Fascinating report. I toured around Laos several years ago and remember wondering at the time how tourism would end up changing the nation (and especially Luang Prabang), and thinking that it probably would not for the better. Its good, but somewhat disheartening, to read how things are there now.

Also, as an aside, the one thing I remember most from my limited experience with Lao Airlines is how they never turned on the air-con (or any sort of airflow) during the flight from Chiang-Mai to Luang Prabang, or from Vientiene to Siem Reap. The food was good, but it sure was sticky in the airplane!

In any event, thanks for the report!