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Luang Prabang features a wide range of dining options, from local joints with homey fare to stylish spots with handcrafted cocktails. Many places also feature a social component, helping to support local farmers, disadvantaged youth, and more.

A city of contrasts, Luang Prabang features temples, monasteries, and traditional crafts alongside more modern aspects like a museum devoted to the U.S. bombings in the 1960s. When visiting, be sure to also explore the countryside or cruise the Mekong River.

Our ultimate 3 week itinerary would include the following: - 3 Nights in Hong Kong, - 3 Night Ho Chin Minh City (a side trip to the Meekong Delta or Hoi Ann would also be very worthwhile) - 2 Nights Bangkok - 2 Nights in Chiang Mai - 3 Nights in Luang Prubang, Laos - 3 Nights in either Phuket & Phi Phi Island or Koh Sumai - 3 Nights in Siem Reap Cambodia - - Final 2 Nights in Bangkok. Below are a few of the highlights from each of these destinations from the editors of Travelin10.com

Hot tip: Don’t listen to this week’s episode of Unpacked by AFAR hungry. Because we’re traveling to a surprising Midwestern city to explore what makes it one of the most fascinating food cities in the country.

The latest sign that Luang Prabang, the once-undiscovered unesco World Heritage city on the Mekong River, now fully caters to upscale tastes, Villa Maly is in the former residence of Prince Khamtan, grandson of a 19th-century Lao king. The hotel’s 33 rooms, furnished with four-poster mahogany beds, rain showers, and parquet floors, surround the 1938 French colonial–style home in seven comfortable cabanas. During my stay, I fought the heat by spending time on the dark-wood pool deck ringed by tall palms and tropical flowers. It’s a five-minute stroll to the town’s historic center—and a five-minute stroll back to the hotel’s onsite spa for a massage. —This appeared in the December/January 2010 issue.

The morning market in Luang Prabang is bursting at the seams with culinary curious - some you may indeed want to put in your mouth, and others, well - others you’ll need to see for yourself. Luang Prabang is the busiest tourist destination in Laos, but early in the morning, the market is generally void of foreign faces, making it a perfect place to meet the locals, dine on Lao food, and watch the people as they wander. Grab yourself a frosty bevy and a slice of blood sausage and check it out.

Old man weaving a straw hat in a small weaving village called Ban Xang Khong on the Mekong River near Luang Prabang, Laos. The village is located about 5km east of Luang Prabang and the inhabitants are noted in particular for their arts and crafts, especially their skill in making traditional Saa paper, which is made from mulberry trees.There are several bamboo bridges in the area, and the village can be approached on foot or by tuk-tuk from Luang Prabang; however, I would recommend taking a longtail boat up the Mekong River--much more scenic!

This cheerful flower seller in Phosy Market was preparing beautiful marigold tower temple offerings for sale. The market, south west of central Luang Prabang, is where locals go for fresh produce, meat, spices, baguettes, rice and sundries. Some of the meat products may be more fresh than you’re used to - whole cow’s heads were for sale along with pig’s trotters and even a type of jungle rat I’d never seen before. But don’t be squeamish, checking out a local market is a great way to break out of the tourist bubble (lovely as it is in LP).

Buddha statues in lower Pak Ou Cave on the Mekong River north of Luang Prabang, Laos. Pak Ou is a series of limestone caves which contain hundreds of Buddha statues palced there over the centuries. It is a popular pilgrimage site for local people, especially during Lao New Year in April when the caves are crowded with devotees who gain merit by ceremonially washing the Buddha statues. The caves can be reached by boat from Luang Prabang in about 30-40 minutes.

Though Luang Prabang earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 1995 for its fusion of traditional Lao and European colonial architecture, the city’s most dazzling structures are most certainly its shimmering, gold-adorned temples. Many are worth seeing, but the grandest is Wat Xieng Thong (Temple of the Golden City), located in the historic part of the city near the tip of the peninsula. Built in the 16th century, the temple features gilded wooden doors that recount the life of Buddha. When visiting, be sure to also check out the rest of the complex, which features a monastery, pagodas, shrines, and residences.

If you don’t have time to visit the actual tribal villages in the Thai mountains, you can visit the Maesa Elephant Camp and take an elephant ride through the jungle to spend a few hours at Baan Tong Luang- a Hill Tribe cultural preservation village. Here you will see villagers from the Lahu Tribe, Hmong Tribe, Palong Tribe and the famous Karen Long Neck Tribe. Members of these tribes have been imported to provide visitors with an opportunity to see the culture and way of life of Hill Tribe people and provide an opportunity for the tribes to earn income by selling their textiles. The village is also accessible by road for an entry fee of 500 baht; there’s no additional fee for entry through the elephant camp.

Spend four nights at safari camps in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park, where elephants, leopards, and more than 400 species of birds inhabit open grasslands, stands of ebony trees, and the expansive Luangwa River system. Robin Pope Safaris, named after the guide who founded the company in 1986, has developed a strong relationship with the area’s Kunda people. The company has renovated schools in nearby communities, paid teachers’ salaries, and funded a health care clinic. Learn about the locals’ daily life during a visit to the village of Kawaza and, if you wish, dine in the home of a Kunda family. Then fly northeast to Robin Pope’s new Mkulumadzi Lodge in Malawi’s Majete National Park. Surrounded by a 175,000-acre conservation area, eight contemporary chalets front a river filled with hippos. Finish with three nights at the Pumulani resort on the quiet, sandy shores of Lake Malawi. Robin Pope Safaris, 265/(0) 177-0540. This appeared in the May/June 2011 issue.

Aimed primarily at tourists, the Night Market sets up each evening along a few blocks of Thanon Sisavangvong. Lining both sides of the street, with a section down the middle, stalls offer a plethora of souvenirs, from cotton shopping bags and handicrafts to silk scarves, brightly colored lamps, and silver jewelry. There are also food stalls on the side streets, offering a place to refuel between purchases. Even if you’re not in the mood to buy anything, strolling up and down the market aisles is a pleasant, interesting way to pass an evening.

Known for its “Laotian Family Cuisine,” this restaurant also has beautiful decor and an unforgettable setting that draws couples looking for a romantic meal. The interior, with its tall timber columns and exposed-brick walls, has the intimacy of a private home, but the pièce de résistance is the set of lotus ponds, surrounded by several tables. Manda de Laos is busiest at night, when the small lights around the ponds turn the space into an otherworldly dining destination, and guests settle in for signature dishes like wok-fried buffalo and grilled fish with lemongrass and herbs.