Laos

The landlocked heart of Southeast Asia, where the Mekong threads past forested mountains and the old royal seat of Luang Prabang sits on a sacred peninsula between two rivers. This is a country of gilded Buddhist monasteries and slow mornings, and its finest showcase became a UNESCO World Heritage town in 1995. Explore Luang Prabang at your own pace, the former capital of the kingdom of Lan Xang founded in 1353, where more than thirty temples stand among French colonial shophouses and the fusion of Lao and European architecture is the very quality UNESCO honours. Wander from Wat Xieng Thong, the royal temple raised around 1560, to the former Royal Palace that now guards the Prabang, the small gold-alloy Buddha that gave the city its name. Climb Mount Phousi to the gilded stupa of That Chomsi above the rooftops, and rise early for the dawn alms-giving that has ordered daily life here for centuries. Take it all in on your own clock, pausing by the water where the Nam Khan meets the Mekong for as long as you like.