Deper and Further on the Mekong River up stream 11 days

Early sailing and morning sampan visit to the Cai Be floating market with a walk ashore to see workshops and crafts production. Then on to Sa Dec which has an interesting market and the traditional Vietnamese house of Mr Huyn Thuy Le, the 'lover' of Marguerite Duras, a famous French novelist whose book was immortalised in the film L'Indochine. There is a fine catholic church here too.

After a short sail upstream, travel a short distance by coach to the Gao Giong ‘green oasis’ with its bird sanctuary. Here a diverse selection of water birds and egrets that gather in the tens of thousands across the Duong Tharp Muoi or ‘Plain of Reeds’. Rowing boats traverse the canals to visit the principal nesting areas. In the afternoon visit Con Phuoc Island and go ashore to explore by tuk-tuk to see basket production and visit a 100-year-old Catholic Church and local carpentry shops.

Explore the labyrinthine canal system around Tan Chau to visit a Taoist temple where the monks will read fortunes. Continue through local villages by Xi Loi stopping off to help locals tend their fields before stopping off to visit a fish farm and earn merit by releasing fish back into the Mekong.

Visit a Moslem Cham tribal village and a catfish farm in Chau Doc with a guide or do your own thing and take one of our mountain bikes and explore the local market or visit the splendid Catholic Church. Return to the ship by boat for lunch and cast off for the Cambodian border for the usual formalities.

After a morning cruise along the Tonle River disembark at Prek Kdam and travel by coach to a former capital, Oudong. On the way visit the Vipassana Dhura Meditation Centre for a morning of relaxation & meditation before taking a drive around the old capital. Continue up the Tonle river to Kampong Chhanang where the river is at its most beautiful and heaving with life. Then explore the wetlands around the lake’s mouth rich in birdlife.

All passengers will be provided with their own private cyclo. The Cyclo Centre Phnom Penh, which provides the cyclos is a charity that provides basic welfare and medical services to cyclo drivers. You will visit the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and National Museum. In the afternoon we visit the Killing Fields and Genocide Museum to learn more about the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. More about Phnom Penh

Morning walk at Angkor Ban a typical Khmer village with a library donated by Pandaw passengers. Continue upstream to Kampong Cham and travel by bus to Chiro Village with an extensive education centre offering vocational training. Other activities here include plastic recycling, bee keeping, farming and handicraft making projects. On to the Wat Nokor Bachey dating back to the Jayarvaman VII period. Built completely from a black sandstone unlike other temples of this period.

Morning walk to explore this former French provincial centre with its many splendid belle epoch mansions and lively market. Overnight on the delightful Koh Trong island where passengers can plant their own trees. Sandbank dinner.

From Kratie travel further upstream by a rustic bus to view the dolphin grounds from local boats in a national park protected area. Return downstream and in late afternoon go ashore to see Wat Hanchey an important centre of worship on top of a hill above the Mekong with good river panoramas. Of great interest are the Chenla Period temples dating from the 8th century, some destroyed by American bombing during the Vietnam War. Overnight Wat Hancheay.

Early morning sail to Kampong Cham and coach transfer to hotels in Siem Reap with a refreshment stop at Kampong Thom along the way. Arrive at Siem Reap early afternoon.