In his palace in steamy Vientiane one day last week, handsome King Savang Vatthana of Laos stared thoughtfully at a freshly opened cable from U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold.

We stayed at the Settha Palace Hotel (two nights, $240), a boutique hotel built by the French in the 1930s and restored by a Lao family. Its rosewood furnishings and marble floors made us feel ...

Travellers line up to board a train to northern Laos at the Vientiane Railway Station on Oct 21, 2024 in Vientiane, Laos.