Itinerary 
UPSTREAM ITINERARY (click to view the DOWNSTREAM ITINERARY)
Our 7-night itinerary along the legendary Mekong River, as listed below, starts with a land transfer between Ho Chi Minh City and My Tho, Vietnam sailing upstream to Kampong Cham, Cambodia, and ending with a land transfer into Ho Chi Minh City. The itinerary also operates in the reverse direction, and may be extended with our land extensions in Bangkok, Thailand, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and/or Ha Noi and Hal Long Bay, Vietnam.
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DAY 1 |
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DAY 3
TAN CHAU / BORDER CROSSING (B / L / D)
Experience vastly different ways of life along the Mekong Delta today when sampans sail to a temple of the Cao Dai religion, one of the unique amalgam religions founded in Vietnam in an effort to stop the fighting between various faiths. Enjoy a 15-minute ride on a xe loi (local Vietnamese tuk-tuk), to a family-owned mat weaving workshop, before returning to the sampans to visit a floating fish farm and to walk through a local village on Evergreen Island.
After returning to the Mekong Navigator and sailing to the Vietnam-Cambodia border, you will spend a few hours processing through immigration before continuing upstream to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
DAY 4
PHNOM PENH / OVERNIGHT (B / L / CP / D)
After breakfast on board this morning, cyclo drivers meet you on the pier for an exciting morning tour of Phnom Penh. You are gently transported along the riverfront to the Royal Palace complex, where you enjoy a leisurely walk through the grounds. After viewing Throne Hall and Moonlight Pavilion, you visit the famous Silver Pagoda, home of Cambodia’s Emerald Buddha and the Maitreya Buddha, which is encrusted with more than 9,000 diamonds. Your cyclo is waiting outside to take you on the short ride to the open-air National Museum, housing the largest collection of Angkorian and pre-Angkorian artifacts excavated at the Angkor Temple complex at Siem Reap, as well as other areas around Cambodia.
After returning to the ship, enjoy a free afternoon in Phnom Penh—shopping, dining at one of the many wonderful restaurants, or exploring the city independently. An Independent Pursuit to be a Bear Keeper for a Day at the Sun Bear Sanctuary outside Phnom Penh is offered this afternoon.
Before dinner, local children entertain guests on our Sun Deck with a cultural performance including Apsara, Cambodia’s national dance, as well as traditional folk dances.
DAY 5
PHNOM PENH (B / L / D)
This morning, learn more about the darkest days of Cambodian history. After a scenic 45-minute drive from the ship, you arrive at the Choeung Ek killing fields, where you may walk through the fields, visit the small museum and Memorial Stupa, and learn more about the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime. Before returning to the ship, tour Tuol Sleng (also known as S-21), the former school converted to the main prison and torture headquarters of the Khmer Rouge.
Enjoy another afternoon in Phnom Penh on your own or learning to make traditional Khmer dishes through our Independent Pursuit at the La Table Khmer Cooking School before departing Phnom Penh to start our sail up the Tonle Sap River.
DAY 6
TONLE SAP RIVER CRUISE / KAMPONG CHHNANG (B / L / D)
The ship sails a full day on the narrow, winding Tonle Sap River, which offers a rare glimpse of rural river life in Cambodia. Upon reaching the floating village of Kampong Chhnang you board a private excursion boat for a scenic cruise, where you observe the locals living, working, and even shopping on the river. Enjoy a beautiful sunset while sailing back to the Mekong, watching local children on the riverbanks bidding us farewell as we continue our journey.
Lecture today: The Origins of Buddhism, its Teachings, and its Cultural Influence
Please note during certain high and low water conditions, government authorities will not allow us to sail to Kampong Chhnang. During these departures, a visit to the silk weaving village of Preak Bang Kong will be substituted. Preak Bang Kong is a traditional village, famous for their woven silk products. Your walking tour will include a visit to a local home “farm,” where the worms are raised, the silk is handspun and dyed, and women weave the silk thread into fabrics on traditional looms. The homes selected are an excellent place for a little shopping.
