In the late afternoon, we take out at Ban Khonvay, an isolated Khmu hamlet approximately 20 miles and centuries of amenities removed from Luang Prabang. We are the first visitors in months, and it seems half the village has shown up to greet us. Young boys leap into the kayaks and organize an impromptu regatta, paddling with far more energy than we ever managed.

The parents are as hospitable as their offspring are curious. They lead us up a sandy bank to the headman's two-story house, a concrete construction with wood walls and a corrugated tin roof. The rest of the village gathers to watch through the open windows as their chief lavishes hospitality upon his honored guests. In a candlelit ceremony rooted in animist tradition, the old man prays loudly over steaming platters of boiled chicken and sticky rice, then ties strings around our wrists. The baci, says the chief, will bring Martin and me good luck, big money, many children. Then, to the onlookers' approval, we all toss back ceremonial shots of searing lao-lao moonshine, which tastes like it was distilled through the radiator of a '54 Citroën.

Now, what can we wish for the headman? Martin knots a string around the chief's wrist as he solemnly offers a sci-fi sacrament: "May you live long and prosper." Everyone nods— yes, the Vulcan ways are good and wise. More lao-lao, more baci, more good wishes. On this humid night, I'll have no problem crashing on a thin mattress beneath a mosquito net, secure in the knowledge that tomorrow I can retreat to Maison Souvannaphoum, crank the A/C, and crawl between clean, three-digit-thread-count sheets.

Access & Resources
Thai Airways International flies nonstop from New York to Bangkok for $1,000 round-trip (800-426-5204, www.thaiairways.com). From there, Bangkok Airways flies direct to Luang Prabang ($278 round-trip; 866-226-4565, www.bangkokair.com). October through March is the most temperate, though crowded, time. WHERE TO STAY: Perched on a hill a mile south of the old town, Pansea's 34-room La Résidence Phou Vao (doubles from $126; 011-856-71-212530, www.pansea.com) offers luxuriously appointed rooms. In town, enjoy princely spa treatment at the 22-room Maison Souvannaphoum (doubles from $170; 011-856-71-254609, www.coloursofangsana.com/souvannaphoum). Or go more rustic at the Lao Spirit Resort bungalows (doubles from $59; 011-856-20-557-0221, www.tigertrail-laos.com), ten miles east of town. WHERE TO EAT: Dinner for two runs $25 at Villa Santi's Princess Restaurant and $30 at Pansea's Phou Vao Restaurant. An ice-cold Beer Lao costs 80 cents at the riverside Boungnasouk Guesthouse and Restaurant. EXPLORING: Green Discovery Laos (011-856-71-212093, www.greendiscoverylaos.com) organizes kayak trips; our two days cost $62. Tiger Trail Outdoor Adventures (011-856-20-557-0221, www.tigertrail-laos.com) offers a range of mountain-biking and trekking trips. To visit the Pak Ou caves, hire a boat (about $20–$25) along the Mekong.