RV Mekong Princess Cruise-8 days 7 nights-Siem Reap-Saigon

Early this morning, you will be transferred by motor-coach from Siem Reap to Kampong Cham and embark the RV Mekong Princess for lunch. After enjoying the afternoon at leisure, enjoy a Welcome Reception and Cambodian Welcome Dinner on board.

Early this morning, you will be transferred by motor-coach from Siem Reap to Kampong Cham and embark the RV Mekong Princess. Once aboard, you will be welcomed by your Vietnamese and Cambodian ship’s crew, before embarking on the most extraordinary journey of discovery.

Lunch, with highly attentive oriental hospitality, will be served soon after departure, as we cruise along the Mekong River. Having settled into your luxurious suites, you can relax and enjoy the new scenes and watch the world pass by.

Late in the day we anchor at Angkor Ban, where cocktails are served as sun sets, and sampans pass by. A traditional Cambodian dinner is soon ready, embracing a subtle fusion of dishes for the most eclectic tastes.

Today we visit the charming town of Angkor Ban. Here we experience an insight into the lives of the local people, starting with a visit to a family’s home to witness their lifestyle. We meander through the village to the local school and time to interact with the students and experience a typical day of study in rural Cambodia.

After breakfast, local cyclo drivers meet you for an exciting city tour of Phnom Penh. You begin your ride along the riverfront to the Royal Palace, where a leisurely walk takes you through the grounds, with opportunities to visit the Throne Hall and Moonlight Pavilion. Upon crossing into the second section of the complex, stroll among enormous stupas and spirit houses, on the way to the famous Silver Pagoda, home of Cambodia’s Emerald Buddha and Maitreya Buddha, encrusted with more than 9,000 diamonds.

Following a short break, your cyclos take you to the National Museum. Housing the largest Angkorian artifacts in Cambodia, the National Museum ends the morning tour with a comprehensive look at many of the artifacts excavated around the Angkor Archeological Area in Siem Reap. After a return cyclo ride to the ship, you may wish to take some time to have lunch at a local restaurant, walk along the quay, or visit some of Phnom Penh’s famous markets and fascinating boutiques.

This afternoon, a private air-conditioned coach takes us to the outskirts of Phnom Penh to visit Choeung Ek (‘The Killing Fields’). This is the monument commemorating the nations notorious past. On the return drive to Phnom Penh, a stop is made at Tuol Sleng (infamously known as S-21), which was converted by the Khmer Rouge from a large school to a prison.

Before dinner, children from a local orphanage entertain guests with a cultural performance including Apsara, Cambodia’s national dance, as well as several traditional folk dances.

This morning, the MV Mekong Princess will process through immigration and customs, cross the border into Vietnam, and continue downstream to Hong Ngu.

This afternoon, sampans take you to the local island village of Hong Ngu, not far from the Vietnam- Cambodia border, just approximately 15km. Hong Ngu produces an abundance of traditional Khmer scarves, which are exported to Cambodia. Hand-woven in many homes throughout the village, we see the intricate weaving process from start to finish. Many of the villagers are embroidery artists who display their art on the balconies of their timber homes, which are built on stilts to avoid flooding in the wet season.

The residents of Hong Ngu had rarely encountered western visitors prior to the arrival of the RV Mekong Princess. Their welcome is warm and naturally friendly. Before returning to the sampans, we enter a local temple dedicated to a unique religion, founded in this area, named Hoa Hao.

This morning, your sampans return to take you into Gieng Island. After a short walk around visiting to a local sampan village, where hundreds of sampans are produced daily by local families, we will take a canal drive to explore the untouched floating area with duck farms, monkey bridges, and tropical orchards along the riverside. We will try one of most popular local transportation named “xe loi” (motor trishaw) driving through this island to visit a Catholic Church, which was built as old as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon in the 1870s.

Later this afternoon, your sampans take you to the village of Thot Not, where you transfer to a “Lambro 555” that takes you through the village, where you begin to hear the cacophony of a bird sanctuary. After a short walk into the sanctuary, you climb the steps to the viewing platform, and enjoy an incredible view over the treetops and down on the nesting area of a variety of protected birds. Tonight you will enjoy a local entertainment show onboard after dinner.

Your sampans return early this morning before breakfast for a cruise through the fascinating Cai Rang floating market near Can Tho. The sampan will weave in and out of the many boats that sail into the market each morning to sell produce and other items the residents of the Mekong Delta need in their daily lives. As they weave through the market, you will have many opportunities for amazing photographs, while enjoying the Vietnamese “anti-aging drink,” fresh coconut water. After the market visit, a stop is made at a local factory to see the amazing process of making instant noodles. After one final pass through the market, you return to the ship for breakfast.

This afternoon, the ship sails through an area of the Mekong Delta barely touched by tourism to see Phuoc Hau historic pagoda and a local handicraft village and families.

Today, sampans take you through a channel lined with mangroves to visit a local coconut candy maker. After watching the candy-making process and walking through the family’s orchard, a horse cart will take you on a 15-minute ride to a pier where you board small, local boats (two guests per boat) for a trip through the narrow creeks lined with Nipah palm before returning to the ship.

This evening, we enjoy a Vietnamese Farewell Dinner as the ship sails into the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.

After breakfast onboard, it’s time to say farewell to the RV Mekong Princess and your ships crew. Road transfers are provided for your convenience from the ship to your nearby hotel, or Tan Son Nhat international airport.