Once a little mountain kingdom, Laos’ skyline is punctuated by small temples, French-Indochinese villas and the fronds of exotic palm trees. On street-level, saffron-robed monks wander, the smells of spicy foods float up from street stalls and restaurants, and the air fills with the sound of other-worldly chants. Its capital, Luang Prabang, is still serene (thanks to sage laws that have allowed for wide streets, banned buses and trucks etc.) and even has a midnight curfew that guarantees peace and quiet at night. Here, we’ve compiled a bucket-list of must-see destinations within this often-overlooked slice of South East Asia that no serious traveler should leave without experiencing.

Reputations have a habit of preceding the greatest sites in the world, and so it is with Cambodia’s Angkor, the 150-square-mile Mt Olympus of the Hindu faith. This was once the center of the medieval Khmer kingdom, a place of great cultural and spiritual importance. Over a thousand years later, visitors are still awestruck by the scores of temples, dykes, canals, roads and monuments that burst out of the abundant jungle. With so many incredible sights to take in, here’s what you must see when visiting the stunning temples of Angkor.

If mile upon mile of alluring coastline, quaint colonial buildings, venerable pagodas and bustling markets are up your alley, then Vietnam really is the place to be. An aesthete’s playground, there are enough verdant paddy fields, surreal caves and steep mountain passes here to satisfy even the most insatiable adventurer. And that’s just the geography. Peopling every district are the inimitable Vietnamese themselves: kind, good-hearted and gifted with a wicked sense of humor, they’ll happily guide visitors to their favorite haunts. If you want to find out more about this fascinating country before setting off, follow our guide to ten of the most beautiful things to see in Vietnam.