8 Days Upstream Saigon Siem Reap on RV Tonle Pandaw Cruise: This will be an area rich in bird life and on our return journey, we will travel by horse cart through the lush countryside. After lunch, the ship will moor off Cho Lach island for pot making and further glimpses of Delta life, agriculture, and local Viet hospitality including a culinary lesson in making traditional Banh Xeo.
Table of Contents
Day 1: Saigon – My Tho
Activities: Picking up at Saigon Meeting Point, embarking on a cruise ship.
We will transfer from the meeting point in Saigon to My Tho Port. After boarding your Pandaw, we will sail downstream to Ben Tre and anchor midstream. In the afternoon, there will be a lecture on Vietnamese life in the Mekong Delta. During cocktail hour, we will be entertained by an indigenous dance group and meet your key crew.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: RV Tonle Pandaw Cruise Ship
Day 2: Ben Tre
Activities: Visiting Ben Tre, joining traditional activities
We will travel by sampans through mangroves and bamboo groves to the fruit orchards of Ben Tre. These local artisans will be at work and invite visitors into their homes for tea, fruit, and honey products made from their own honey. This will be an area rich in bird life and on our return journey, we will travel by horse cart through the lush countryside. After lunch, the ship will moor off Cho Lach island for pot making and further glimpses of Delta life, agriculture, and local Viet hospitality including a culinary lesson in making traditional Banh Xeo.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: RV Tonle Pandaw Cruise Ship
Day 3: Con Phuoc Island
Activities: Taking a short coach journey to the Gao Giong ‘green oasis’ with its bird sanctuary and Con Phuoc Island
After breakfast, there will be a short coach journey to the Gao Giong ‘green oasis’ with its bird sanctuary. Rowing boats will traverse the canals to take us to see the principal nesting areas. After coming back to the boat, we will cruise upstream to Con Phuoc Island. We will moor in a small canal off Con Phuoc Island and go ashore to discover the island by Xi Loi seeing basket production and visiting a 100-year-old Catholic Church as well as local woodworking artisans.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: RV Tonle Pandaw Cruise Ship
Day 4: Tan Chau – Cambodia Border
Activities: Visiting Tan Chau, border crossing formalities, relaxing, or taking an optional tour in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, we will discover the labyrinthine canal system around Tan Chau to visit a Taoist temple where the monks will read fortunes. We will continue through local villages by Xi Loi stopping off to help locals tend their fields before stopping off to visit a fish farm and earn merit by releasing fish back into the Mekong. Border crossing formalities will take up much of the afternoon. During this stationary period, there will be an optional tour of the working ship and fruit carving classes on deck.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: RV Tonle Pandaw Cruise Ship
Day 5: Phnom Penh
Activities: visiting highlights of Phnom Penh
In the morning, we will go to Phnom Penh by cyclo visiting the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda followed by the National Museum with its marvelous collection of Angkorian statuary. In the afternoon, we will have an optional visit to the Killing Fields and Genocide museum or take a tuk-tuk to explore the riverfront and finish with High Tea at Raffles Hotel. We will stay overnight in Phnom Penh city port with its lively bars, restaurants, and nightlife.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: RV Tonle Pandaw Cruise Ship
Day 6: Koh Oknha Tey
Activities: We will sail up the Tonle River to board our expedition vessel to visit Koh Okhna Tey, or ‘silk island’ to study the entire silk-making process from worms to weavers
We will sail up the Tonle River to board our expedition vessel, the Pandaw Explorer, to visit Koh Okhna Tey, or ‘silk island’ to study the entire silk-making process from worms to weavers. We will get to see a demonstration of the ancient Khmer martial art of Bokator. We will come back to the ship and return down the Tonle River to turn up the Mekong at the confluence.
In the evening, we will listen to the lecture on Angkor and Khmer culture.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: RV Tonle Pandaw Cruise Ship
Day 7: Wat Hanchey – OBT Chiro Village – Wat Nokor Bachey
Activities: Visiting Koh Trong Island a small Mekong River hamlet, mooring off Kratie and continuing to the dolphin grounds by local boat
We will have a sunrise cruise to Wat Hanchey an important heart of worship during the Chenla period located on top of a hill above the mighty Mekong River with some of the best Mekong views in Cambodia. We will get to visit 8th-century structures some destroyed by American bombings during the Vietnam War. We will get to see bizarre Fruit and Animal statues.
We will cruise back downstream to Kampong Cham where after lunch we will travel by Bus to the local OBT Chiro Village where the education of local children is high on the agenda. We will then travel to the Wat Nokor Bachey dating back to the Jayarvaman VII period. The temple was built completely from Black Sandstone which makes it stand out from other temples built during this period. Many legends surround this complex, including that it was built by a king who accidentally killed his father and then married his mother. This temple was built as penance for his crime.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: RV Tonle Pandaw Cruise Ship
Day 8: Kampong Cham – Siem Reap
Activities: Disembarking in Kampong Cham, transferring to Siem Reap by road
Sailing downstream to moor at Kampong Cham for disembarkation after breakfast and transferring to Siem Reap by road.
Meals: Breakfast
