Vietnam & Cambodia Discovery

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City, once the bustling French colonial city known as Saigon. Be met and transferred to your hotel. This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner. Stay Two Nights: Ho Chi Minh City, Park Hyatt Saigon (D)

Your first full day here offers you the chance to choose from two Signature Experiences. Tonight, another Signature Experience awaits. (B/L/D)

Signature Experiences:

• Journey to Ba Ria and learn about the Battle of Long Tan, followed by a memorial service at Long Tan Cross, a memorial marking the site of this battle. Erected by the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, it is located in a rubber plantation. Or visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, built by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the war. This remarkable tunnel network concealed the Viet Cong and served as supply and communication routes, as well as hospitals and weapon caches.
• Experience dinner at Vietnam House, founded by Australia-born Vietnamese celebrity chef Luke Nguyen

Exploring more of Ho Chi Minh City, select from the array of Freedom of Choice experiences on offer. Later, transfer to My Tho and embark your ship. Stay Seven Nights: Mekong River, Mekong Serenity (B/L/D)

Freedom of Choice:

• Why not join a motorbike, shopping or walking tour? Or, visit Ky Long Art Villa to learn about Vietnamese lacquer art or enjoy a cooking class at GRAIN cooking studio.

In Cai Be, visit the French Gothic cathedral and port area. Then, at a rice paper manufacturer, learn how this Vietnamese staple is made. Continue to Sa Dec where French writer Marguerite Duras met her Vietnamese-Chinese lover, Huynh Thuy Le. Tour his former home and learn the story behind Marguerite Duras' best-selling novel, The Lover. After, visit a traditional Cao Dai temple. (B/L/D)

Transfer to a small boat to cruise the tiny tributaries around the town of Tan Chau. Pass a floating fish farm, then step ashore for a fun rickshaw tour and a visit to a local silk and rattan weaving workshop. Later, step back in time as you experience authentic rural Mekong life on a nearby evergreen island. The remainder of today is yours to relax on board and soak up views of the Mekong. Upon entering Cambodia, you'll cruise towards its enthralling capital, Phnom Penh. (B/L/D)

Explore Cambodia's past or present today with a range of Freedom of Choice experiences. After lunch back on board, more choices await. The evening is yours to relax. (B/L/D)

Freedom of Choice:

• Perhaps experience some of Cambodia's sobering history with a visit to the infamous Killing Fields. Afterwards, see the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, on the site of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21). Or, discover Phnom Penh on a tuk tuk ride with a stop at the Central Market. History buffs can visit the National Museum or, if you prefer, take a leisurely bike ride through the city's quiet back roads. After lunch, either explore the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, enjoy some shopping or indulge in high tea.

Today, journey to historic Oudong, which was Cambodia's fascinating royal capital from 1618 until 1866. During your time here, you'll enjoy a Signature Experience. On the way back to Phnom Penh, take a leisurely stroll through the village of Koh Chen and perhaps visit some home workshops that manufacture copperware.

Later, your ship glides along the lush banks of the Mekong to Oknha Tey, which is renowned for its silk manufacturing traditions, preserved over centuries. Here, gain an insight into the traditional silk weaving process. After, return to your river ship to relax before enjoying delicious onboard dining tonight. (B/L/D)

Signature Experiences:

• In Oudong, pay a visit to a monastery for a Buddhist blessing experience with local monks.

Join a walking discovery of Angkor Ban, one of the few villages in Cambodia that was not destroyed under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. Here, people still live in traditional wooden homes and keep ancient cultural traditions alive. Continuing cruising towards Siem Reap this afternoon, enjoy some time at leisure on board. Perhaps go for a dip in the pool, or kick back on the Sun Deck with a good book and relax as life along the Mekong passes you by. (B/L/D)

If you are feeling active this morning, perhaps set out on a walk to the hilltop pagoda of Wat Hanchey. From here, enjoy views over the Mekong, making it well worth the climb. You'll find many temples, pagodas and stupas, some dating back to the 8th century. Lunch is back on board, before taking a tuk tuk to explore the island of Koh Pen with its wooden stilt houses and local farming culture. On your ship this evening, toast the end of your cruise during a final farewell dinner. (B/L/D)

Disembark your ship in Kampong Cham and transfer to Siem Reap. Then, head to World Heritage-listed Angkor Archaeological Park to visit Angkor Thom and the 12th-century temple, Bayon. In Siem Reap tonight, dine in one of the local restaurants. Stay Three Nights: Siem Reap, Hotel Sofitel Angkor (B/L/D)

Freedom of Choice:

• Tonight, take the opportunity to savour a taste of Cambodia with a choice of local restaurants for dinner.

Rise early this morning and travel back to Angkor Archaeological Park for a Signature Experience. After experiencing the majesty of World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat, enjoy a guided exploration of what is regarded as Angkor's best-preserved temple, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Relax back at your hotel after breakfast.

Then this afternoon, explore the temple of Ta Prohm, a World Heritage-listed site which is famous for its intertwined trees. Later, visit ‘Opportunities of Development thru Art' (ODA), a Siem Reap organisation that provides education opportunities for disadvantaged children. The evening is at your leisure. (B)

Signature Experiences:

• At Angkor Archaeological Park, enjoy a special sunrise experience at Angkor Wat.

Explore Siem Reap your way today. The afternoon is yours to enjoy as you like, before tonight's traditional Apsara dance performance and a delicious farewell dinner. (B/D)

Freedom of Choice:

• Perhaps visit the temple of Wat Preah Prom Rath for a Buddhist blessing or enjoy a tuk tuk ride to the Senteurs d'Angkor workshop. If you're feeling energetic, join a quad bike adventure or take a leisurely bicycle tour through the Cambodian countryside. Other options include a horse and cart ride, a traditional Khmer cooking class, and a shopping adventure, or why not indulge in a relaxing spa treatment.

Farewell Siem Reap after breakfast this morning, as you transfer to the airport for your onward flight. (B)