An image typical of urban Laos -- traffic made up largely of motorized rickshaws, motorbikes, and trucks. It is high noon in downtown Pakse. A street photograph such as this can give the viewer a sense of place. The incongruity of the huge billboard set amidst Buddhist graves, the prevalence of motorbikes, the web of utility lines, and the presence of the conical straw hats that symbolize Southeast Asia, all combine to present the flavor of Pakse as defined at a single corner along the town’s main street.