<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/32726774-16f2-43ce-af7e-918b570a437d/417D6A73-F20F-4D42-90EB-61E5097692E0/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/25/AR2008072501629.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/25/AR2008072501629.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter" style="font-size: 11px;">www.washingtonpost.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/25/AR2008072501629.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter"> Strangers talk to one another here, people who'd never strike up a conversation when touring London or Rome. It's one of those clues that tell you this <A target="" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Mekong+River?tid=informline">Mekong River</A> town in northern Laos is an outpost. The atmosphere is part "Star Wars" bar, part "Casablanca." Backpackers descend from the surrounding mountains or step ashore off slow boats, clutching tattered Lonely Planet guides. Europeans, Australians, Thais and a few Americans wing in on prop planes. Members of ethnic hill tribes, particularly the Hmong, appear at sunset, spreading their wares along the street. And everywhere you turn there are Buddhist monks in blazing-orange robes.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/25/AR2008072501629.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter"> A town of 26,000, Luang Prabang is shaped like a tongue, formed by the Nam Khan River as it curves to meet the Mekong.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/25/AR2008072501629.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter"> Luang Prabang's architecture catapulted it onto the World Heritage list in 1995. The sublime mix of old Laotian wooden houses, half-timbered buildings, stalwart French structures and ancient Buddhist temples can be found nowhere else</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/25/AR2008072501629.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter"><div align="center"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.washingtonpost.com/img/A993B2A5-9929-4507-92E2-E05F5463CFB0" alt="Laos" /></div></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/417D6A73-F20F-4D42-90EB-61E5097692E0/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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