into perspective. Because you were obviously on your own, right? And, obviously I had a friend with me the whole time that all of this was going on. So immediately by having someone that you trust there, things become slightly easier. So, yeah, I felt for you when you were explaining what had gone on in New Zealand and how you’re having to deal with all of that on your own, and waking up in a hostel and not being able to see properly. I just, I can't imagine how difficult that must have been. So yeah, it just resonated with me and I'm sure, you know, when we get the word out that you've done this podcast to a lot of these other survivors that will be really interested in hearing your story as well.

Ashley

I just can't imagine what it was like for you to have to make these decisions, for your best friend and to have to be in touch with her mom. And, you know, that is also a big responsibility to hold. And, you know, the fear of wondering, could I have done something different? Should we have done something different? Could things have turned out in a different way, like that is a lot to take on top of you also being poisoned.

Bethany

Yeah, and, to be honest, I was just so glad when her mom turned up because it just took a weight off my shoulders because… honestly, I don't know what I would have done had she not been there. Because we were just so paranoid about even just being in that country. I mean, David was saying to me at one point, do you think we can trust the water, you know, the bottled water — will that have methanol in it? Just, it went absolutely crazy and it just seemed like we couldn't really trust anyone. And I guess that's what happens to you when you go through something like this, your trust in everyone seems to be affected for a while. But even now, I suppose I'm probably more cautious about just life in general. So the only way I can sort of explain how I am able to do what I'm doing now is by saying that I'm just so glad to not be experiencing what I was experiencing back then, because that was a really, really, really difficult time. Which I actually don't think could have been any worse — unless David had also died, then that that would have been worse.

But yeah, like honestly, the whole situation was so horrific. So I was having to just call up her friends — like, you know, everyone that she knew needed to know this because it's coming out in the press, so I needed to communicate with everyone who cared about her so that they would be aware. And then obviously, I gave them an opportunity to leave her a message. So a lot of them actually did their own voice notes, which I played to her, while she was, laying there on the life support. But I'm glad I did because I think although Simone probably wouldn't have got much from them, it could be that she would have got something out of hearing those voices. And obviously good for the people that were able to leave those voice notes, because they didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her.

Ashley

That is so tough. I honestly can't even imagine what that must have been like. You know, when I look at methanol poisoning for me, I think about life before methanol poisoning and life after methanol poisoning. And I imagine in your life, although you don't have lasting effects — thankfully — from the methanol poisoning… How has your life changed now?

Bethany

I completely agree with you. I think it's very much a case of, I mean, in my situation is BS — Before Simone — and AS — After Simone. Yeah, it's vastly different because she was somebody I was communicating with every day, multiple times a day. We would leave voice notes for each other. Even though she was on the other side of the world back in the U.K. and I'm in Australia, we literally were always talking. Like, our threads never ended — there was no hello, there's no goodbye, it was just always going. So the fact that I don't have that anymore is very difficult because I just… it's also knowing what to do with the extra sort of time that, you know, you would spend communicating. It's difficult to know what to do with that. So this is where I'm sort of spending the time on socials and doing these things in her memory. So yeah, when people comment and say sorry for your loss and things like that, I'm always reminded of obviously Simone and what I've lost. And, even now, it's still quite surreal. So, multiple times a day, I remember — oh yeah, Simone’s not here anymore — and it's probably a feeling that won’t go away for a while, I would have thought. But yeah… I'm just, I don't know. I don't know what to say. It's just one of those, isn't it, where… I'm just glad that people are interested enough to speak to me and get this awareness out.

Ashley

Yeah — speaking of that, why don't you tell us a little bit about what you’re doing to bring up awareness around methanol poisoning?

