I’ve recently returned from the last of my biannual blasts around Laos on dirt bikes with my brother and a friend – ten days of hardcore off-road adventure in the far north of this stunningly beautiful land-locked country.

The trip began with a night in Luang Prabang, planning the route over plenty of iced Beer Laos and local delicacies such as sin savan jao bong – dried beef with a roasted chillie paste – and or lam, a great vegetable and pork curry thickened with broken sticky rice.

Luang Prabang is a jewel encrusted ring slipped over a slender finger of land at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. Circled by mountains, the beautiful town retains some of the most outstanding examples of regional architecture; a unique blend of local and European style buildings built by the colonial powers during the 19th and 20th centuries. With its ancient temples and continued adherence to local tradition Luang Prabang is recognised as the seat of Lao culture. Acknowledging its importance to mankind the town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995. Parts of the old town have since benefited from a considerable amount of restoration work.

The town has over 30 splendid old temples, the most magnificent of which is Wat Xieng Tong. The oldest structure in the temple compound dates from the 1560’s and the temple displays stunning mosaics, elaborate décor and beautiful gold stenciled designs. Many of the temples in Luang Prabang share a similarity in design with northern Thai structures, a consequence of the two regions being part of the same kingdom for centuries. The low sweeping roofs and outstanding craftsmanship set Luang Prabang temples apart from many others across Southeast Asia.

The World Heritage label has worked for and against Luang Prabang. It is no longer the sleepy Laotian town I first visited in 1997. Back then there were only a handful of westerners, each one enjoying alien pleasures and being cast adrift in foreign land. Yet despite its changes, the huge influx of tourists, dozens of restaurants and bars, internet cafes and five star hotels, Luang Prabang has managed to retain considerable charm. This, however, may be soon to come to an end as plans have just been approved to expand the airport and runaway to allow more frequent and larger planes to land in town. As with all popular destinations in Asia the authorities simply do not know when to say ‘enough’. I must admit for the first time in many visits to Luang Prabang, on this occasion one night and a day was ample.

One of the great attractions of the old town is that it is easy to explore on foot or by bicycle. During the cooler months from November to February the climate is pleasant and mornings crisp and fresh.

Rise early and witness the tradition of lines of monks, resplendent in their orange robes collecting alms from the faithful – although happy holiday snappers now seem to outnumber the monks.

 Over the coming days I’ll be posting about hill tribes in the far north of Laos, Buddhist imagery, and my old favourite, local markets.

You can see more images in the Laos gallery.