Chanting monks and temple bells accompany the sunset in Luang Prabang, whose 32 bejeweled sanctuaries are the spiritual heart of Laos.
When UNESCO arrived in the 1990s to restore the glittering shrines, and to shore up elephantine mansions left by French colonials, it opened the same spigot of tourism that transformed Siem Reap and Chiang Mai from Asian cultural centres into playgrounds for foreigners. But even though Luang Prabang's main street is now lined with European bakeries and travel agents hawking cheap flights, this Lao country town has not yet surrendered its identity: Dawn still brings columns of saffron-clad holy men with bowls in hand seeking alms, and the morning market maintains a lively produce trade.
By midmorning, however, cafés are dishing out bowls of muesli, Hill Tribe women in towering headdresses are peddling embroidery and silks along the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, and motorcycle tuk tuks are ferrying souvenir-laden Westerners to their hotels.
MID-RANGE
LES 3 NAGAS
From two-century-old mansions, Canadian architect Pascal Trahan has created a ravishing inn that blends misty Lao history with French country style. The royal court once deliberated on the wide veranda of Lamache House, and legends say the building materials for Mantion House -- the wood floors and lime and bamboo "torchis" walls -- crossed the Nam Khan River on elephants' backs.
In sprawling suites that overlook riverside gardens, a frieze depicting the serpent god Naga rings four-poster beds draped in netting. The rooms' shimmering silk bolsters, designed by Montreal-born Sandra Yuck, can be bought at her main street shop, Carouso Lao, which also carries the rosewood boxes that hold tissues and soaps. More of Les 3 Nagas' sartorial furnishings -- the woven basketry, custom mixed bath salts and scented candles -- can be found at the hotel's gift shop.
Old Indochine endures at the sidewalk café where chefs prepare local ingredients in classic Gallic style: Grilled marinated buffalo with mint is presented on split bamboo skewers, and chicken is steamed with herbs in a banana leaf. As everywhere in Laos, prices are moderate: $12 (U.S.) for an elaborate eight-course menu and $6 (U.S.) for a half-litre of creditable house wine. Even departure recalls French colonial days as guests are chauffeured to the airport in the hotel's 1958 white Mercedes.
SHOE-STRING
SALA PRABANG
Magenta wildflowers cascading down the terraces of four 19th-century villas bestow the air of a French country auberge lost in the tropics. At Sala Prabang, rattan chairs in the open-air lobby have become a gathering spot for expats, academics and world travellers.
While recent renovations have groomed the lime-washed stone walls, glossed the century-old hardwood floors and added modern conveniences like air conditioning and hot water, atmospheric details like fans hanging from the beamed ceilings have been left intact.
Chefs at Suan Nam Café, a clutch of tables in the deep shade of enormous Nam Nom trees along the Mekong, offer an elegant blend of Lao and French cuisine at astoundingly low prices: Chicken or pork coconut milk curry with green chili paste and kaffir lime leaves is $3.50, and a bowl of colonial style buffalo ragout is $4. A generous portion of crisply seared vegetable spring rolls paired with a tall bottle of Lao beer, enough to see two people through the languid sunset, is $3.50. As everywhere in Laos, wine is an excellent value -- as long as restaurateurs protect it from the tropical heat -- and Suan Nam offers a bottle of 2000 Merlot Pay d'Oc for $6. Breakfast includes a tender omelette and European-style pastries from the trendy JOMA bakery in town, with the flower scented river breeze as dessert.
HIGH-END
LA RÉSIDENCE PHOU VAO
When candles illuminate the lilies floating in a long stone pond at dusk, and the river breeze catches the scent of wildflowers billowing from their urns, this luxury hotel takes on the atmosphere of a medieval Asian temple.
