Vietnam to Cambodia: the Aqua Mekong Cruise

Discover Vietnam’s commercial centre of Ho Chi Minh on this interesting half day tour. While it is a busy, vibrant city, this tour will also show how Ho Chi Minh is steeped in history with stops at historic landmarks including the former Presidential Palace where Saigon’s government ruled from throughout the American war. This tour will also take you to sights such as the Notre Dame Cathedral, which is based on Paris’ original monument, the Central Post Office plus the War Remnants Museum. Here at the war museum you will have the chance to gain an intense insight into the war through the eyes of the local people.

During this private tour you will explore the Cu Chi tunnels complex alongside a VC veteran who once lived here. Dug in 1948, you will learn how this complex was created to hide the guerrillas from French air and ground sweeps, becoming both their living quarters and hospitals during the American war. As you explore the underground villages, which also served as communication routes and food and weapon caches, your VC veteran will offer an insight into the history and experiences that took place here, from the lack of air, food and water to the Vietnamese’s strength during the war. Your private English speaking guide will also be on hand to translate conversations between you and the veteran.

Disembark the Aqua Mekong to discover Phnom Penh in a tuk-tuk that will take you to this historic city’s most important sites, including the 1866 Royal Palace that is still home to the reigning monarch and its Silver Pagoda. Just next door, the National Museum of Cambodia houses the world’s largest collection of Khmer art.

Embark by skiff to visit Koh Chen, or ‘Chinese Island’ in Khmer, before exploring the floating village of Kampong Chhnang, meaning Port of Pottery. Archaeological findings here link this now sleepy area as far back as the Dvaravati kingdom, dating to the 6th through 11th centuries when Kampong Chhnang was an important trade centre.

Explore the remote communities around the Tonle Sap River, an ecological hot spot designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1997. Sail to a range of villages, from Chnok Tru, which is as photogenic as it is remote and thus completely self-sufficient, to Moat Kla, the last village in Siem Reap Province on the southeastern end of the lake.

Head into the 22,000-hectare Prek Toal Core Bird Reserve on Tonle Sap Lake, one of the largest freshwater bodies in Asia and the last refuge in Southeast Asia for large waterbirds like the spot-billed pelicans, visiting floating houses and fish farms along the way.