DAY 7
WAT HANCHEY / KAMPONG CHAM (B / L / FR / FD)
This morning, the children of a local school welcome you to the local village. The school, which serves eight surrounding districts, is the only secondary school in the area, and is supported by the local communities. Following your tour of the school and an interesting Q&A opportunity with the principal, you walk up the hill to the local monastery of Wat Hanchey and receive a traditional Buddhist Water Blessing from the resident monks. After enjoying a walk around the monastery and the amazing views of the Mekong River valley, you descend 303 steps and return to the ship.
Lecture today: from Powerful Khmer Empire, through Genocide, to the Rebuilding of a Nation
Following lunch, motor coaches drive you through the city of Kampong Cham to the hills of Phnom Pros (man hill) and Phnom Srei (woman hill), where you visit the incredible Stupa, the 10-meter long reclining Buddha, and the 13-meter tall preaching Buddha. Today’s final visit is to the 12th century, Angkorian-period complex of Wat Nokor Bachey, which features several original, stone Buddha statues. You gather in Le Salon Lounge this evening for a Farewell Reception with the entire crew, before enjoying a Cambodian Farewell Dinner in Le March Dining Room.
DAY 8
KAMPONG CHAM / SIEM REAP / DISEMBARKATION (B)
Following breakfast this morning you begin your journey from Kampong Cham to Siem Reap, Cambodia, home of the archeological wonders of Angkor Wat.
Lecture during transfer: Cambodia’s Golden Age
DOWNSTREAM ITINERARY (click to return to the UPSTREAM ITINERARY)
Our 7-night itinerary along the legendary Mekong River, as listed below, starts with a land transfer between Siem Reap and Kampong Cham, Cambodia, sailing downstream to My Tho, Vietnam, and ending with a land transfer into Ho Chi Minh City. The itinerary also operates in the reverse direction, and may be extended with our land extensions in Bangkok, Thailand, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and/or Ha Noi and Hal Long Bay, Vietnam.
DAY 1
SIEM REAP / KAMPONG CHAM / EMBARKATION (WR / WD)
Your midday transfer from Siem Reap to Kampong Cham, Cambodia, ends at the Mekong Navigator. Following a welcome reception, safety briefing, and introduction to key members of our crew, a delicious Cambodian Welcome Dinner is served in Le Marche Dining Room.
Lecture during the transfer: The Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers and the Biosphere of the Tonle Sap Lake
DAY 2
WAT HANCHEY / KAMPONG CHAM (B / L / D)
This morning, the children of a local school welcome you to the local village. The school, which serves eight surrounding districts, is the only secondary school in the area, and is supported by the local communities. Following your tour of the school and an interesting Q&A opportunity with the principal, you walk up the hill to the local monastery of Wat Hanchey and receive a traditional Buddhist Water Blessing from the resident monks. After enjoying a walk around the monastery and the amazing views of the Mekong River valley, you descend 303 steps and return to the ship.
Lecture today: The Origins of Buddhism, its Teachings, and its Cultural Influence
Following lunch, motor coaches drive you through the city of Kampong Cham to the hills of Phnom Pros (man hill) and Phnom Srei (woman hill), where you visit the incredible Stupa, the 10-meter long reclining Buddha, and the 13-meter tall preaching Buddha. Today’s final visit is to the 12th century, Angkorian-period complex of Wat Nokor Bachey, which features several original, stone Buddha statues. Upon return to the ship, we begin our sail down the Mekong to the Tonle Sap River
DAY 3
TONLE SAP RIVER CRUISE / KAMPONG CHHNANG (B / L / D)
The ship sails a full day on the narrow, winding Tonle Sap River, which offers a rare glimpse of rural river life in Cambodia. Upon reaching the floating village of Kampong Chhnang you board a private excursion boat for a scenic cruise, where you observe the locals living, working, and even shopping on the river. Enjoy a beautiful sunset while sailing back to the Mekong, watching local children on the riverbanks bidding us farewell as we continue our journey.
