DAY 1: HO CHI MINH CITY – MY THO – CAI BE ( D)
Bid farewell to the hustle and bustle of Saigon as we travel 70 kilometers south by land to My Tho to embark your boutique Ship. We will be served a refreshing welcome drink as the Ship steadily glides along the Mekong. We will bathe in the fading sunset on the balcony followed by a briefing at the lounge. Later, a welcome dinner awaits us.
When approaching Cai Be, the Ship drops anchor to moor midstream where the river is several kilometers wide.
Overnight in Cai Be.
DAY 2: CAI BE – SA DEC – CHAU DOC ( B,L,D)
The day – in fact everyday – starts with an invigorating Tai Chi lesson on the sun deck, just as the sun begins its gentle glow. Coffee and tea awaits the early bird.
The day’s tour starts with a visit to Cai Be’s colorful floating market on board a traditional sampan (a flat bot-tomed traditional Vietnamese wooden boat). During the languid ride, discover breathtaking landscapes along the river and quaff the rustic life on the Mekong Delta. The cruise will halt intermittenly to allow us to observe how rice paste, rice cookies and coconut candies are made, along with the Longan fruit drying process. After touring the canals, we head to an ancient house surrounded by fruit orchards before heading to the Ship for lunch.
In the afternoon, we cruise to Sa Dec. Upon arrival, we embark a traditional sampan to tour Binh Thanh Island and its man-made canals. Here, every villager is involved in the process of growing and processing water hyacinths into natural fibre floor mats and rattan baskets.
We then board the Ship for a tranquil evening cruise towards Chau Doc.
The Ship will moor midstream overnight near Chau Doc.
DAY 3: CHAU DOC (BORDER CROSSING) – PHNOM PENH (B,L,D)
Welcome to the fish sanctuary of Vietnam. Begin your day with a hearty breakfast at Dining Hall or in the quiet sanctuary of your balcony. Brace yourself for a short excursion in Chau Doc, a pleasant town near the Cambodian border with sizeable Chinese, Kinh and Khmer communities. We will also visit the colorful local market near an ancient temple. This is followed by a trip to the quay, where we will be feted to a boat excursion to the floating villages and rustic catfish farms.
We will certainly enjoy watching schools of basa fish being fed by hand followed by a shore excursion to the local Cham Mus-lim community village. Then, it is back to the ship for a lunch.
By mid-afternoon, the cruise liner will make its way to the border for Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. It is an op-portune time to relax on board, sharpen your culinary skills with our hands-on cooking classes or tour the ship with our impec-cable Cruise Director. Or, better yet, do all three. “The Highway Blues” beckon as we float into a state of mild bliss caused by the hypnotic murmur of the ship’s engine. After hours of cruising, we will feel the rush of entering into a new country and to embrace new adventures.
Overnight midstream near Phnom Penh.
Note: Due to high water in the Mekong Delta between July and December the following program applies:
This morning, you will start your excursion on a local boat (sampan) and discover the border town of Tan Chau. Firstly, the journey takes you to the “evergreen” islands where you will be thrilled to learn the life of the locals.
The inhabitants of these islands live on houses poised on high stilts – a centuries-old tradition in this part of the Mekong Delta. We stop to visit a fish farm located in the Tan Chau canal – this farm consists of floating houses and the villagers make their living by cultivating fish. You continue by boat to Tan Chau pier, disembark here and stroll around this colorful local market with lots of re-gional products. You return to the cruise ship after your market visit.
DAY 4: PHNOM PENH (B,L,D)
Phnom Penh was once the Paris of the East. Despite its rapid development, it has retained a lot of its rustic charm and elegance. After breakfast, we will be captivated by a comprehensive lecture on Cambodia’s modern history. This will be followed by a city tour of this dynamic, historical capital city of Cambodia which has managed to preserve huge slices of its French colonial allure. Sightseeing in the morning will include visiting the dazzling white and gold edifice of the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, and witnessing exceptionally beautiful Khmer craft at the National Museum.
