Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City (Embarkation)
In the morning, departure for a sightseeing
tour of Saigon. Sights you will see include the
Cathedral, the Post Office built by Gustave
Eiffel, the National Museum. Lunch at a local
restaurant.In the afternoon, continuation of
the tour with the colonial districts and the
Reunification Palace (outside). Visit of the
Chinese market of Cholon, one of the biggest
trading centres in the economic capital of
Vietnam. Transfer to the ship and embarkation
on the RV Indochine. Enjoy a welcome
cocktail and information meeting as you are
introduced to your Captain and Crew. Dinner
on board.
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City
After breakfast, excursion to the fascinating
Cu Chi Tunnels. Built during the Vietnam
War to protect from bombing raids, the
tunnels extend for over 212 km underground
and from a depth of 3 to 12 meters. They
feature remnants of a living city; schools,
kitchens, sleeping quarters, hospitals and
military production facilities. Return to the
city and enjoy a Vietnamese style lunch in a
local restaurant. After lunch, back to RV
Indochine and navigation to My Tho. Dinner
on board.
Day 3: MY THO - CAI BE - VINH LONG
In the morning, sightseeing of My Tho. The
town is peaceful and prosperous, with
100 000 inhabitants and well known for its
numerous orchards, fruit gardens, and its
huge rice plantation. Visit of the Vinh Trang
pagoda with its original architecture (mix
between oriental and colonial styles).
Navigation in local boats to reach the island
of Thoi Son. Enjoy a stroll through the
arroyos. Return to the ship for having lunch
while you sail on to Cai Be. Local boats take
passengers to see the manufacturer of bricks
and pottery, the seedbed of fruit trees of the
island of Binh Hoa Phuoc. Arrival in Vinh
Long with local boats. Vinh Long, nicknamed
the “Majestuous Dragon”, is located
in the centre Delta region, between two arms
of the Mekong. Vinh Long is the region of
tangerines and oranges. Hundreds of ships
cross each day in all directions, pace the
trade and abound between the houses built
on piles. Embarkation and departure to Sa
Dec in late afternoon. Dinner on board.
Day 4: SA DEC - CHAU DOC
After breakfast, enjoy a panoramic tour of
Sadec by coach. During the colonial time,
Sa Dec was called “the Garden of Cochinchine”. Visit of the “house of the
Chinese” described in the novel from
Marguerite Duras, “L’amant”. Back to the
ship and sail for Chau Doc. Lunch on
board. Arrival at Chau Doc. Near the delta
of Mekong, the city of Chau Doc lies next
to the border of Cambodia. Chau Doc, very
prosperous, develops itself around fishing
and breeding. The floating farms fulfil the
waters. Visit of the Chua Xu Temple and
the Tay An Pagoda. Return to the ship.
Dinner on board.
Day 5:SAILING – PHNOM PENH
In the morning, the RV Indochine leaves
Chau Doc and heads for the cambodian
border. Lunch and dinner on board. Arrival
at Phnom Penh in the evening. Enjoy a first
night discovery of the Cambodian capital.
Day 6: PHNOM PENH
After breakfast, departure for the visit of the
Cambodian capital, which has retained its
French colonial charm. Visit of the Royal
Palace, which constitutes a huge unit, and
the Silver Pagoda. Lunch at a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, visit of the National Museum, containing the most important
collection of Khmer art. Continue your
sightseeing with an excursion to the infamous “S 21” former detention and torture center
during the Cambodian civil war which lasted
between 1975 and 1979. Dinner on board.
Day 7: KOH CHEN - KAMPONG TRALACH
In the morning, navigation to Koh Chen.
This village is known for silverworking. Walk
through the village to see the work of the
craftsmen. Lunch on board. The RV Indochine
continues sailing to Kampong Tralach. Upon
arrival, tour to the Pagoda Wat Kampong
Leu. We get there by walking through the
village of Kampong Tralach, then in the
middle of a magnificent rice plantation. The
Vihara is a small pagoda from last century,
and was probably built on a more ancient
ground, as we can see from the foundations
in laterit. Dinner on board.
Day 8: KAMPONG CHHNANG - TONLE SAP
YArrival at Kampong Chhnang in the morning.
The river narrows and a wide variety of rural
sceneries is to be seen, including a busy port
and bustling markets. Located at approximately
90 km of Phnom Penh, the city of
Kampong chhang is one of the largest fishing
ports on Tonle Sap Lake. It is also a place for
fish farming. The area is famous for its
particularly archaic pottery which supplies
the entire country. Then, boarding on local
boats to visit the authentic floating village.
The whole village is floating. The life of the
entire population is connected with the River
and all people evolve in boats through the
canal system which criss-cross this little town.
Lunch on board and relaxing afternoon while
navigation to the Great Tonle Sap Lake.
Dinner on board.
Day 9: Siem Reap
Arrival at Siem Reap pier in the morning.
Breakfast and disembarkation.
Warning: Indicated route and itinerary can
be subject to some modifications such as an
event of force majeure due to weather
conditions causing delays or even in some
circumstances the suppression of a port of call.
In this case, only the Captain is entitled to
take the appropriate decisions which will then
be binding to the passengers. By the same way,
delays may happen when the ship is taking
through the lock.
Please Note: A visa is required for travel to Vietnam and Cambodia; please consult with your Consulate for more information.
In case of low waters, it may happen that
navigation on the Tonle Sap lake is impossible
for the RV Indochine. If that occurs, a speed
boat will assure the link between the entrance
of the lake where the disembarkation of RV
Indochine will take place and Phnom Krom,
Siem Reap’s port.
In case of extremely low water on the lake,
instead of the speed boat a bus transfer will be
organized from the proximity of the entrance
of Tonle Sap lake to the city of Siem Reap.
All the aforementioned cruise schedule and
program timing are purely indicative and are therefore subject to modifications.
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