Bethany

So the first thing that I applied for was a Parliamentary petition in the U.K. So I think I applied for that in maybe January, and that came late in April, so it took a bit of time. And yeah, so it's really about trying to get this brought up in Parliament so that they could get this onto the U.K. schools curriculum . And that, amongst many other things that we could be doing, really. I mean, testing strips is another thing that we're quite interested in. The problem with that, that I've heard might be a bit of an issue, is that methanol is present in alcoholic drinks in general. So if you're testing for something like a drug like Rohypnol, that's very easy to test for because it's a yes or no. Whereas in this situation it's going to it's going to show a colour, because it's going to have methanol in pretty much any spirit in a very small quantity, usually. So it's just that difficulty, if some is present, you know, how do you actually test for it using these strips accurately? So it's something that, you know, we would love a university to get involved in, and if the alcohol industry would be willing to provide a bit of funding towards that, then amazing. But yeah, that's just kind of the next step, that’s in the future. At the moment, I'm focused on this petition and trying to spread a bit more international awareness, because I think there's a lot of people reaching out to me at the moment saying, I've never heard about this. And, you know, a lot of people in Asia comment and they say, oh, yeah, I’m in Vietnam and we’re taught about this. And obviously that curriculum needs to be worldwide because we're a very international world at the moment. I mean, people are traveling around all the time, and much more so than in the past. So I think having this in the curriculum in pretty much every country would be a good idea. And I think, yeah, obviously Canada for you. For the U.S. — a few people have reached out to me in the U.S. saying, do you have anything can we sign in the U.S? And unfortunately, because I'm not a U.S. citizen, I can't create these petitions, you know, in other countries.

But in Australia they do have the same petition process, but it was something that I discussed with the parents of the Australian girls who died. And they seem to think that things are going pretty well in Australia, and that maybe that wouldn't be needed over here because they are quite proactive. I mean, they're sending out SMS messages at the moment. They've got posters on the back of toilet cubicles in the airports talking about symptoms. So I think they are doing a lot more in Australia than the U.K. at the moment. It's also thinking about travel advice — so the Foreign Office in the U.K. have a website about what's going on in Asia and these other countries that have issues with methanol poisoning. And some of the advice is okay, but it's not perfect. So there's things like — make sure you’re drinking from sealed bottles. But, of course we had a case with Cheznye Emmons who bought gin in Bali, and it was a sealed bottle of gin and must have had a very high dose of methanol in it because she passed away. And her dad actually went back there a couple of months later into the same shop to buy the same gin and it got tested in a UK lab. It came back as having really, really, really high levels of methanol. So I think although, you know, it was brought up with the Balinese government and everything, it's just not something that they seem particularly interested in. Because, you know, it's not regulated, is it? So each government has got their own thing that is driving them, and for them it’s tourism.

Ashley

Yeah. No, that's the case that I'm familiar with. And yeah, I think there are some conflicting things that are out there… But what I think is so great is all of the advocacy work that you've been doing, all the interviews that you've been doing. I feel like every time I go on social media, there is another interview you've done for somebody. And the videos that you've been making on TikTok and on Instagram, you know, they're getting crazy billions of views. (Bethany: yeah, crazy!) And Perez Hilton reposted one of your videos. So I think it's so fantastic that the word is getting out there. I know I had a friend recently send me one of your videos, like, have you heard of this girl? I was like, I know this girl! (laughs)

So I think, you know, it's slow, it feels slow, and sometimes it feels like you're just putting it out into the world and you don't know if anyone's listening or hearing you. But I think the work that you're doing is really fantastic. And you're warning a lot of people about methanol poisoning who don't know that it's a thing.

Bethany

Yeah, and I mean, if we can just save one more life then all of this is worth it, isn't it? And, you know, I suppose, I suppose the thing for me is what happens when we're all dead in 100 years’ time is, is just going to keep happening? So this is for me why it needs to be in the curriculum. Because, you know, we're not going to be here to get this message out.

Ashley

Agreed. And it should be in curriculums all around the world. And like you said, in Canada and the US and the UK, in Australia, and so that people ,you know, know about it and they remember it when they are traveling the world… about that thing that they learned about back in biology, in high school, or whatever it might be….

