Published on November 29, 2017
Chau Doc, Mekong Delta, Cambodia. Image © Timothy Neesam/Creative Commons.
What You’ll Get
For eight days and seven nights, experience a Mekong River cruise that will take you from remote Cambodia lakeside villages to bustling cities near the Delta in Viet Nam.
Highlights
At the Phnom Krom pier near Siem Reap in Cambodia, you’ll board the charming 10-cabin Toum Tiou luxury cruiser. Sail to several riverside communities, among them Chnok Tru, a remote floating village in the Tonle River; the fishing port of Kampong Chnang; the isolated Wat Kampong Tralach Leu pagoda in Kampong Tralach; before reaching the capital Phnom Penh.
Serene pagodas stand alongside bustling streets in this Cambodia city: you’ll traverse these streets to visit the gilded Royal Palace and the jeweled Silver Pagoda; see splendid Khmer treasures at the National Museum; and relive the horror of the Khmer Rouge years at the Tuol Sleng museum.
Upon crossing the Cambodian border at Kaam Samnaar, your first stop in Viet Nam will be Chau Doc, whose burgeoning downtown features a charming mix of rustic colonial buildings, a vibrant marketplace, and a Cham minority village.
More local color awaits at Sa Dec, an old colonial town where you can stroll around its market along the river bank and gaze at the remaining colonial houses. Stops at Vinh Long and Cai Be take you to more floating villages and markets; before arriving at My Tho, renowned for its floating markets, lush orchards, iconic Vinh Trang pagoda, and picturesque Dragon Island.
You’ll make a final stop at Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam’s bustling southern metropolis.
Royal Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Image © Mild Delirium/Creative Commons.