Remote boat: Traveling the rivers of northern Laos

LUANG PRABANG, Laos -- Surrounded by thickly forested hills, the UNESCO-listed town of Luang Prabang stands on a peninsula carved out by two rivers in northern Laos, with the Nam Khan streaming past wooden houses and colonial-era French residences to merge with the mighty Mekong, which meanders 1,835 kilometers through the country.