Bethany

Yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong, I think it needs to be done in such a way that it's hard hitting, because I think sometimes… if you just sort of learn about alcohol, then this is included, “Oh, there is this thing called methanol…” It does need to be quite scary, unfortunately, I think for people to sit up and actually recognize the issue. Because, you know, don't know if you remember watching those, drink and drive campaigns that used to go on, when we were young. But I remember this particular one, and I literally remember how it was worded. It was like, if you hit me at 30, there's a 70% chance I’ll live. If you hit me at 40, there's a 70% chance I’ll die. And you have this kid sort of, lying in the street with blood dripping out of her mouth… And when you're watching that as an eight-year-old, you think, Jesus Christ, I don't even want to ever drive, like this is horrendous. And I think I've seen has basically what we need. We need something (Ashley: yeah) It's something that people won't forget. I mean, that's something I watched 20 years ago and I still remember it. So we need something like that.

So yeah, that's kind of the plan really. And I'm on board with a couple of families in the U.K. who have lost people. Kirsty McKee's another one, who, she passed away in 2022 from drinking limoncello and her mum is actually getting really involved with trying to help with the video side of things because she's got — so actually, Kirsty's old boss used to make films, so that's kind of how she thinks she's going to get well made. He seems very proactive and able to kind of fun to fail, which is brilliant. So yeah, it's great to have all these other people helping me.

Ashley

Yeah, I think that's fantastic. There's one last thing I want to ask you. What's going on with the repercussions of what happened back in November? Are there any repercussions? Is there any justice that's been served?

Bethany

Oh, God, I hate this question because it's just so frustrating. I mean, we were told recently via our Foreign Office that there were going to be 13 individuals charged with different offenses relating to things like not working with a work permit, violation of food and beverage safety standards. What were the other ones… sale of psychotropic substances. And, the other one was something very similarly poor in terms of… it was just not anything to do with manslaughter. So, you know, we were actually told if they found the hospital guilty of causing a mass poisoning, it would be seven years of jail time. Obviously, the charges that I've just read out not that amount to anything like seven years, I wouldn't have thought. If anything, it's probably just a fine. And actually, I was told by an Australian journalist recently that two of the Vietnamese, I don't know whether they were hostel owners, or hotel managers, but they actually fled back to Vietnam. So I don't even know if those charges are going to be put in place. But those two countries, Vietnam and Laos, are both part of the Interpol. So someone was saying to me that apparently they can enforce things because they are a part of Interpol. So I'm kind of is annoying, but yeah, I'm kind of hopeful that maybe there still will be charges. To be honest, I actually didn't think they would be charged anything, because the government is so corrupt, and we were told when we were out there, it's a communist dictatorship, the police are sent $200 a month. And actually, they can't afford to police things properly, they have to be paid to undertake investigations. And obviously we haven't paid them to investigate this, so I'm actually surprised that they come up with any charges at all. So that's not to say that they don't deserve them, of course they do. But it's just, I get what it's like, it's a very poor, underdeveloped country, so yeah. Anyway, we're hopeful that these charges will go somewhere, but, there’s not going to be any manslaughter charges the way that it's looking at the moment. And the thing is, you can't get legal help, but from what we've been advised, it's really not going to go anywhere.

Ashley

It's so sad because so often this is the case with methanol poisoning around the world. It happens in these corrupt, underdeveloped countries. And, you know, you're not the first case that I've heard where the, trying to get justice for victims of methanol poisoning is incredibly difficult and often doesn't happen. So, I hope that that's different for this case and that you guys do get justice for this and somebody is held accountable for lives that have been lost. I want to thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me, and for being so vulnerable and sharing your story. I do think there's a lot of things that people can take from it — just the different ways that methanol can present and what it, you know, it looks like when it happens. And unfortunately, what does happen, you know, lives are lost.

Bethany

Yeah, I suppose the message remains stay, “clear, drink beer,” because that's really the main thing that can keep you safe. So if people scan to the end of this, yeah, that would be my message. And, I just hope that people take this seriously and do avoid spirits when they're out and about abroad, because it's just not worth taking that gamble, you don't know what you're going to come across.

Ashley

Well, I think that is, a great saying: “Steer clear, drink beer.” I don't know if you invented that, but it rhymes, so it's very catchy!

