Heritage Line Upper Mekong Cruise - Laos

In the far north of Thailand, Chiang Rai served briefly as the capital of the medieval Lan Na kingdom before the rise of Chiang Mai. Today, it’s known primarily as the gateway to the Golden Triangle region – “golden” because of the wealth that poured through on the back of the opium trade. A crackdown initiated by the Thai royal family, however, has reduced production of the drug to virtually zero in Thailand, opening up this fascinating corner of upland Asia to visitors once again.

Chief among the Golden Triangle’s attractions are the ethnic minority villages scattered across its hillsides and valleys, where you can experience the traditional lifestyles of the Akhu, Lisu and Karen, among others. Day trips may be undertaken by car from Chiang Rai, but to visit less commercialized settlements it’s necessary to trek for a day or two. Visitors are also permitted to stay overnight in local houses, where you’re encouraged to share meals with local families and help with work in the fields.

Southeast Asia’s smallest capital, Vientiane, started life as a Khmer trading post on the Mekong and later expanded during the reign of the Lao Kings. Gallic influence, dating from the French Indochina era of the 19th and 20th centuries, is still very much to the fore in the grid of orderly, tree-lined boulevards and backstreets hugging the river, where the peeling stucco facades and weathered shutters of old colonial villas are draped in bougainvillea.