‘It was in vain’: Bali hostel victim records tragic last words
The sad final words a young traveller in Canggu recorded from her hospital bed have been revealed, after she was ignored by staff.
Exclusive
A young traveller who survived the same Bali hostel incident that left one woman dead has revealed the chilling “last words” she recorded in hospital — a message she genuinely believed might be her final goodbye.
Leila Li, who stayed at the same Canggu hostel as the deceased Chinese woman, says she deteriorated so rapidly she began preparing for death.
“I experienced severe abdominal pain and difficult breathing. I sent an emergency email to the hostel but no one responded.
“Only the last time did I shout for help but it was in vain.”
Terrified and alone, she pulled out her phone.
“(I was) afraid I might die. So I recorded a video of my last words before I passed away, just in case.”
“Even TV shows don’t have such a sad story,” she teamed up while addressing her friends and family.
“My stomach hurts a lot, I can’t sleep or eat, and now I’m in the ICU.
“If I get through tonight, I will enjoy my life even more, and if I can’t, I wish everyone well.”
Leila says her hospital ordeal stretched across days — and cost her everything she had.
“It cost me $10,000 Australian dollars to save my life. From August 31st to September 7th, I was constantly running around the hospital.
“An X-ray of the lungs confirmed the presence of pneumonia.”
She says the hostel never checked in on her condition.
“The hostel made no apologies or offered any compensation. The entire experience was very cold and indifferent.”
Even after being discharged, doctors warned her that her health remained precarious.
“(When) I returned to BICM Hospital for a blood test, the doctor requested that I go back to my home country for a further lung examination.”
For Leila, the trauma didn’t end there.
“(I have) begun to experience psychological problems and started therapy. Even now, I still can‘t fall asleep.”
Other travellers were sounding the alarm
A WhatsApp group used by former guests shows warnings circulating even as more travellers were checking in.
“Hey guys I’m not at the hostel anymore but be careful, I don’t know what’s happening with the food but there are many people getting sick, like me and my friends.”
“We’re leaving,” one guest replied. “Oh my god,” another wrote.
One woman who stayed in the same room as the deceased victim contacted Leila directly.
“I’m the girl who stayed in the same room and had dinner together. I remember you as the lady that came from Shenzhen.
“You know that I wasn’t feeling well before I left that hostel and went to the airport. I vomited and lacked energy.
“Eventually I used a wheelchair at the airport. I was shocked when I saw this post. RIP for her.”
A 28-year-old Norway-based woman also reached out: “I checked in 25th of September. I almost died as well. It is beyond evil. We need to shut it down.”
Posting as @Crohnsisevil on TikTok, she captioned her video: ‘The feeling of coming home after staying in hostel where someone died’.
“It was 2:00am when the pain hit,” her clip’s audio said.
“I’ve got Crohn’s and I thought I knew pain, but this was different. What seemed like paradise quickly turned into my worst nightmare.
“I was throwing up, shaking. I ran out of the hostel barefoot and in my pyjamas and waved down a grab driver.
“At the hospital they gave me morphine and antibiotics straight away, and all I could think was, what if I hadn’t gone to the hospital when I did, would I have made it through the night?”
Another case involved a woman named Leslie Shansan.
On September 2, between 2:00am and noon, she fainted in the toilet. According to Leila: “If it weren‘t for a German girl giving her a bottle of electrolyte drink, she would have probably died.”
Others echoed similar experiences:
“I also had severe health problems after leaving the hostel. I had sudden symptoms of lack of energy, diarrhoea, fever and for two days (I was) completely knocked off.”
“Myself and a friend stayed there from 21st September - 24th and I experienced severe sickness and my friend almost collapsed in the airport on the way out.
“They are still operating and there was no mention of this in our stay, I’m so sorry to read of your experience also.”
“I stayed at that hostel after the girl passed away. They didn’t mention anything about what had happened the day before I checked in.
“I asked them why there wasn’t a pool party, since they usually have one every Friday and they told me it was because there weren’t many guests.
“I also asked why the rooms were still being maintained even though there were lots of shoes left inside, and the security guard told me the shoes didn’t belong to anyone - which sounded really strange to me.
“I found out about someone passing from another guest, and I was shocked that the hostel didn’t explain anything.”
