LUANG PRABANG, LAOS — 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.
Set in three lush hectares of bougainvillea and frangipani, Pansea's La Résidence Phou Vao performs the delicate cultural ballet of merging five-star services such as satellite TV, reliable air conditioning and electronic safes, with the air of Asia's colonial days: Verandas strewn with long silk pillows, gauze draped safari-style beds, and celadon crocks packed with herby bath salts on the rim of a stone tub that looks out on terraced rice fields.
The expansive breakfast buffet set up steps from the shimmering negative-edge pool, which opens with eye-popping Lao coffee, celebrates Luang Prabang cuisine with light freshly made yogurt, crystallized apple slices, sautéed forest mushrooms and graceful pastries bursting with tropical fruit.
Every evening, bounty from the surrounding gardens is delivered with a note describing its use in local soups, sauces and medications. In a bow to its foreign clientele, pods from the tamarind tree just beyond our room's loggia also came with essential instructions on scooping out the sticky paste.
Massage is a key part of Lao culture, and so modestly priced ($30 U.S. for two hours) that the Pansea's American and Japanese guests often take a traditional herbal massage -- steaming bundles of local herbs pressed firmly along the spine -- even in the sultry heat.
Hotel vitals
LES 3 NAGAS
Essentials: Sakhalin Road; 856 (71) 253 888; http://www.3nagas.com. Located at the quiet end of the historic peninsula, beyond the travel agencies and Western-style bakeries.
Rates and rooms: 15 rooms; $105 (high season) through April 31, 2006; $85 (low season) May until the end of September, 2006; includes a bountiful breakfast; add 10 per cent government tax and 10 per cent service to all rates.
Top draw: A heady sense of style, unrivalled by big-name designer digs in any world capital.
Needs work: The occasional power outage, quite common in Laos, mitigated by scented candles.
SALA PRABANG
Essentials: Mekong Riverside Road, 102/6 Thanon Ounkham; 856 (71) 252460; http://www.salalao.com. Located on the quiet end of town overlooking the Mekong River.
Rates and rooms: 22 rooms; from $50 (U.S.), tax, service and breakfast included.
Top draw: Its location on a tranquil bend of the Mekong, close to the Royal Palace, the Morning Market and the most elaborate temples.
Needs work: Hard beds, endemic in Laos.
LA RÉSIDENCE PHOU VAO
Essentials: 856 (71) 212194; http://www.pansea.com. Located outside of town near the airport.
Rates and rooms: 34 rooms and suites; Internet rates from $126 (U.S.), tax and breakfast included.
Top draw: Luang Prabang's only five-star hotel.
Needs work: The location, a 30-minute walk from the town centre. (The hotel offers a free shuttle.)
