MAGIC OF THE MEKONG

Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City. After you have completed immigration formalities and collected your baggage, you will be met and transferred to your hotel – ideally placed to take in the sights, sounds and tastes of this bustling, youthful city.

Stay: Two nights in a Park Room at the Park Hyatt Saigon – including breakfast

This morning, meet with your guide for an early visit to the beautiful Ho Thi Ky Flower Market. Your private city tour continues to the Cholon (Chinatown) District, where you’ll pass through various herb stores and get an insight into traditional Chinese medicine. Next up on the agenda is the Thien Hau Pagoda and the bustling Khmer Market. You can return to your hotel for breakfast or indulge in a delicious bowl of pho at a local stall.

Later, your guide will take you off track to try some of Saigon’s famous iced coffee whilst enjoying a walking tour of Ho Chi Minh’s former colonial quarter – home to ancient landmarks such as the Notre Dame Basilica and Gustave Eiffel’s Central Post Office. Meander along Dong Khoi (formerly Catinat Street) and Nguyen Hue to get a great view of the famous city hall, before finishing up at the former Presidential Palace.

Enjoy the morning at your leisure. At midday, you’ll depart the Park Hyatt and transfer to The Reverie Saigon, where you’ll register for the Aqua Mekong cruise. You will be transferred by shuttle bus to My Tho dock and welcomed aboard this luxurious river cruiser.

Stay: Four nights in a Design Suite Cabin (First Deck) aboard the Aqua Mekong – including all meals and beverages

Binh Thanh/Sa Dec – My An Hung

Begin the day by calling in at the rural mat-weaving village of Binh Thanh. You can also tour the vibrant market of Sa Dec and visit the house of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le – legendary lover of Marguerite Duras. The rural theme continues in the afternoon with a visit to My An Hung, a typical Mekong Delta village where the locals will offer you fruits, show you their homes and perform the Unicorn Dance, accompanied by folk songs. A 17km cycle ride is an alternative option.

Chau Doc – Ka’om Samnor Border

A skiff takes you along the Bassac Canal to the photogenic floating market of Chau Doc. From there, you travel overland to Long Son Pagoda on the top of Sam Mountain, where you can ask the monks about their age-old Buddhist practices.

You can then opt for a long, scenic bike ride on Long Khanh Island or take a rickshaw to Tan Chau Market in the company of a local chef. Especially appealing if you’re interested in learning about Mekong cuisine. After lunch, relax by the pool or enjoy a traditional Khmer massage as the Aqua Mekong crosses the border into Cambodia.

Koh Oknha Tey – Preah Prosop

This morning you’ll watch skilful Khmer artisans dye and weave kroma, a traditional Cambodian scarf, before venturing along the banks of the Mekong to see Buddhist temples and traditional thatched houses standing on wooden stilts high above the water. After lunch, marine-grade aluminium skiffs will take you to Preah Prosop, a remote, unchanged village surrounded by fragrant tamarind trees.

This morning you’ll explore the Cambodian capital by motorised tuk-tuk – the best way to take in the sights, which include the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda and the National Museum (home of the world’s most extensive collection of Khmer art). If you wish, a visit to the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide, the Killing Fields and the Russian Market can also be arranged.

You’ll disembark the Aqua Mekong in the afternoon, transferring to Phnom Penh Airport for your flight to Siem Reap. On arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Stay: Three nights in a Terrace Villa at Phum Baitang – including breakfast

Rising from the jungle like the fantasy city of a long-forgotten empire, the temples of Angkor are the cultural home of the Khmer people and one of the world’s greatest ancient spectacles.

Enjoy a full day of exploration with your driver and guide, including an optional sunrise visit to Angkor Wat before breakfast. Easy recognisable in the centre of the national flag, this massive fortified temple with its many walls and soaring, stepped towers are accessed by a giant stone causeway over a 190-metre-wide moat – an incredible feat of engineering in itself. You’ll also visit the ‘Great City’ of Angkor Thom (flanked by 20-metre-high gateways), the 12th century Bayon, the Terrace of Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King.

Rise early to beat the crowds at the photogenic Ta Prohm temple of “Tomb Raider” fame. Overgrown by jungle vegetation, it’s a magical site where you can really appreciate the interplay of man and nature.

The remainder of your time will be spent passing through local villages and connecting closely with the rural life that surrounds the peaceful town of Siem Reap. In Wat Bo Krum, a typical Khmer village on the serene banks of the Siem Reap River, you can visit the children at the local school and experience a traditional Cambodian method of transport – an ox or buffalo cart ride.

In Kampong Khleang, a floating village in a little-visited corner of Tonle Sap Lake, you’ll learn how the villagers make their living from the lake and the art of living on the water that the Khmer people have mastered over time. En route back to Siem Reap, stop at the small but magnificent 10th-century temple of Banteay Srei. A fine example of classical Khmer-style architecture, it’s thought that women must have carved the temple for the details are too fine for the hands of a man.

In the early afternoon, transfer to Siem Reap Airport for your flight to Sihanoukville. On arrival, you’ll be met and taken to a nearby pier for the 30-minute boat ride to the private island of Song Saa.

Your resort spans the heavenly islands of Koh Ouen and Koh Bong in the Koh Rong Archipelago, and offers you a choice of overwater villas standing on stilts with their feet in the ocean. The cuisine is world-class, the sunshine almost unfailing, and the water welcoming.

When not exploring the islands’ coral reefs, you can wander among virgin rainforests or lie on the pure white sands of Song Saa’s beaches. With more than 20 deserted islands close by, opportunities for offshore adventure abound.

Stay: Four nights in a Jungle Villa at Song Saa – including breakfast

Today you will transfer by shared boat to the mainland (approximately 2.5 hours) and Phnom Penh Airport for your return flight home.