MEKONG MAGIC
KATE LALLY takes a relaxing journey along a watery highway through Vietnam and Cambodia
FROM the moment I stepped out of Ho Chi Minh airport, I was enveloped in the familiar sights and smells of Asian life.
Endless waves of people, street markets and no sense of order whatsoever seemed to sum up my arrival into Vietnam.
Crossing the road is an adventure in itself, as the vehicles mish-mash along, narrowly dodging one another, while tourists take a deep breath and try their best to navigate the chaotic roadways. It’s definitely entertaining. Vietnam’s bustling second city is an intriguing mix of fast-paced hedonism alongside French legacy and old war relics, and I could have easily spent an entire week exploring Saigon.
But we had a boat to catch – and not just any boat. The RV Mekong Pandaw, built in 2002, is a replica of the heritage paddle steamers that sailed the Irrawaddy River from the 1860s to the 1940s. These vessels moved locals, colonists, soldiers, rice, livestock and literally anything else along the river.
After a short coach journey to the port of My Tho, the six of us travelling with Saga boarded the Mekong Pandaw (MP), joining around twenty other passengers to head north along the Mekong River for seven nights.
The MP is a relatively small ship, 60m long and 10m wide, with polished timber decks and around 24 cabins. But don’t let her size fool you, there’s plenty of room on board.
In fact, with her wide promenades and large dining hall, the MP has more public space per passenger than any known ship afloat.
On boarding we were struck by the incredibly warm welcome from the mainly Khmer crew – constantly smiling, they are truly the jewel in the ship’s crown.
The top deck is used for lounging on sunbeds and there’s a full-size billiards table, as well as a fullystocked bar that serves tea and coffee at sunrise, cocktails at sundown, and ice cream at any time of day.
The ship also has a gym, spa, library and ‘spare’ bar, known as the Saloon Bar, in case it’s raining up top.
Food, as with everything else on-board, is of an exceptional standard.
The menu is a mix of familiar fare and local cuisine – I had a ‘Vietnamese pizza’ for my first dinner – and complimentary local beers, spirits and soft drinks are included.
And if we hadn’t been sailing around such a beautiful corner of the world, the food could well have been the trip’s highlight.
As we cruised upstream, through Vietnam and into Cambodia, the days rolled into an easy schedule of morning and afternoon excursions. On each outing, we were accompanied by members of the ship’s crew and an incredibly knowledgeable local tour guide.
The week-long cruise struck a balance between the bustling Vietnamese delta and the tranquillity of Cambodia, and day-trips included visits to local communities which live right at the edge of the river, in homes built from whatever materials are available.
Often, these homes have fisheries right under them. Enterprising individuals build a cage-like structure of bamboo beneath their homes on these waterways to house fish.
Life in the delta is tightly woven with its rivers as daily activities and businesses are conducted on its banks. Markets, stores, ship yards, repair shops are some of the more popular trades.
On day four we spent 24 hours in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. After a cyclo-tour of the city, we went to the National Museum, before our guide gave us a solid understanding of Cambodia’s horrific past.
The afternoon was an eye-opening and sobering one, as we visited the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, on the site of the old S21 security prison, where the fate of two million people murdered during the Pol Pot regime is graphically represented.
Leaving feeling remorseful, and with a newfound gratitude for what we have, the consensus of the group was very much “I’m glad I saw this – but I wouldn’t do it again”.
The next few days, though, were pure bliss. As the MP sleepily creept up the Mekong, we stopped at a charming French colonial town, Kratie, and were lucky enough to sail out and see rare Mekong dolphins in a protected national park.
The only bad part was knowing we would soon leave the ship, and each other.
It’s amazing how quickly you can go from complete strangers to friends, and I was as sad to leave the crew as I was the other travellers.
After disembarking, we, the ‘Saga Six’, spent a varied few days in Siem Reap, exploring the temples at Angkor, haggling for souvenirs at the markets and even taking in a show at the Khmer circus.
And then, over a farewell dinner, with a final cocktail of course, we said our goodbyes, hugged and swapped email addresses, as the sun set on a trip that was nothing short of magical.