The backwaters are similar to south Vietnam's Mekong Delta, featuring canals, lakes, banana trees and paddy fields, only much less populated.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch | Afoot and Afloat, Kerala Is Worth the Journey

That hardly sounds an environmentalist's prescription, but some argue the sustainable harvesting of the Nakai plateau's trees would bring Laos as much money as the dam, at less risk.

ECONOMIST: Laos