Thailand forum

My boyfriend and I will be traveling through northern Thailand and Laos (with a side trip to Angkor Wat) for a month this Oct/Nov. We are in our late 20s and are excited about seeing cities, eating delicious food, wandering and hiking around, and getting to practice Thai (I can read s-l-o-w-l-y, and have been learning some vocab in preparation for the trip). Some combination of the awesome things that happen to be on the tourist trail ( Chiang Mai , Angkor Wat) and more off-trail things (Nan? Luang Namtha? Mae Hong Son ? Other?) is what we're looking for.

We are thinking of doing something like this over the month:

Bangkok -> Chiang Mai -> Mae Hong Son -> Phrae -> Nan -> Luang Prabang (via Hongsa) -> Angkor Wat (flying) -> Bangkok

-or-

Bangkok -> Chiang Mai -> Phrae -> Nan and areas around Nan -> Luang Prabang (via Hongsa) -> Angkor Wat (flying) -> Bangkok

We're also toying around with going to Luang Namtha in Laos rather than Mae Hong Son.

Questions:

1) Any thoughts on which direction -- i.e. should we start with Chiang Mai and end with Angkor Wat, or the reverse direction?

2) Any general recommendations on places to go, places to skip, other modifications/recommendations?

3) Is this realistic, breakneck?

Thanks so much!