Famous across the Pacific region, there’s an unusual style of cooking that has refused to go out of fashion for thousands of years thanks to the delicious dishes it produces. Most popular in New Zealand, where it’s called “Hāngi”, the art of Hāngi is a deceptively simple affair that involves a pit, rocks, leaves and hot ashes beneath it all. Combining the high temperatures of a wood-burning oven with moisture trapped inside the leaf-wrapped food, the hot pit (full of smoky rocks and the aromas of hot turf) imparts its own incredible flavors.

Insight Vacations Luxury Gold has teamed up with ME to WE, a social enterprise charity that has enriched the lives of more than 15,000 participants, to elevate travel to a new ethical plane. Serving as an extension of the Imperial Rajasthan tour, this trip sends visitors into northwest India’s unforgettable countryside to be immersed in the daily lives and experiences of a rural community. Here, we look at how this special trip extension offers travelers a one-of-a-kind vacation to India that will leave a lasting impression on their hearts and minds.

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.