Bethany

It’s a weird one, it actually came up in a BBC interview and I didn't even realize that I was saying it, it just rolled off the tongue. And then all of a sudden, I get these headlines saying, “Steer Clear, Drink Beer” and I’m like where did that come from? (Ashley laughs) And then I watched them back and I was like, oh, I actually said that. So yeah, it's a bit of a weird one, but it kind of makes sense.

Ashley

Maybe that's going to be the new catchphrase that we're going to start worldwide. Thank you so much Bethany, I loved chatting with you. I'm sure this is one of many conversations that we will have moving forward. This is not a battle that is going to be won overnight, but the work that you're doing is, is really helping and I appreciate you.

Bethany

Thank you so much for having me on here. I think it's really going to help get word out.

[Podcast theme music fades in and out]

Ashley

That was my chat with Bethany Clarke, and it is sobering to hear about her experience with methanol poisoning. I know so well how it feels. But again, our experiences are totally different and I can't imagine her having that responsibility on her shoulders to be there for her best friend and, you know, watch her best friend pass away. You know, I only had myself to worry about when I was poisoned, but she was there trying to keep it all together for her and her entire group.

Meg

And listening when Bethany was telling her story, I couldn't help but think about, you know — the challenge for you obviously was the hostel and you'd been traveling, but you were in New Zealand where you were able to speak pretty comfortably in English and have people understand what was going on. So I was just thinking the context of being in Laos, where, you know, the doctors or nurses might not be as fluent in English, adds this whole other layer of complexity as you're also, you know, sick yourself trying to navigate for your friends, trying to make big decisions.

Ashley

Yeah. It's terrifying. I always tell people, the only reason I'm alive today is because I made it to New Zealand and I was hospitalized there. Had I been hospitalized in Bali, I'm sure I would have had a similar fate to Simone’s.

Meg

And the other thing that sticks out for me is how Bethany sees this advocacy work that she's doing now as almost a replacement for the time that she spent talking to Simone and working with Simone. Because she's just put so much time and so much effort in into advocacy work in Britain, in Australia, around methanol poisoning. And so Ash, do you do you want to share an update on where that that is?

Ashley

Yeah. Since recording this, she was petitioning to get methanol taught in schools. But it's happening now. 

Meg

Wow. Already!

Ashley

Yeah. Can you give us a little bit of those details, Meg?

Meg

Yeah, yeah, I just pulled it up here online. So in the UK, the Department for Education has a new statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams and teachers. Very official sounding. This came out in July 2025. And now it is required that, you know, part of the curriculum is going to include, as they say, “teaching about the physical and psychological risks associated with alcohol consumption” and this includes “how to decrease the risks of having a drink spiked or of poisoning from potentially fatal substances such as methanol.” So this is now in the U.K. and in Wales and this is going to start in September 2026.

Ashley

Which is incredible that her advocacy could make that happen. It's also really important to know that the hostel that Bethany and Simone and the other backpackers were in was closed while we were doing this interview, but it has since reopened under another name.

Meg

Yeah. The BBC is reporting that the Nana [Backpacker] Hostel, which is what we would have heard it as, back in November 2024, looks like it is reopening in August this year under the name Vang Vieng Central Backpacker Hostel.

Ashley

Which is crazy because that should not be happening. But what is even more important is that when you're traveling, that you'd be aware of this when you're in airports and getting on a plane.

Meg

And so, yeah, she's started a petition there too, with Change.org and I believe this is both Australia and the U.K., right? With a consideration — like a request — that airports and airlines are going to advertise the dangers of methanol poisoning.

Ashley

Yes. And actually you're already starting to see that in Australia. Now, when you're in a cubicle in the bathroom in Australia, there are signs warning about methanol poisoning abroad. (Meg: Oh, cool.) Yeah. But Bethany's also trying to get, that education into Australian schools as well, that she's been able to accomplish in the U.K.

Meg

So, we've sort of got this push for curriculum and for travel on both sides. And you know, it's successful in the U.K. right now. Not yet on the curriculum in Australia, but Australia has kind of got the airports thing figured out, whereas in the U.K. that might not be the case. But then that of course brings us to Canada because that's where we are, right now…

Ashley

Where we’ve got none of it!

