IN THE ABSENCE of skyscrapers and gridlock, Laos is as peaceful as it is forgotten. The country, landlocked by mountains and shaped by the Mekong river, is a mysterious presence in Southeast Asia. Life here is sleepy, charming and vulnerable. The French colonial rule was a 50-year siesta, and little has changed since the days of the 14th-century prince, Fa Ngum, whose ancient administrative system lasted until 1975.
Since Laos opened its doors to tourism in the 1980s, Luang
