SAI GON - SIEM RIEP ON RV AMADARA CRUISE

Meeting point at Sofitel Plaza Hotel, then you will be transferred to My Tho Port to embark your luxury river ship for your eight-day Lower Mekong River cruise. Settle in to your suite, in evening you will have a special welcome dinner on board.

A local boat will take you to the lovely river-land town of Cai Be today. Step ashore to visit the French Gothic Cathedral as well as the colorful port area, which is filled with colonial buildings and delightful flower gardens. Afterwards, visit a local rice paper manufacturer for insight into how Vietnamese rice paper is made, then enjoy lunch back on board as your ship cruises towards the quaint Sa Dec. This town is where the award-winning French Writer Marguerite Duras met her Vietnamese-Chinese lover, Huynh Thuy Le. On arrival, tour Huynh Thuy Le’s old house and learn the story behind Marguerite Duras’ best-selling novel, The Lover. Later, visit a traditional Fujian Temple. Tonight, enjoy dinner on board your luxurious ship.

Border Crossing. This morning after a tantalizing breakfast, disembark your river ship and transfer to a small boat for a journey along the tiny tributaries that snake around Tan Chau. Cruise past a floating fish farm, then step ashore for a rickshaw tour of Tan Chau. Ride past shops, rice wine rooms and friendly locals eager to say hello. Later, step back in time during a visit to a local evergreen island and see authentic rural Mekong life. The remainder of today is then spent on board your luxurious river ship. This afternoon, perhaps take in a fruit-carving demonstration by one of the ship’s chefs while border formalities are carried out and you cross into Cambodia. Alternatively, watch daily life on the Lower Mekong unfold, before enjoying a delicious dinner later this evening. After entering Cambodia, your ship will continue to cruise overnight towards the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.

This morning to take in Phnom Penh’s river promenade as your ship nears the capital. After breakfast, disembark in Phnom Penh and embark on a moving excursion to the infamous Killing Fields, before visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, located on the site of the Khmer Rouge’s notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21). Here, you’ll learn of the atrocities inflicted upon Cambodians during Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime in the mid-to-late 1970s. Later this afternoon, enjoy lunch back on board your ship, then enjoy a guided tour of the spectacular Royal Palace, delighting in its dazzling white and gold architecture. This magnificent complex of buildings serves as the royal residence of the king of Cambodia. Afterwards, head to the Silver Pagoda, located on the south side of the palace complex. This temple houses many national treasures, most notable is a small 17th-century baccarat crystal Buddha (the ‘Emerald Buddha’ of Cambodia) and a life-sized gold Maitreya Buddha decorated with 9,584 diamonds.

This morning, we learn more about the darkest days of Cambodian history. After a scenic 45-minute drive from the ship is the Choeung Ek killing fields, we have the opportunity to 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, we also tour Tuol Sleng (also known as S-21), the former school that was converted to the main prison and torture headquarters of the Khmer Rouge. Our afternoon is, again, at leisure, with many wonderful options. A short, traditional shadow puppet show will be performed before dinner this evening, and the manager will tell us about the artistic process of creating the beautiful, leather puppets, as well as explain the performance art.

After a delicious breakfast, disembark in Prek K’dam and travel by coach on a morning tour of Oudong, the royal capital of Cambodia from 1618 until 1866. During your time here, visit the monastery for a Buddha blessing experience. Afterwards, continue to Kampong Tralach for a visit to Wat Kampong Tralach Pleu before an exciting ox-cart ride takes you through rice fields and a small village to rejoin your ship.

You’ll enjoy a small-boat excursion into the wetlands near Kampong Chhnang. Then return to your ship and cast off towards the vast lake of Tonle Sap. This evening, reflect on the days that have just gone by as you enjoy your last night on board your luxury river cruise as you indulge in a superb Farewell Dinner.

Following breakfast, we say good-bye to the Amadara Cruise and her crew, and transfer from Kampong Cham to Siem Reap, Cambodia. See more Rates and Dates!