Meg

Yeah! So what's happening there?

Ashley

Well, Bethany's encouraged me to join her in a lot of this advocacy work and to create my own campaign. So I recently created a Change.org campaign petitioning for the same kind of changes here in Canada. I'm asking that we introduce methanol poisoning into the curriculum at the high school level, so that students who will one day travel can be aware about methanol poisoning. But I'm also asking that we include this in our advertisements in airports and in the education that we have in airports and on airlines. You know, in the back of little magazines that you see on a plane that you might read. Or when you're in a cubicle, go into the bathroom just sitting there, you can look up and. if you're not blind, you can read a poster that warns about methanol poisoning because so many people don't know that this happens. And if the last line of defense is when you're getting on that plane to that foreign country, that could be the last line of defense to save you.

Meg

So the petition is sort of a way to gauge public interest and support and push this forward. How many people have signed so far? How's it looking?

Ashley

Well, we as of today are over 17,000 signatures, which is crazy. I don't even know 17,000 people. I don't even know a thousand people. So I have no idea how we've been able to manage that. But the Change.org petition people have been really fantastic in helping push this petition — they really do see it going somewhere, and that hopefully will bring change. I've been doing a lot of campaigning on my social medias, sharing my story, just putting it out into the ether, hoping that somebody out there will learn about methanol poisoning, but also sign the campaign. Bethany's been doing the same thing. All of her social medias, related to methanol poisoning, which we will add in the show notes, are doing some really great work in explaining what methanol poisoning is, how to keep yourself safe, what her experience was like, and I would say that it's probably saving lives right now as we speak.

Meg

Well, and I was just going to say we're going to add all this in the show notes. But you already you took my producer role and you announced it. (Ashley laughs) But yeah. So if you're looking for the links to everything on Change.org or if you just want to follow what Bethany's been working on, we're going to have all that for you in the show notes.

And so I mean, that's the update. We, you know, got to hear from Bethany and hear her story. We've talked a little bit about how great the podcast has been doing, which is so exciting. And you know, I don't want to make this weird, but I guess, like my question to you is like, are we done? Like, is this our last podcast episode? I don't know?

Ashley

Are we done? I don't know, man. I just love sitting here with you so much. (Meg: I mean, same) I mean, like, is there a season two, maybe a spin-off series? I don't know, I just feel like maybe our works just begun. But maybe we could also be done? I don't know.

Meg

So it sounds like a non-committal “We may be back in the studio”… You'll just like, let me know. But until, you know, maybe a season two, maybe a different series, you'll get updates on this feed regardless. But where can people sort of get the latest info in terms of your methanol advocacy, or if they just want to follow you or know what's going on, if it doesn't make it to podcast yet?

Ashley

Folks can follow me on my socials, take a look at my personal website, and lastly, and which I'm very excited to announce as I've also created. alongside Bethany, a website dedicated to methanol poisoning awareness. You will be able to find all the information you need about methanol poisoning and outbreaks that take place around the world at www.methanolpoisoning.com or www.methanolpoisoningawareness.com. Or.org. Because I bought all the domains. Because I wanted them all (Meg laughs) and they're all going to go to the same website. So those will also be in the show notes.

Meg

Fantastic. So I guess… I mean it's it, it's maybe not it… it’s bye for now

Ashley

Is it See you later? See you never? Don't see you at all? Buh bye?

Meg

Was that a blind joke? (laughs)

Ashley

Yeah, it was a bad blind joke…

Meg

So I guess I guess we say bye for now?

Ashley

Bye for now! Sayonara! Arrivederci! Adios!

[Podcast theme music fades in]

Ashley

This is Static: A Party Girl’s Memoir — written by me, Ashley King and produced by Meg Wilcox.

Special thanks to Inside Out Theatre, Chromatic Theatre, and the Community Podcast Initiative at Mount Royal University for making this podcast possible.

Be sure to subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget to rate, review and tell a friend. 

Find me on Instagram at ashkng or at my website AshleyJenniferKing.com.

[Music fades out]