3 Days Pearl of Orient Cruise Mekong River Upstream High Water

Meals: Dinner

Bid farewell to the hustle and bustle of Saigon as we travel 70 kilometers south by land to My Tho to embark your boutique ship. We will be served a refreshing welcome drink as the Ship steadily glides along the Mekong. We will bathe in the fading sunset on the balcony followed by a briefing at the lounge. Later, a welcome dinner awaits us. When approaching Cai Be, the Ship drops anchor to moor midstream where the river is several kilometers wide. Overnight in Cai Be.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The day – in fact everyday – starts with an invigorating Tai Chi lesson on the sun deck, just as the sun begins its gentle glow. Coffee and tea awaits the early bird. The day’s tour starts with a visit to Cai Be’s boisterous and colorful floating market on board a traditional sampan (a flat bottomed traditional Vietnamese wooden boat). During the languid ride, discover breathtaking landscapes along the river and quaff the rustic life on the Mekong Delta. The cruise will halt intermittently to allow us to observe how rice paste, rice cookies and coconut candies are made, along with the Longan fruit drying process. After touring the canals, we head to an ancient house surrounded by fruit orchards before heading to the Ship for lunch. In the afternoon, we cruise to Sa Dec. Upon arrival, we embark a traditional sampan to tour Binh Thanh Island and its manmade canals. Here, every villager is involved in the process of growing and processing water hyacinths into natural fibre floor mats and rattan baskets. We then board the Ship for a tranquil evening cruise towards Chau Doc. The Ship will moor midstream overnight near Chau Doc.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Wake up and sip your latte on the sun deck as we arrive in Chau Doc. We will brace ourselves for a short excursion in Chau Doc, a pleasant town near the Cambodian border with sizeable Chinese, Kinh and Khmer communities. We will also visit the colorful local market near an ancient temple. This is followed by a trip to the quay, where we will be feted to a boat excursion to the floating villages and rustic catfish farms where we will learn exciting facts about the breeding of Basa fish in the Mekong Delta. Then, it is back to the ship for a lunch. By mid-afternoon, the cruise liner will make its way to the border for Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. It is an opportune time to relax on board, sharpen your culinary skills with our hands-on cooking classes or tour the ship with our impeccable Cruise Director. Or, better yet, do all three. “The Highway Blues” beckons as we float into a state of mild bliss caused by the hypnotic murmur of the ship’s engine. After hours of cruising, we will feel the rush of entering into a new country and to embrace new adventures. Overnight midstream near Phnom Penh.

Note: Due to high water in the Mekong Delta between July and December the following program applies: This morning, you will start your excursion on a local boat (sampan) and discover the border town of Tan Chau. Firstly, the journey takes you to the “evergreen” islands where you will be thrilled to learn the life of the locals. The inhabitants of these islands live on houses poised on high stilts – a centuries-old tradition in this part of the Mekong Delta. We stop to visit a fish farm located in the Tan Chau canal – this farm consists of floating houses and the villagers make their living by cultivating fish. You continue by boat to Tan Chau pier, disembark here and stroll around this colorful local market with lots of regional products. You return to the cruise Ship after your market visit.