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.

Mae Sai is one of the few official land crossings between Thailand and Myanmar and is therefore an important trade hub. Many Burmese come over daily from Thakhilek to work or do business and hurry back before the sun sets. Burmese lacquer ware, gems, jade and other goods from Laos and Myanmar are sold in shops along the main street.

Huay Palang, consists of approximately 85 families, whose lifestyle depends fully on the Mekong as a means of transportation and a primary food source. Learn about the local art of weaving Bamboo mats, which you can try your hand at it if you like. Local households also produce their own alcohol by distilling rice to make the famous Lao whiskey.

As you cruise along this morning, a local expert will host a lecture on Asian elephants, particularly the Laotian species, their cultural importance and the current threats which have brought them to the brink of extinction. The work being done to protect the elephants can be seen first-hand at the elephant sanctuary in Pakbeng, which strives to protect this threatened species.

Pak Ou Caves, located directly on the Mekong’s rocky shore and opposite the mouth of the Ou River, are made up of two spacious limestone grottoes housing approximately 4,000 sacred Buddhist statues and images ranging from mere centimetres up to two metres in height.

Enfolded by low, wooded hills, Luang Prabang languishes on a peninsula in the Mekong. Long regarded as the country’s pre-eminent cultural and religious capital, the town served for 15 centuries as the abode of Lao royalty. Stucco French villas and wooden colonnaded houses, festooned with scarlet bougainvillea and the foliage of overhanging mango and jackfruit trees, line its quiet streets, along with a wealth of delicately gilded temples and monasteries.

The Tai Lu are an ethnic group who migrated from Yunan, China in the late 18th century, and have preserved much of their traditional way of life. Ban Nayang is home to about 500 Tai Lu people. Notice the distinctive stilt houses, many with two or three weaving looms underneath. Strolling around the village you will observe the women weaving and doing embroidery while the men grow wet rice using wooden equipment drawn by buffalo. Although shy by nature, the villagers are open to talking about their daily activities and life in the village.

Nestled on the banks of the Nam Song River against an awesome backdrop of lofty limestone ridges and peaks, Van Vieng is the adventure capital of Laos. The wooded slopes, karst caves and broad, green river provide spectacular terrain for a range of different outdoor activities, from trekking and kayaking to climbing, mountain biking and – most famously – ‘tubing’ (drifting downstream on inflated tractor inner tubes).

For those looking for more sedate excursions, the many, deep and convoluted show caves in the area provide plenty of excitement. There is also always the option of enjoying the scenery from the poolside of your hotel whose superb location offers jaw-dropping panoramas. The scenery and quality accommodation make it the obvious stopover on the journey between Luang Prabang and Vientiane.

Chao Anouvong Park facing the Mekong is the best place in the city to get your bearings, and it’s a particularly pleasant spot in the evening. Join the strollers on the promenade enjoying the tropical colours swirling in the water, then settle at one of the cafés for a glass of cold Beerlao. To round the day off, head over to celebrate your arrival meal at Makphet, one of our favourite restaurants in the city: the sesame and peanut-encrusted dumplings with hibiscus syrup are sublime.

Sleepy Champasak in southern Laos, near the borders with Thailand and Cambodia, serves as a springboard for visits to the UNESCO-listed Wat Phou temple and Si Phon Don area of the Mekong. Our preferred accommodation here is La Folie Lodge, a gorgeous hideaway on an island in the river, which guests reach by catamaran. From the jetty, you step into a flower-filled garden enfolding a dozen pretty stilted bungalows with polished wood floors and beautiful Lao silk bedspreads. The views from the pool deck to the nearby river beach and sacred peak beyond are spellbinding, particularly at sunset, when herds of water buffalo plod home across the sand.

Lying between the Annamite Mountains and Mekong River in the far southeast of Laos, the Bolaven Plateau ranks among the most remote and beautiful corners of Indochina. A lush, fertile upland filled with waterfalls, spice plantations, cardamom and coffee groves, it was originally developed in the 1900s by the French, who appreciated the region’s temperate climate. Ethnic minority people make up the majority of its scattered population today. Dominant among these are the Laven (whence the plateau’s name), whose villages, along with a couple of spectacular waterfalls, provide the focus today’s excursion.

In this part of southern Laos the Mekong broadens to a staggering 14km (9 miles), its widest stretch on the river’s course between Tibet and the South China Sea. An archipelago of rocky islets speckle the water, supporting a population of rice resilient farmers, whose paddy fields form splashes of brilliant green against the dun-coloured river banks. Upstream, one of the most formidable impediments to full navigation of the river is the mighty Khone Phapeng Falls near the Cambodian border – the longest on the river and a jaw-dropping spectacle, especially during the rainy season.