Not that the rest of Laos is all that traveled, but this unusual trip takes us into the country’s decidedly less traveled north, where, for a week or so, we’ll roam in fabulously green hills, visit remote, traditional villages, and visit intelligently conceived sustainable tourism projects.

We head north from Vientiane toward the Chinese border, into the Golden Triangle, an ethnographer’s dream (and a scenic and cultural thrill for people like us). After visiting and hiking in and around Luang Nam Tha and Muang Sing, where we’ll get to know the fascinating Akha people, we mosey over to Oudomxay and on to the small town of Nong Khio on the Nam Ou River. Here we board a traditional riverboat and spend a day watching the world go by as we cruise to Luang Prabang for our departing flight. First-time visitors will want to extend in this enchanting former royal capital and World Heritage Site.