Luang Prabang: a town of working monasteries

The UNESCO town is the whole peninsula where the Nam Khan joins the Mekong, small enough to cross comfortably on foot. What it protects is a mixture: Lao monasteries with steep layered roofs, wooden houses on stilts, and the brick-and-stucco shophouses and villas built under the French. UNESCO describes it as an outstanding example of the fusion of those two traditions, and the town has kept both.

The difference from Angkor or My Son is that the monasteries are not monuments but working houses of monks. Wat Xieng Thong, from the sixteenth century, is the one UNESCO singles out for its architecture; dozens of others are in daily use. That brings obligations. The morning alms round, when monks walk the streets to receive sticky rice, has become a spectacle for visitors, and the Laos Tourism Board publishes rules for watching it: from across the road, without flash, without following the procession.

The honest downside: the old town is now very largely hotels, guesthouses and cafés, and the night market is aimed at visitors. The town is quiet compared with Hoi An, but it is a tourist town, and it helps to know that before you arrive.

November to February is the cool, dry season, with chilly mornings in December and January. In March and April, field burning across northern Laos often hazes the air for weeks. The rains run from about May to October and turn the hills green; the town is quieter and the river high.

The Royal Palace Museum charges 30,000 kip; most monasteries ask a small entry fee or a donation. The museum requires shoulders and knees covered (traditional dress can be rented) and does not allow photography or bags inside. Check before you travel. Hotels in historic buildings in the old town are the dearest rooms in the town; well-run hotels a short walk outside cost noticeably less.