Word: prabang
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...Luang Prabang marches to the beat of an indifferent drummer. Nothing is rushed in this sleepy Lao hamlet where the somnolence is contagious and you can spot the new arrivals by the briskness of their gaits. On the streets, teenagers conduct confabulations on motorbikes?two or three abreast?scarcely going fast enough to remain vertical. Rheumy-eyed old timers lean on fences in the grip of some nameless torpor. Silent saffron parades of monks glide by, footsteps raising little puffs of dust, stooping now and then to solicit alms. Time creeps by. You imagine some indolent imp has fallen asleep...
...majority of the more than 300,000 tourists per year come to cruise the scenic Mekong, visit World Heritage Site Luang Prabang or explore the mysterious Plain of Jars. But increasingly they are drawn because they have heard, from other kids on the Asian travel circuit, that drugs in Laos are plentiful and cheap, and as long as you don't do anything too stupid, the cops leave you alone to get loaded in peace. Towns such as Vang Viang and Muang Sing, in the north, have developed expat communities of late teens and twentysomethings who come intending to stay...
...while Khon Kean in the northeast parades flower-bedecked floats through town to the beat of indigenous Isaan music. An official ban on throwing water in Cambodia has failed to dampen festivities; traditional games are even played in the grounds of Wat Phnom temple in the capital. In Luang Prabang in northern Laos, elephants join the street processions. The Dai people in tropical Xishuangbanna in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan add flower displays, dragon-boat races and fireworks to the festival fun. Wherever you are, remember the wetter you get, the greater your luck in the coming year...
...through the morning mist in search of alms. Well-off Laotians may apply for exit visas and generally receive them. Items such as enamel spray paint, light bulbs and vitamins, all unavailable in Hanoi, are in plentiful supply. "Sure, the market is full of clothes and medicine," laughs Luang Prabang Merchant Chan Manee. "This isn't Viet...
...were replaced five years ago by Communist regimes. In Viet Nam, bonzes managed to keep the pagodas open by strategically placing busts of Ho Chi Minh opposite altars crowded with Buddha images. In the mountainous kingdom of Laos, the new Communist rulers were less tolerant. Monks in Luang Prabang were lucky to escape with re-education in "seminar camps." Many others who had become wealthy by selling protective amulets to hill-tribe animists had their magic severely tested by Pathet Lao firing squads...