Vietnam Cambodia River Cruise 2017 – Mekong River

Aug 28, 2017 – Amawaterways

Mekong River, Cambodia

Today we head to the ship, the AmaDara on the Mekong River.    We stop along the way at a market where, if you want, you can have roasted insects. Many to choose from. We opted for the box lunch provided!

Aug 29, 2017 – Amawaterways

Mekong River, Cambodia

During the morning, we went on a walking tour to 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 their traditional wooden abodes and keep their old cultural traditions alive. Hundreds of wooden houses stand intact on stilts, shaded with banana trees, among the hustle and bustle of the daily agricultural on-going of the local villagers.

The ship continues on for our first night in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

Aug 30, 2017 – Amawaterways

Mekong River, Cambodia

The morning excursion takes us to Oudong, Cambodia’s former royal capital from the early 17th century until 1866. Today, Oudong is a place of pilgrimage for Cambodians. While here, we are treated to a memorable Buddhist Blessing Ceremony at a monastery. After visiting Oudong, we take a truly authentic excursion, an oxcart ride through a local village Kampong Tralach. Later in the day, we visited Phnom Penh via a tuk tuk ride and saw the city’s French Colonial architecture and tree-lined boulevards set amidst monumental Angkorian architecture. Tuk tuks here are driven by motorcycle – not bicycles as in Hanoi.

Aug 31, 2017 – Amawaterways

Mekong River, Cambodia

Today we “coached” to Cambodia’s infamous Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge’s grim Tuol Sleng S21 detention center (Genocide Museum). After lunch on the ship, we explored the highlights of the city, followed by a visit to the Royal Palace, the spectacular Silver Pagoda and the National Museum, which has an outstanding collection of Khmer crafts.

Sep 1, 2017 – Amawaterways

Mekong River, Cambodia

We are back on the ship where we cross the border from Cambodia to Vietnam. We pause while a small boat with a member of the crew takes a suitcase with all our passports in it to the border patrol station on the shore. We wait about an hour for the formalities to be completed.