What the Lonely Planet guidebook refers to as 'a lonely backwater', CARE lists as still being one of the most mined countries in the world. Even a week in the old French colonial jewel of Luang Prabang was enough to confirm it as easily one of the most, if not the most chilled places in Asia, with none of the frantic selling, haggling and endless attention-seeking that is so much a feature of travelling in the better beaten paths of the region.