Mekong Cruise: Vietnam & Cambodia

Itinerary

• Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi

  Welcome to Hanoi, the vibrant capital of Vietnam! Meet your guide at the airport and you will be privately transferred to your hotel. After check-in, you can explore this friendly city with your rhythm or have a good rest in your comfortable room to prepare yourself for a lifetime Indochina tour on the next day.

  • Hanoi

• Day 2: Get Acquainted with Hanoi

  Get acquainted with socialist Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh's Stilted House, where you will know why the Vietnamese love their great leader so much. Facing it is the Presidential Palace - the princely mansion of the French Governor-General of Indochina in the colonial era. Nearby, there is a photo stop at the iconic One Pillar Pagoda.

  Since Vietnam's first appearance in written history, in nearly 2,000 years, China had been the source of most of Vietnam's high culture, with the Temple of Literature as the most convincing evidence. Here, you will see China-inspired pavilions, courtyards, gardens, as well as locals paying respect to Confucius and praying for good performance on examinations.

  Late in the day, hop on a cyclo to explore the Old Quarter and get a glimpse into local life.

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  • Hanoi

• Day 3: Hanoi, A Day at Your Disposal

  Today is at your disposal, with the guide and driver on call.

  The ones interested in folk art may like to visit a nearby village to meet the local artisans and discover the secret of water puppetry - the art quintessence of Vietnam. Besides it, the Fine Arts Museum is also a great place to get a true sense of Vietnamese artistic vision. For those who want an in-depth understanding of Vietnam and Vietnamese, we would like to suggest an exclusive talk with an academic researcher at the Museum of Ethnology. History fans may like to meet a former pilot in the Vietnam War and hear the history come to life.

  Food lovers can travel with your guide through the local restaurants or narrow food streets in the city to enjoy some authentic local flavors.

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  • Hanoi

• Day 4: Hanoi - Halong Bay

  About 170km east of Hanoi, Halong Bay shows off its spectacular seascape to nature lovers from all over the world. Today, during a relaxing cruise to take in its outstanding beauty, you will explore a fisherman village by kayak and discover how they live in their floating houses. You can even try your hand to create authentic Vietnamese dishes under the direction of the professional chef on the board.

  Those who value privacy and freedom utmost can choose a private cruise with personalized itinerary and menus.

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  • Halong Bay

• Day 5: Halong Bay - Hanoi - Siem Reap

  Get up in the gentle ocean breezes, rejuvenate your body and spirit with a refreshing Tai Chi lesson as the sun rises over the calm Halong Bay, and then enjoy a hearty breakfast. Later, after an adventure to a less-touched karsts cave, you will return to Hanoi for an onward flight to Siem Reap.

  On arrival, be welcomed warmly by your local guide and driver.

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  • Siem Reap

• Day 6: Siem Reap, The Great City - Angkor Thom with leisurely Sunset Cruise

  The Great City - Angkor Thom lies on the west bank of the Siem Reap River, a branch of Tonle Sap. Within it are magnificent monuments built between the 9th and 15th centuries. Start your exploration a little early this morning to avoid the crowds. Make sure to visit the Bayon in the city center with giant smiling stone faces on the many towers and the nearby Elephants Terrace where King Jayavarman VII - the most powerful of the Khmer monarchs in history - welcomed his army returning with triumphant.

  Relax at your hotel during the heat of the day. At dusk, head out again for a leisurely cruise along the vast moat of the Angkor Thom, enjoying the Great City in the twilight sun, with a cup of champagne in hand.

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  • Siem Reap

• Day 7: Siem Reap, Angkor Wat & Ta Prohm

  Focus today on Angkor Wat, the Temple City of the Khmer Empire, and the national symbol of modern Cambodia. As one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the country, it has played a major role in converting Cambodia into a Buddhist nation. Spend the morning here, admiring its marvelous temple complex and extensive bas-reliefs. Shutterbugs should not miss the splendid sunrise over the Angkor Wat.

  Later on, move on to Ta Prohm, the so-called Tomb Raider Temple. Locked by muscular root systems of aged banyan trees, it will present you what the other monuments of Angkor looked like when European explorers first discovered them.

  Have the rest time of today relax at the hotel or continue with your guide to explore the old market of Siem Reap.

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  • Siem Reap

• Day 8: Siem Reap Free Day

  It is a leisure day for you to experience Siem Reap like a local. Get to know their customs and how they live by riding a bike in the city, visiting local markets, trying street food or even talking with locals. Your guide and driver are on call all day and waiting to serve you at any time.

  Want a more thrilling experience? You can choose to take a helicopter to spot the impressive scale of the Angkor Archaeological Park from the sky.

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  • Siem Reap

• Day 9: Siem Reap - Tonle Sap, Start the Voyage to the Mekong

  Connected to the Mekong by the river of the same name, the Lake of Tonle Sap makes up water to the Mekong during the dry season and is also paid back with rich sediments in the rainy season. In this way, they form a huge interconnected eco-region and feed millions of people in their watershed.