After lunch at a local restaurant, we will visit the Genocide Museum and the Killing Field in town. Be prepared to be heart wrenched by this stark reminder of the genocide that transpired during Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime.
We go back to the Ship after our museum visit. Take a rest on your cabin balcony or the lounge and get prepared for an exciting evening event. The evening starts with a variety of cocktail served on the sun deck. Take a seat and enjoy the following Apsara dance performance. Experience the brilliance and richness of this culture, the soothing sounds of traditional music, the calming scent of incense sticks and a barbeque on the sun deck. It is indeed a truly marvelous experience, dining in the open with the stars and the moon as our companions.
Overnight in Phnom Penh.
DAY 5: PHNOM PENH – KAMPONG CHHNANG (B,L,D)
Before the sun peeks over the horizon, the cruiser sets sail towards Kampong Chhnang (we leave Phnom Penh after midnight) and the Tonle Sap River – an amazingly narrow river – which glides through leafy swaths of the Southeast Asian jungle. We are greeted by cacophonous children who waive enthusiastically early in the morning when they bring their livestock for a bath in the meandering Tonle Sap River.
Then we approach Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia’s “waterworld” where everything is on stilts balanced on rich water rich soil–it’s an awesome sight whilst practising Tai Chi on the deck.
Here we take a motorboat excursion to the landing, followed by a short bus trip to see the Khmer-styled pottery at the Aundaung Russey village. Then, it is back to the river for an adventurous motorboat excursion to the wetlands, floating housesand fish farms in the region.
We then return to the ship for lunch whilst cruising the narrow and meandering Tonle Sap. We will cruise toward Prek K’dam where we will take a walk through the silversmith village of Koh Chen where the entire community of villagers are involved in making various silver items for sale.
Back on board, the Ship sails back towards Phnom Penh again and will moor for overnight midstream near Phnom Penh.
Including breakfast, lunch and dinner.
DAY 6: KAMPONG CHAM (B,L,D)
We will depart before the break of dawn from Phnom Penh with a stop at the little known Chong Koh silk weaving village. We will then return to the ship and will cruise past the Mekong’s tranquil villages, exhilirating river life and sun-hardened fisher-men on their shift boats.
We will tour the rural Angkor Ban village where time stood still. We are transported back a hundred years into an era unsullified by modernity. The houses here are truly rustic, made by hand and without any concrete. But most of all, we feel overwhelmed by the unbridled warmth of the villagers.
Travelers can take part in the daily activities of the villagers to experience village life first hand. Then, we are back to the Ship to cruise towards Kampong Cham.
Overnight in Kampong Cham.
DAY 7: KAMPONG CHAM
We will wake up in the small hours of the morning, truly energized to embark on a land journey to the pre-Angkorian temple of Wat Hanchey. Travelers either take a motor-taxi or climb 291 steps to the top. Located at the top of a hill overlooking the river, it offers one of the most breath-taking views in Cambodia. Built in the 8th century, this ancient structure, together with a bigger and newer addition underscores the superb architecture of the Chenla Empire which predates the mighty Angkor temple
complex. We even get to engage in light banter with some of the monks in the area. We will return to the Ship to witness a blessing ceremony performed by orange-clad local monks.
When the tide allows, we will enjoy a surprise sojourn in our zodiacs (inflatable boats) to the nearby beach to swim in the tea-colored Mekong River, an experience that will, no doubt, dominate dinner conversations in the weeks to come.
We will then cruise towards Kampong Cham to visit Wat Nokor, a wat built within the ruins of an ancient temple which holds a timeless story. On the way back to the Ship, we will visit an orphanage. Along the way, we will have to maneuver a 2-kilom-eter rickety bamboo bridge. Our sense of balance lies in the balance!
Including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Overnight in Kampong Cham.
DAY 8: KAMPONG CHAM – SIEM REAP (B,L)
We will disembark the Ship at after breakfast and boarding a coach at 8.30h for a transfer from Kampong Cham to the drop off point in Siem Reap. We get to munch on snacks and enjoy cold drinks along the journey. We then arrive in Siem Reap in the early afternoon. Trip ends.