Lecture today: from Powerful Khmer Empire, through Genocide, to the Rebuilding of a Nation
Please note during certain high and low water conditions, government authorities will not allow us to sail to Kampong Chhnang. During these departures, a visit to the silk weaving village of Preak Bang Kong will be substituted. Preak Bang Kong is a traditional village, famous for their woven silk products. Your walking tour will include a visit to a local home “farm,” where the worms are raised, the silk is handspun and dyed, and women weave the silk thread into fabrics on traditional looms. The homes selected are an excellent place for a little shopping.
DAY 4
PHNOM PENH / OVERNIGHT (B / L / CP / D)
After breakfast on board this morning, cyclo drivers meet you on the pier for an exciting morning tour of Phnom Penh. You are gently transported along the riverfront to the Royal Palace complex, where you enjoy a leisurely walk through the grounds. After viewing Throne Hall and Moonlight Pavilion, you visit the famous Silver Pagoda, home of Cambodia’s Emerald Buddha and the Maitreya Buddha, which is encrusted with more than 9,000 diamonds. Your cyclo is waiting outside to take you on the short ride to the open-air National Museum, housing the largest collection of Angkorian and pre-Angkorian artifacts excavated at the Angkor Temple complex at Siem Reap, as well as other areas around Cambodia.
After returning to the ship, enjoy a free afternoon in Phnom Penh—shopping, dining at one of the many wonderful restaurants, or exploring the city independently. An Independent Pursuit to be a Bear Keeper for a Day at the Sun Bear Sanctuary outside Phnom Penh is offered this afternoon.
Before dinner, local children entertain guests on our Sun Deck with a cultural performance including Apsara, Cambodia’s national dance, as well as traditional folk dances.
DAY 5
PHNOM PENH (B / L / D)
This morning, learn more about the darkest days of Cambodian history. After a scenic 45-minute drive from the ship, you arrive at the Choeung Ek killing fields, where you may walk through the fields, visit the small museum and Memorial Stupa, and learn more about the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime. Before returning to the ship, tour Tuol Sleng (also known as S-21), the former school converted to the main prison and torture headquarters of the Khmer Rouge.
Enjoy another afternoon in Phnom Penh on your own or learning to make traditional Khmer dishes through our Independent Pursuit at the La Table Khmer Cooking School before departing Phnom Penh to sail downstream to the Cambodia-Vietnam border.
DAY 6
BORDER CROSSING / TAN CHAU (B / L / D)
This morning you will spend a few hours processing through immigration before continuing downstream to Tan Chau, Vietnam. Experience vastly different ways of life along the Mekong Delta today when sampans sail to a temple of the Cao Dai religion, one of the unique amalgam religions founded in Vietnam in an effort to stop the fighting between various faiths. Enjoy a 15-minute ride on a xe loi (local Vietnamese tuk-tuk), to a family-owned mat weaving workshop, before returning to the sampans to visit a floating fish farm and to walk through a local village on Evergreen Island.
DAY 7
SA DEC / CAI BE (B / L / D)
Upon arrival to Sa Dec, your sampans return for a leisurely, scenic navigation of the narrow canals of the Mekong, where you will observe daily routines of the villagers en route to the historic town of Sa Dec. A stop at a local brick factory reveals the process of brick making by local men and women utilizing clay from the Mekong River. In the town of Sa Dec you visit the home of Mr. Hyun Thuy Le, the inspiration of Marguerite Duras’ novel, L’Amant (The Lover), and walk through the town’s market, experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, and wonderful photo opportunities found in the colorful fresh produce, meat, and live fish and seafood for sale.
Lecture today: Vietnam—from Dynastic Rule to Capitalist Economy
Following lunch on board, traditional sampans sail past the city’s beautiful French gothic cathedral before touring the historic An Kiet House and its beautiful surrounding gardens. Your sampans then travel to a traditional rice factory where workers produce rice paper, rice wine, popped rice, and many varieties of traditional candies; then return to the ship for a sumptuous lunch and a scenic cruise upstream to Sa Dec.
DAY 8
MY THO / DISEMBARKATION (B)
Following breakfast you say goodbye to the crew as you disembark the vessel and transfer to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Lecture during the transfer: Ho Chi Minh City—from Khmer Seaport to Booming Metropolis