  Check out the hotel and take a countryside ride to the dock on the Tonle Sap. Here, you will settle into your floating retreat and open an exciting voyage until the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

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  • Tonle Sap Lake

• Day 10: Cruise: Prek Toal - Moat Khla

  Located at the north edge of the Tonle Sap and mainly covered by freshwater swamp forests, the 22,000-hectare Prek Toal Core Bird Reserve is home to a wide array of waterbirds in the dry season. This morning, while exploring this bird paradise by skiff, you may spot rare spot-billed pelicans, milky stork, black-headed ibis, and the elusive masked finfoot.

  In the afternoon, visit the floating village of Moat Khla to see how the people living in this isolated community and attend a Buddhist blessing ceremony.

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  • Tonle Sap Lake

• Day 11: Cruise: Chhnok Tru - Kampong Chhnang

  Cruise down to the south and continue learning about Khmer riverside life.

  In Chhnok Tru, a remote town with everything, like schools, churches, pagodas, and even the karaoke bar and police station all floating on water, you will visit an ice factory and talk with the locals for a deeper understanding of local life.

  In the afternoon, at the "Port of Pottery" - Kampong Chhnang, near the outlet of the Tonle Sap Lake, you will discover another living way shaped this great lake. Here, the farmers usually tend their farm crops in the dry season and fish in the rainy season. So, Kampong Chhnang mainly produces pottery, rice, and bananas, while fishing is only a supplement.

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  • Tonle Sap Lake

• Day 12: Cruise: Koh Chen - Koh Oknha Tey

  Continue the cruise and visit Koh Chen, a silversmith village that is best known for producing copper and silver souvenirs, including silver bowls often chosen by Cambodia's king as gifts for state visitors.

  This afternoon, you will be on the Mekong and explore its Silk Island, learning all about the silkworms and witnessing how the silk thread is looped and dyed. Biking is also available for those who want a deeper exploration of the island.

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  • Koh Chen

• Day 13: Cruise: Phnom Penh

  Time to see Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital that nestles on the juncture of the Tonle Sap and the Mekong. By motorized tuk-tuk, you will find its Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, and the National Museum rich with Khmer art. Those wanting to know the modern history of Cambodia can take an optional tour to the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide and the Killing Field.

  Afterward, say goodbye to the guests disembarking in Phnom Penh, return to welcome the ones who will join you in the onward journey, and enjoy a Cambodian Apsara performance together.

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  • Phnom Penh

• Day 14: Cruise: Ka om Samnor-vinh Xuong Border Crossing - Chau Doc - My An Hung

  Bid farewell to Cambodia and say: "Good Morning, Vietnam" as the boat crosses the border. Explore Tan Chau, a vibrant border town in Vietnam, by cyclo or pedal 18 km on the peaceful island of Long Khanh.

  In the afternoon, get a glimpse into the country life of the Mekong Delta at My An Hung village. Stroll through its lush plantations, visit a local family, taste some seasonal fruits, and enjoy traditional folk songs and unicorn dances presented by local villagers.

  Those who want to explore the village on wheels can choose the biking tour.

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  • Mekong Delta

• Day 15: Cruise: Binh Thanh/Sa Dec - Cai Be

  Visit Binh Thanh in the morning to see the villagers weaving mats from river reeds and water hyacinths. It is another livelihood that the Mekong offers to the people. The ones who have read The Lover, Marguerite Duras' autobiographical novel, may prefer to visit Sa Dec and see the house of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le, the hero in the novel.

  Continue downstream until Cai Be. Explore the river-land mixed town by walk or bicycle and visit a local family.

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  • Cai Be

• Day 16: Cruise End, My Tho - Ho Chi Minh City

  Disembark your floating resort at My Tho and then travel by land to Ho Chi Minh City, the financial center of Vietnam that is better known as Saigon. En route, stop to see the Vinh Trang Pagoda, a well-known Buddhist temple in Mekong Delta that mixes different architectural styles, including Cambodian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, French, Renaissance and Romanesque.

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  • Ho Chi Minh City

• Day 17: Ho Chi Minh City Tour & Free Afternoon

  Get an understanding of the city by reviewing the turbulent past of Saigon. Take a walk with your guide to sample some of its best-preserved French colonial buildings: The Opera House, the City Hall, the Paris-inspired Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Central Post Office.

  The afternoon is yours, enjoying some relaxation time at your hotel or exploring the War Remnants with your guide for an insight into the Vietnam War.

  Those who want to take in the night charm of Saigon may like to try the Evening Foodies Tour by vintage Vespa.

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  • Ho Chi Minh City

• Day 18: Ho Chi Minh City, Departure

  Conclude your Indochina tour with a hearty breakfast at your hotel and then take the private transfer to the airport for your homebound flight.

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